The L.A. Times Names Its Favorite Flops of the Year

SternisheFan 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.'"

Comments

Samsung 'Puppy' Video

[adibe]

So where can I find the video described at #10?

Re:Samsung 'Puppy' Video

[SternisheFan]

Can't easily find the video, lots of Korean company jokes though.

http://www.businessinsider.com/samsung-pulls-its-horrible-puppy-abuse-ad-2012-11?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Falleyinsider%2Fsilicon_alley_insider+(Silicon+Alley+Insider)

Re:Samsung 'Puppy' Video

[MaXiMiUS]

Haven't been able to find the entire video yet, but I found this: http://video.online.ua/ukr/384821/ubiystvo-pk/

Re:Samsung 'Puppy' Video

[hairyfish]

What. The. Fuck.
Personally I thought that was really funny, but how did anyone anywhere think that would be acceptable for a public commercial?

Facebook IPO

[Bizzeh]

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...

Re:Facebook IPO

[UnknowingFool]

Um, Apple Maps fiasco wasn't about the software. The software works fine; the data behind the software is the problem. Google maps also had issues in the beginning until they spent lots of time and money on better data. Remember the war driving scandal with Google? That was when their mapping cars were found to be collecting Wifi data in addition to simply mapping streets. Maybe Apple should have relied on Google map data for another year (as they still had a year left on their contract) but the software was fine.

Re:Facebook IPO

[AliasMarlowe]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Concerned Onlooker]

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

[uniquename72]

Actually the analogy works against you.

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Dogtanian]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[ColdWetDog]

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

[UnknowingFool]

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 fuel tank, do you bring it in to have the engine replaced?

Apple releasing a new mapping app does not solve their problem in the slightest bit unless they changed the source of their data from their own internal data to use Google's. In fact, many people I know have not upgraded to IOS 6 until Google released their own app (which used their data).

Re:Facebook IPO

[hairyfeet]

Meh the list sucks, no Lumia, no Surface, no Windows 8. When you look at how much money has been shat right down the drain launching those 3 products its just insanity and its pretty much agreed by most that all 3 are megabombs. Just look at the figures of the Surface, as low as 500k after massive advertising and with Windows 8 the finger pointing has begun with OEMs coming out of the woodwork to say Win 8 is a poor product (the latest is Fujitsu, I'd provide a link but its on Yahoo Finance which creates insanely long URLs) and Ballmer proving he's not afraid to go full retard by basically giving the finger to the OEMs and deciding to make overpriced laptops, phones, and desktops so that if anybody doubted Ballmer's MSFT was just a poorly built Apple those doubts are over.

I don't see how this could be anything but the #1 spot, we are talking billions of dollars wasted on products nobody wanted, retailers can't move the things and in fact the sales from Oct-Dec were down 13% over the same period last year and so far every indication is its Win 8 that kept those shoppers away, we are talking HP buying Palm levels of uberfail here folks. I believe history will look back on this and say this was when we saw that marketing droids simply can't shovel overpriced shit down the throats of consumers and get them to buy based on nothing but flashy ads, because 4 billion in flashy ads couldn't keep Lumia and Win 8 from being another Vista. Talk about a trainwreck, this deserves the "WTF were they thinking?" award of 2012, no competition came even close to this level of fail.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Anonymous Coward]

> 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?

Re:Facebook IPO

[sottitron]

I think that people keep forgetting that Google Maps on the iPhone does turn-by-turn driving directions now. I think this is the #1 reason Apple put their maps on the iPhone. Google wasn't going to put turn by turn directions on the iPhone if they weren't prodded.

Re:Facebook IPO

[drainbramage]

They are pointing out their expertise and wit, not their ability to use the web, reason, or facts.
Hope that helps.

Re:Facebook IPO

[iserlohn]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[dadelbunts]

Ford pinto is its a horrible car. Apple maps is its a horrible piece of software. Ford pinto = car Apple Maps = software Arguing details like some autist doesnt make Apple Maps a horrible piece of software.

Re:Facebook IPO

[DrgnDancer]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[SternisheFan]

I had a Pinto, and it's V6 cousin the AMC Bobcat. Seized the engine on the Pinto, was always worried about getting rear ended, and friends made fun of the Bobcat because a label next to the shift read something like, "Make sure lever is fully engaged in "Park". Vehicle may slip into reverse." If it it didn't lock into place with a 'click', I'd sometimes have to chase it down on foot.

