10 Biggest Failures in the World of Technology

Often we find various technological products that are useless or their inventors didn’t present them well enough. Lets put it simply, we also have products that are stupid, and those which are potentially dangerous. All of them can be put in the same group – the failures.

This time I bring you my list of 10 biggest failures in the world of technology, and if you have a favourite one, drop it in a comments below ;-).

10. Google Wave

You probably remember the failed project Google Wave, according to the Google CEO’s had to change the way of communication on the Internet. This heavy words maybe cursed Google Wave, which despite a numerous inovative solutions, has been shut down.

We can’t forget the extremly boring video-presentation that lasted for hours. Google Wave was a mix of e-mail adress, instant messenger, Twitter and Facebook focused on a collaboration within team workers and friends. One year after launching Google announced the shutdown of the service due to a low interest by users.

9. Windows Vista

Let’s be honest, Windows Vista it’s not a that bad OS like people and medias made it look like. But, it was available in eight different versions that confused people.

It was buggy, and it wasn’t working on every type of PC’s. On the other hand, it brought new applications such as Aero, and new tools for manipulating multimedia such as DVD maker, but frankly with Vista, Microsoft made one step forward and two steps back.

The irony was that many users were returning to the older Windows XP.

8. Eyetop DVD player

Some of the products seem like lost in time. Eyetop DVD Player is a system based on heavy eyeglasses which in the right corner had a small screen resolution 320×240, a DVD player and a battery that you had to put in your backpack.

With your right eye you should watch the video and with the left one, the way you were going or driving to – I guess. Impractical, useless and above all – dangerous.

7. Garmin Nuvifone

Frustrated by the fact that more and more cell-phones were launched with the GPS, interactive maps and navigation, at the end of the 2009, Garmin launched a navigation device that was also a cell phone.

Garmin Nuvifone didn’t thrilled too much and the production was shut down very quickly. This case is special because it came as some kind of reversed copy.

6. Apple Newton

Apple Newton is a project launched in 1987. It was designed to use staylus on devices with touch screen with the purpose of taking notes and using simple applications. In the development of the platform was invested more than 100 milions $, and the sales figures were disappointing. After returning to Apple, Steve Jobs stopped the project.

5. Segway

In 2001 the inventer Dean Kamen introduced Segway – a vehicle that was ment to replace walking ili at least became the major mean of transport. The price of that pleasure was 5000 $ for an electricity-driven. It was sold in 50.000 samples, and walking is still the most popular “mean” of transport, and most of all – it’s free.

4. Windows ME

Windows Millenium Edition is the worst operative system ever launched by Microsoft. It was a nightmare for installing, running, installation of application, virus cleaning…everything. Moreover, the problem was shutting down the PC, with this OS. It’s unbelievable how this operative system was bad, and I think quite impossible to out top.

3. Internet Explorer 6

Do you use any of the newer derivatives od Internet Explorer? If your answer is positive I can only advise you to switch to an another browser as soon as possible and to spice it a little bit let’s remember the IE version 6. In this version, IE 6 is remembered by the worse security holes. Microsoft issued some patches for this version, but it was already late.

Microsoft and Internet Explorer lost some of their reputation and it’s questionable if they are ever going to restore the lost confidence, it’s going to be a hard one.

2. DigiScents iSmell

All kind of stupidity come to people’s mind, and a smart man will not even bother to mention them. The inventor of this gadget went even a step forward and made a really idiotic device.

iSmell is a product launched in 2001, connected to a PC on the working table with the charge of “128 basic scents”, which mixed could form more complex scents. These scents had to describe the web page you’re visiting or an e-mail you’re reading. Simply, this product should have made you “smell” the internet.

1. Microsoft Kin

Kin One and Kin Two are two Microsoft’s cell phones designed for younger users. The devices were far away than perfect, but what made them fail was the Microsoft approach to the sale.

The advertising campaign that followed the launching suggested in an importunately way to whom the devices were aimed, because in the USA even kids use iPhone and Blackberry devices as much as businessmen, and teenagers simply didn’t want to be stigmatized in that kind of way.

The reason of their failure, that is poor sales is that the project costed the company several hundred milions $ was buried simply like that, overnight, and therefore it deserves the #1 on my list.