The L.A. Times Names Its Favorite Flops of the Year 145
A reader writes "Salvador Rodriguez and Deborah Netburn of The Los Angeles Times have a rundown of the top 10 tech gaffes of 2012. From their article: 'As 2012 comes to a close we take a look back at the biggest "oops" moments of the last year. Whether it was an advertising misstep (Facebook's "Chair" commercial), or a product released before it was ready (Apple Maps), or just an idea that was ill-received (homeless men as Wi-Fi hotspots), we tried to compose a list of the times when the major players lost control of the narrative. It's also a reminder that everyone makes mistakes--even exacting tech companies.'"
Samsung 'Puppy' Video (Score:4, Interesting)
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Personally I thought that was really funny, but how did anyone anywhere think that would be acceptable for a public commercial?
Facebook IPO (Score:5, Insightful)
Facebook IPO wasnt a gaffe, it was a hedge fund scam. facebook was advised to give their IPO at a much higher value than they knew it could sustain, and the advisers hedged against facebook. made a lot of rich people richer, and fucked over some other rich people, and also fucked over some not so rich people.
as for apple maps, that deserves to be number 1, why the hell did apple even bother to release such a poor piece of software...
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Re:Facebook IPO (Score:4, Insightful)
Um, Apple Maps fiasco wasn't about the software. The software works fine; the data behind the software is the problem.
So you agree with GP even as you try to contradict him/her. The software was the problem. Hint: software is more than just an algorithm expressed in a program; it's the data that the algorithm/program accesses, too.
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Both Apple Maps and the Ford Pinto suck. Apple Maps suck because their data sucks. The Pinto sucked because of it's engine (and hideous design).
IOW, both products were crap that shouldn't have been released, and once again you're pretending to argue with the OP while proving his point.
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Both Apple Maps and the Ford Pinto suck. Apple Maps suck because their data sucks. The Pinto sucked because of it's engine (and hideous design).
So what you are saying is that the NTHSA and many consumer groups wanted (and got) the Pinto to be recalled based on the engine? That Ford spent lots of time and money fixing the engine? Or did they focus on the fuel tank? In retrospect, the fuel tank problem wasn't as bad as it was made to be but the engine exploding due to a rear end crash wasn't the controversy.
IOW, both products were crap that shouldn't have been released, and once again you're pretending to argue with the OP while proving his point.
I am clarifying his point by providing sufficient detail. Details matter. After all if your next car is recalled due to a problem with a fue
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They are pointing out their expertise and wit, not their ability to use the web, reason, or facts.
Hope that helps.
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I actually was hit from behind in my 74 Ford Pinto. The engine died as I was a foot on the clutch and a foot on the brake but it was leaking gas when I checked before heading across the street to check on the lady (she hit her brakes, the back end jumped up and she turned to the left hitting the back of the Pinto and shooting across southbound traffic missing everyone else and hitting a street sign).
[John]
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And the rest of Slashdot assumes you would understand that the rest of the world is talking about the software product, not the source code we can't see anyway. It doesn't matter if the data or the software sucks. The end product apparently sucked. Without the ability to audit the code myself I'll just assume they both sucked. You are off on tangents that don't make sense. If Java was horrible (I, personally, think it is) what makes it horrible only matter to the person fixing it. It's just Apple, you
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Insightful)
Or they rewrote a good chunk of the core code to work with their new dataset and to implement their desired features. You have no idea what the source is like. But it still does not matter. Saying how great the codebase is (despite the fact that you have no idea) doesn't stop the product from being shoddy.
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The thing is, Apple used the data from a 'reputable' vendor (TomTom). Nobody made any noise ever about stand-alone TomTom devices.
Where I am and in most other places (North America and Europe), the data is as good as any (Google, Garmin, OSM or others) and you can find mistakes on any maps, heck, if there is a mistake in the data for any of the above mentioned, blame the government(s) because they are the ones that release the vector data for all streets in their jurisdictions. The biggest problems with it
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The thing is, Apple used the data from a 'reputable' vendor (TomTom). Nobody made any noise ever about stand-alone TomTom devices.
