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Tech That Failed To Fail

Posted by samzenpus on from the so-bad-it's-good dept.

itwbennett writes "There are tech fads that flare up quickly and then, pouf, they're gone (Tamagotchi, anyone?). And then there are technologies that industry bigwigs predict will follow that familiar pattern and instead end up withstanding the test of time. The Internet, for example, has famously failed to implode, despite dire predictions by Ethernet inventor Bob Metcalfe. And what about TV, the cornerstone of the American living room? Inventor Lee DeForest, known as one of the 'fathers of the electronic age,' declared TV a commercial and financial impossibility, a sentiment that was shared by 20th Century Fox exec Darryl Zanuck. And FCC engineer T.A.M. Craven was absolutely certain back in 1961 that there was 'no chance communications space satellites will be used to provide better telephone, telegraph, television, or radio service inside the United States.'"

5 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Dont forget OSX and Linux by gabebear · · Score: 4, Informative

    They(OSX and Linux) have utterly failed to "destroy Windows on the desktop", and will continue to do so.

    I don't think Windows has failed to fail. It fails pretty well.

  2. Re:ATM machines by ZamesC · · Score: 5, Informative

    Bank close at 3PM, because, in the pre-computer days, there was several hours worth of counting & bookkeeping that had to be done between kicking the last customer out & close for the night. Why they STILL close at 3PM, is... well... tradition, I guess.

  3. Re:ATM machines by Dr_Barnowl · · Score: 4, Informative

    Brazil is changing it's ATMs to Linux. Presumably it's the year of Linux on the ATM.

  4. Re:The tech wasn't the issue though by Mr_Silver · · Score: 5, Informative

    What the iPod did was make MP3 players cool, it made them a fashion accessory.

    It was far far more than that:

    1. It was slimmer and lighter than the competition which meant it was easier to carry around with you.
    2. It was prettier than the competition and looked like it was worth the money you paid for it, you weren't embarrassed to pull it out of your pocket.
    3. It had a far better build quality. The competition were producing players with nasty plasticy buttons and creaky bodies.
    4. The battery life (I think) was better.
    5. It used Firewire instead of USB 1.1, so loading songs onto the device averaged about 1-2 seconds per song rather than the competition which was capable of about 1 minute per song.
    6. It came with iTunes which automatically managed your library, syncing and playlists whilst the competition made you drag and drop your files.
    7. It had a user interface which was easy to use and didn't make you want to cry. As opposed to the competition which never managed to produce anything with less than 7 buttons.

    Yes, it wasn't perfect - but compared to the Creative Nomand or the Archos Jukebox it was an amazing bit of kit. In fact the only people who didn't like it were Slashdot readers and that was pretty much going to guarantee it would sell like hotcakes.

    --
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  5. Re:Inventor of TV by Some+Bitch · · Score: 4, Informative

    Philo Farnsworth invented Television.

    ...a year after John Logie Baird did.