Re:Facebook IPO

[TheRealMindChild]

I want an MS Surface. But $200 is all I'm going to pay.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Teun]

Uhhh, Apple contracted TomTom for the maps where they work fine, it really was Apple's software that doesn't know what to do with the maps.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Terrasque]

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 :)

Re:Facebook IPO

[Attila Dimedici]

Without the data the app is worthless, from what I hear, with the data the app is worse than worthless. You are making a distinction that is not a distinction. Does any other app use the same data as Apple Maps? Does an Apple Maps user have the option of using different data? If the answer to both questions is "no", than whether the app stinks because it was badly coded or because the data it used is bad is irrelevant. In that case, the app stinks.

Re:Facebook IPO

[UnknowingFool]

I thought that on a site like Slashdot, geeks would understand the difference between bad data and bad coding. For example, I could argue that Java is a horrible language because it is interpreted, right? Facts and details don't matter do they?

Re:Facebook IPO

[Bigbutt]

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]

Re:Facebook IPO

[Bizzeh]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[guruevi]

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 seem to be in Asia where government data isn't all that accurate.

That's talking about actual map data (the thing that may get you lost). 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?

Why is the POI data so inaccurate? Because most of it is gleaned from mobile devices with very inaccurate GPS data. For that you can blame all non-iOS and non-Android devices (and even some very cheap Android devices). Symbian and Blackberry both had major issues with the GPS coordinates and when those are then passed through apps to things like Yelp (which resells to the GPS vendors), hilarity ensues.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Dr Herbert West]

Mod parent insightful-- I think that's a major part of iDevice's success. Don't forget that with iDevices you can't really tinker under the hood to get it working, either-- you have to trust that if you keep tapping the screen eventually something will happen. It's easier to make that leap of faith since "it's easy and just works".

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.. but I find microwaves' UI to be kind of baffling. "Dinner plate" setting? What does that even mean-- is it the same cooking time for collard greens and corn as for a steak? (That's a real button on my microwave, BTW).

Re:Facebook IPO

[hairyfeet]

Thanks as you just PERFECTLY illustrated the problem with Ballmer's MSFT! Ballmer has it in his head that the ONLY difference between a Walmart brand and a Macy's brand is the price, while being completely fucking clueless that for a brand like Apple it literally took decades to build up the brand identity and get the products perceived the way the are. 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!

This is why the Ballmer reign is gonna go down as a bigger disaster than the Pepsi guy at Apple, because while the Pepsi guy simply pout out too many similar products with price points all over the place Ballmer thinks he can slap a paintjob on a Pinto and it will magically compete with a Porsche. You see Windows 8 and Surface is NOT MADE FOR YOU the consumer, nope its made for WALL STREET, to please the stock jockies that love to see high prices as an indicator of a high end product. But that doesn't work if nobody buys the product and the consumer doesn't consider the brand worth the money, it would be like raising the price of coke to 1 million dollars for a 2 liter. Sure if they manage to sell one they make plenty of profits but when you look at the lost sales and the warehouses full of rapidly expiring products (because just like Cola PCs have a shelf life, nobody is gonna want to buy the old chips when the new chips come out, not without STEEP discounts) they end up losing their shirts. This is the exact same thing that Ballmer is doing and if you'll look at the last link he is going "full retard" by putting MSFT into the hardware business, selling grossly overpriced laptops and desktops as well...why? Well that what Apple does isn't it?

If your customers won't buy the product as it is jacking the price 50% isn't gonna make it more valuable, its gonna torpedo it. Instead of cutting the shit out of the prices so they could get people to use Metro and the new Windows design they jacked the living shit out of prices (higher than an iPad? Are you shitting me?) and he is gonna fucking kill the company. I think the only real hope MSFT has is if the board quits smoking weed and fires Ballmer's fat ass and brings in one of the old guard, since Gates won't come back I'd try to get Allchin or Ozzie, and have them LISTEN TO THE CONSUMER and put out products that people want, not what Wall Street wants to hear.

This is why I think Lumia, Surface and Win 8 deserve the top spot, as its a multi-billion dollar disaster that is a perfect illustration of Wall Street and Madison Avenue thinking over common sense.

Re:Facebook IPO

[UnknowingFool]

Apple has only two choices: fix their data or using other data. Changing the app otherwise helps no one.

Re:Facebook IPO

[SternisheFan]

Cool story, you're lucky, it could've ended worse. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=rcNeorjXMrE&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrcNeorjXMrE

Re:Facebook IPO

[Kielistic]

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 don't have to defend them, they'll be alright.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Attila Dimedici]

Or they could return to using the app that they used before they started using this one. The fact of the matter is that as things stand, the app is broken. It makes no difference to anyone outside of Apple whether the reason the app is broken is because it has bad data or because it has bad code.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Anonymous Coward]

In hindsight, MS should have done what they did with the original Xbox and sold their tablets at a loss, flood the market and made them ubiquitous. Then make money on the accessories, apps. They were late to the mobile game, and needed to come out strong.