Aren't there comparisons showing tomtom fucking up less on the same elements on the maps?
There is a lot more POI data that Apple Maps is either missing or inaccurate and that is directly due to the TomTom data. I also have a Garmin device personally and the POI data is even worse than either the TomTom device or the Apple device, again, nobody has complained about that in years because the address (instead of the POI) usually gets you to the right place and who uses that silly POI data anyway?
Certainly not me. I figured out how to load custom POI into my Garmin and that's what I do.
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The reason people don't complain (much) about TomTom data on other devices is because TomTom know the limitations and deficiencies of it and don't try to implement features that go beyond it's capabilities. For example TomTom's maps don't overlay with satellite data well, not least because a normal GPS receiver just isn't that accurate and official sources of road data are not either. Google automatically corrects the vectors to match the satellite imagery, so they are always in perfect sync.
POI databases a
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> The software works fine
What? You mean those weird bridges going up and down across a single span was a data problem?
I see. How can it be Apple's fault ever?
Until? Google still has data problems (Score:1, Troll)
The data behind Apple Maps is actually pretty decent at this point for most areas. There may be some that it's behind, but I'm not sure where that would be - almost all the early data gaffes appear to have been fixed.
Google still has data errors also, of the same magnitude. Searching for "Airport" [flickr.com] in Denver does not list at all the main airport, Denver International Airport.
The other issue Google has is it is way too eager to give you SOME result when it can't figure out what you want. So it makes up some
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:4, Insightful)
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"Software" and "Data used by software" is a bit of a false distinction to most users. If the data is crap, the whole software package becomes crap. If Google's search engine was the best piece of software in the world, but the data was so crap that it couldn't return any results you actually wanted, then you would not be praising Google's search engine.
The fact that Google's mapping software wasn't very good 10 years ago is hardly relevant. Nor is the WiFi scandal, unless you're suggesting that either Apple
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, the initial Apple maps was a bit of a black eye. But the response to it was amazing. From the headlines I was sure that the civilized world was coming to an end. Cats and dogs sleeping together, etc.
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:4, Interesting)
The response was justified, apple took away what most people use as their GPS device, and replaced it with one that doesnt work, and doesnt work in spectacular fashion.
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The response was justified, apple took away what most people use as their GPS device, and replaced it with one that doesnt work, and doesnt work in spectacular fashion.
That response was justified but it indicates more than a strategic move/unplanned blunder/whatever by Apple, a corporate entity. It demonstrates that for people who use it, GPS is practically a utility.
I live in a city with good (for USA, ha!) public transportation and some of the most important and enjoyable parts of my life would be severely restricted if I did not have access to GPS: meeting new people, locating businesses, attending meetings, attending special occasions, etc.
Other people rely on GPS for
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Insightful)
From the standpoint of the end user - the 99% - Apple maps is the problem. Yes, we can tease it out into more subtle nuances but as far as the person staring at the screen it was an APPLE mistake. It was hubris, plain and simple. They certainly could have waited another year until they were ready but they didn't.
So they got dinged, some heads rolled and the world continued. It's a pure Apple play. Roll out crap in the beginning, get it running sooner or later. Cf, OS X, iTunes (OK, the STILL haven't got it right), Final Cut X, the iPhone and pretty much any Rev. 1 bit of Apple hardware. Where ever they get the idea that 'it just works' is quite beyond me. Hell, and I even like Apple stuff, I just know not to buy it when it first comes out and not to install software before the x.3 version.
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Insightful)
Where ever they get the idea that 'it just works' is quite beyond me.
Lots and lots of PR money. And IMHO a brilliant move. You see, computers are hard. Everyone knows computers are hard. And if something happens, you can't do anything, because everyone knows computers are hard.
But then comes something different. Something that is EASY. They say it everywhere. It just works, and is easy to use! So when something happens, it can't be that difficult to get it working, surely? This is after all easy.
The difference it makes is that in first scenario people give up at once, without even trying. In the second, they try their best because it's after all supposed to be easy.
And it turns out, that when you actually try to solve the problem, then it actually is easy to get it working again (compared to giving up at once and not even trying, at least).
It just works, and is easy because they tell people it is so. Pure genius :)
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No one will ever say "it's hard to get my microwave working" because at the end of the day, all you have to do is keep hitting buttons and something will eventually get hot.. b
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I'm far from an expert on microwave ovens, but I would hazard a guess that the dinner plate setting is for heating the china plate on which you will be placing the collard greens and steak.
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See? Bad UI design... sometimes results in a PEBKAC error.
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I can't understand how manufacturers can get it so wrong. I'm no expert on the subject of UI or UX (or maybe I am and just don't know it) but every day I come across WTF moments with products where I think, what monkey thought that was a good idea?
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Does it make any practical difference for the functionality of the Mars Climate Orbiter if the error was bad structural engineering or a unit conversion error? Does the fact that it was not bad structural engineering change the fact that it stopped working?
Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Interesting)
Facebook IPO wasnt a gaffe, it was a hedge fund scam. facebook was advised to give their IPO at a much higher value than they knew it could sustain, and the advisers hedged against facebook. made a lot of rich people richer, and fucked over some other rich people, and also fucked over some not so rich people.
Well, this is what gets me about the "Facebook IPO was a failure" argument. An IPO takes place for the benefit of the existing investors and stakeholders, whether or not that happens to be at the expense of anyone buying in.
Of course, normally one has to convince the would-be investors that it's also in *their* interest to do so, and obviously if you can be shown to have actually defrauded them, then that might not work out so well for you. But that doesn't change the basic principle- the people organising the IPO are doing so to benefit the existing stakeholders. From that somewhat amoral (but truthful) point of view, the Facebook IPO was a roaring success- for them.
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A perfect example of the "Ballmer Disconnect" is this little gem from earlier this year when it was announced they were pulling the plug on Windows Home Server "We have all those features in Windows SBS now so its not that we are leaving the market, I'm sure everyone will just switch to SBS"...hmmm...lets look at the numbers, shall we? Windows Home Server? $40, and that's OEM retail price, more like $25 to the OEMs themselves. Windows SBS? $400!!!! And that is for the OEMs!
And to further rub salt into the wounds, they knobbled SBS like Apple knobbled OS X Server. For example, there's no in-house email in SBS 2012 or OS X Server 10.7+
This forum post [overclockers.com.au] has a good comparison of licensing SBS 2011 over 2012
In fact, compare the feature sets of previous versions and current versions of these two Server OSs and it's all about extracting recurring income through cloud dependence.
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And to further rub salt into the wounds, they knobbled SBS like Apple knobbled OS X Server. For example, there's no in-house email in SBS 2012 or OS X Server 10.7+
I have no idea what you're talking about and suspect you may not have any idea either.
Mac OS X 10.7 and greater have postfix as part of the distribution. Maybe I don't understand what you mean by "in-house email". What do you mean by "in-house email"?
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I know this is /. and all, but could you consider R(ing)TFA?
Lumia is #4 on the list and Surface is #7. Granted, the LA Times must have a very lucrative advertising agreement with Microsoft, that their angle was about Oprah touting the Surface... from her iPad.
Though I can agree with you that failing to even mention Windows 8 was an awful oversight. I was somewhat dubious about it from the get go, and upon release figured it's yet another ME or Vista. But I saw the Surface as a train wreck in the making from
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I think the fact that nobody's buying Win8 is less of a "Flop of the year" and more of a "pretty much the same as everything since Win98 except perhaps Win7".
My point is that 'flop' probably implies surprise. Nobody who watched Idiocracy, and then saw the Win8 UI has been surprised that consumers have pretty much been running directly in the opposite direction.
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Re:Facebook IPO (Score:5, Informative)
By all accounts, Google was not *allowed* by Apple to release a version of Google Maps that was Google branded. Google was willing to compromise by offering a non-branded version that collected more information from iOS users than Apple would like to allow. That was the impasse that led Apple's ill fated venture into GIS.
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Indeed, the greatest success of Apple Maps was getting Google to finally release a function version of Google Maps for the iPhone. It's so much better than the service I used to use for turn by turn directions.
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You must be European; in America POS does not translate into "poor piece of software", it means "poor piece of shit"
Hope you're enlightened now
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I think it was just simple bargaining, Facebook started with an unrealistically high price so that they don't leave any cash on the table. The end price is still higher than what those shares actually worth so I would say that the tactic was succesful.
Seriously? (Score:5, Interesting)
They manage to not put Windows 8 on that list? It deserves the top spot by far. And I say this as a C# dev!
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Cue all the Microsoft shills posting crap like "I've been using it for months and it works great for me and I'm not going to support my statements with any kind of reasoning. A 3 year old can learn to use it, get used to it you Luddite! Now, where is my check, Balmer?"
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No way, dude! It's paradigm shifting! You just don't get it. What, are you like a 80??
Obligatory... (Score:2)
I've been using it for months and it works great for me and I'm not going to support my statements with any kind of reasoning. A 3 year old can learn to use it, get used to it you Luddite!
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Think of it more as a nail (Score:2)
As in the final nail in Ballmer's coffin.
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Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Insightful)
He's not complaining about C#. He's saying he thinks windows 8 is a flop, and that because he is a c# developer we should believe he is normally at least somewhat pro-windows.
for what its worth, i don't think windows 8 is a flop although I do think they botched the launch pretty badly in a variety of ways. (And there is no question that the windows 8 desktop has some issues to address; i just don't think they are nearly as bad as the hype.)
Re:Seriously? (Score:5, Funny)
* Windows 8 isn't that bad.
* Apple Maps isn't that bad.
* The iPhone 4 antenna was not that bad.
* That terrible patent you just heard about isn't that bad.
* The internet always lies to you.
* You read that list on the internet.
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sorry, mis-read. Windows 8 i wouldnt say is a flop, its a flop in waiting, or a success in waiting. its too early to tell as of yet if it will or will not be a flop as its market share is still increasing. http://betanews.com/2012/12/03/like-it-or-not-windows-8-usage-rises/ [betanews.com], its also increasing pretty quickly.
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Surface ought to have made that list too, big time.
It's about time someone put serious tablet users in a completely different group than simple Angry Birds players like yourself.
I bought a Surface with WinRT and use it with RemoteFX.
Can you run AutoDesk Rev-it on your iPad or Galaxy with Direct3D accelerated graphics via your workstations GPU? What about Crysis 2?
Didn't think so.
LOL
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It's about time someone put serious tablet users in a completely different group than simple Angry Birds players like yourself.
MS has had "serious" Windows tablets for 10 years. They failed to make any significant sales.
Can you run AutoDesk Rev-it on your iPad or Galaxy with Direct3D accelerated graphics via your workstations GPU? What about Crysis 2?
The main reason I feel Apple succeeded is that they were well aware that the vast, vast majority of consumers do not care about Auto Desk or Crysis. You sound like a guy bragging that his truck can haul a stack of plywood in the back and tow a boat at the same time. While that sounds great for you, I don't see myself needing to do either. So I bought a sedan.
Yes, you can do that an on iPad (Score:2)
Why not just get RemoteFX for the iPad? [windowsitpro.com]
The you could also use Autodesk Design Review Mobile also...
Basically you bought a dumb terminal. Slow clap.
I personally like the surface but it's crazy to pretend it's more functional than an iPad.
Why are we linking to the LA Times? (Score:2)
They are no longer free and require registration, unless linked to from Google News.
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Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times? (Score:4, Insightful)
So the major tech gaffes of the year, according to the LA Times, are mainly advertising fiascos.
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How about the Vita? (Score:5, Insightful)
Okay, its japanese release was in december last year, but I think it still counts. Darn thing can't even outsell the PSP!
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and A lot of that has to do with how sony treated the PSP, that was an expensive toy that more hardware revisions and new connectors than quality software (endless amounts of shit and shovel-ware) I got a psp fat, and they are not getting a second check from me
Designed for browsing on a phone (Score:4, Insightful)
There is no shortage of these lists. ...
International Buisness Times http://www.ibtimes.com/biggest-tech-flops-2012-top-5-failures-facebook-ipo-microsoft-surface-977488 [ibtimes.com]
Think Digit http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/The-5-biggest-tech-failures-of-2012_11866.html [thinkdigit.com]
Read Write http://readwrite.com/2012/12/14/top-10-epic-tech-gadget-failures [readwrite.com]
Why pick the one that is designed for a tablet..or one that doesn't mention Windows 8; Windows Phone 8...or Surface.
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4G is missing. LTE (Score:1, Interesting)
4G was supposed to be a high speed standard that allowed all users with a 4G enabled phone to get those high speeds. but, turns out that there are at least 3 specifications in use, and major manufacturers are picking sides (apple with LTE), making your new phone incompatible with your current network, forcing you to switch.
iphone5, i wouldn't put it on as a flop, but still an embarrassment, an embarrassment that apple assumed that their customers were stupid enough to buy the 4S from them again, just becaus
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The internals to the iPhone 5 are different from the iPhone 4S. Big deal the outside still looks the same. Who cares if the body looks the same or different? it's a nicer phone than the one before it(which was pretty nice to begin with).
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But the iPhone 5 gets better performance. The CPU in the iphone 5 is faster with a better graphics part. Plus it does LTE.
The only thing the iPhone 5 really could've used is NFC.
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Most upgrades to the iPhone 5 are from the 4, not the 4S.
That said, the 5 is a lot faster than the 4S, plus it's a different body.
Calling The Kettle Black (Score:1)
I think it's ironic that a journalism flop like the LA Times has the guts to call anything else a flop. I cancled my subscription to that rag years ago. These dinosaurs should be allowed to go extinct.
Apple Maps - what went wrong (Score:5, Interesting)
The consensus in the SEO industry is that Apple bought all low-end data sources for business data. Somebody thought they were saving money.
Point-of-interest map data wasn't that great, either, so presumably Apple bought low-end data there, too. Map data cleanup is expensive and labor-intensive. Because business info isn't a substantial revenue generator for Apple, it's not surprising that Apple cut costs there. Over at Apple, business info drives search and ads, so it's crucial to the revenue stream.
The reverse is true for phones and tablets - Apple makes most of their money from phones and tablets, while for Google the whole Android thing generates a small fraction of revenue.
nah, you are reading it wrong (Score:1)
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Someone needs to learn the difference between data and information
Missing -- Knight (Score:4, Informative)
They should have Knight Capital [wikipedia.org] on the list. They probably thought it belonged in the finance category as opposed to tech; but it was a tech problem. They also could have put HFT in general on the list, of which Knight is just one example.
Facebook IPO was a huge success (Score:1)
The Facebook IPO was a _huge_ success.
When a stock goes up and stays up following an IPO that means the company screwed up pricing their shares, raising less cash than they could have for a given dilution and/or unnecessarily devaluing investors' shares.
Facebook did it right.
What are you talking about (Score:2)
You are acting like a stock sale is to generate cash for a business so they can invest it in improving their business generating a profit which is then shared with the share holders.
COMMIE! Everyone KNOWS a IPO is there to allow people to buy an insane amount due to being first in line and then selling it on to suckers... eh people who also want to sell it on to the next line of suckers. Speculation is the name of the game kid. Investment is for socialists.
The IPO was a success AND a failure. Some bought
Homeless men? (Score:1)
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That's right, I'm a certified HI-FI Whatspot! An' I was once a boxer in San Diego!
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I figure the only way using homeless people as hotspots failed was in raising awareness. Statistically nobody gave a fuck about the homeless before that, and statistically nobody cares after.
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There are lots of homeless where I presently live, SF. Mostly when I see/think/consider homeless people and their plight I feel pretty fucking rotten. I pity them, hate them, admire them, etc. I just don't know what practically can be done about them (about homelessness) and it depresses me we humans can't figure out a humane way to deal with poverty and mental illness in the midst of vast material wealth.
Seriously fellow wealthy and politically-connected humans, why is this such a problem? WTF.
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But this list is for 2012..