Re:Facebook IPO

[jelizondo]

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

Re:Facebook IPO

[Kielistic]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[fostware]

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 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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Attila Dimedici]

As long as the data the app is using is broken the app does not work. THE APP DOES NOT WORK. Or at least it does not work well.
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

[mianne]

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 the very first press release I got wind ~1yr ago. Perhaps I am biased in that I scored one of the fire sale TouchPad's back in August 2011, which I've since replaced with a Kindle Fire.

I did some contract work for an MS store just ahead of their October unveiling, and saw the manager working 16 hour days trying to ensure a successful release event. It was all I could do not to let her see me shaking my head and muttering "Poor thing!" as she talked about her high hopes and expectations for the event and beyond.

Re:Facebook IPO

[DeSigna]

SBS is discontinued past SBS2011 - you just have to buy the separate products and pay for them unbundled (about a 15% increase in price on a project, depending on your CAL model and quantity - going on a 20 seat basis here). Server Essentials 2012 is something else that's been around for a while with one name or another.

You're entirely correct about them pushing the cloud model with these changes - we've had a bit of pressure coming down the channel to push Azure and 365, which has been met on our end with a mixture of quiet sniggering and outright mirth.

Re:Facebook IPO

[hairyfeet]

Again another example of the "Ballmer disconnect", push products people don't want and prices they won't pay, push "buzzwords" like cloud and then make them completely undesirable with retarded prices and licensing schemas designed not to let the customer buy what they need but to wring every last cent out of every property, and then be SHOCKED! Shocked i tell you, when the stock tanks and the products go down in flames.

Mark my words fostware, if they don't give Ballmer's fat ass a good kicking the next 3 years are gonna make the past "lost decade" look like the release of Win95, he is practically destroying every business they have left in a foolish delusion that high prices = Apple market. they are fucking their OEMs who I have NO doubt are in talks with Google right now about what features they need the ChromeOS to have to push it over Windows, they are fucking the living hell out of SMBs and enterprise with crazy prices and trying to shove everything into SaaS so many of them will also be talking to Google about an exit strategy to get away from this mess, and they are fucking the consumer by trying to push overpriced shit the consumer doesn't want so Apple and Google will be taking a good chunk of THAT market as well.

Frankly not since RIM have I seen a company that had so much going for it stick a gun to its own head and kill itself so completely. Look up "Windows Blue" to see Ballmer's full retard roadmap for the next 5 years, hell they might as well have called it "See what Apple is doing? We're just gonna ape that but shitty and half baked" for all the good its gonna do. For fuck's sake MSFT give ME the job and I'll right the fucking ship in less than 3 years or you won't owe me a fucking dime!

Re:Facebook IPO

[hairyfeet]

I did RTFA but they fucked up by splitting them, that would be like giving one slot to laptops and another to desktops, it made no fucking sense. the Lumia/Surface/Win 8 trio of fail was all under ONE umbrella and that was Ballmer's "high prices and cellphone UIs equal Apple"" delusion. All three were advertised by the same marketing groups, I don't know how many ads I saw pushing the three as a coherent strategy, lets face it it was three sides to the same die and that was the whole "We're hip now so buy our overpriced shite!" mantra.

And if that were me I probably would have told her the truth on the last day of the contract, no point in letting the poor thing get her hopes up only to end up sitting all alone like the ugly girl at the prom. I would tell people that were foolish enough to buy Vista "I'm sorry" with a tsk tsk and shake of my head, i knew that was a bomb from the beta, same as I knew after fighting Win 8 for a month and a half that the thing was gonna be a trainwreck. And who in the fuck thought people would want to buy a Windows that don't run X86 programs? That would be like saying "How do you like this new iPad copy? It doesn't actually run any programs, but it does look just like an iPad" well what fucking good is that? Did they honestly think people buy Windows because they LIKE the brand? That they get hard or moist from seeing the WinFlag? Talk about a fucking disconnect with reality.

But I do apologize, I should have made my position more clear as I don't think you can judge any of those as a separate device as its all part of Ballmer's "master plan" to have people using a WinPhone while playing with a WinTab and going home to their WinPC, if you look at their roadmap for next year you will see I'm right in this belief. after all they are gonna try to fuck all the OEMs so you'll have to go to a MSFT store where you'll have MSFTPhone with MSFTTab next to MSFTDesktop and MSFTLaptop thereby finally putting any last shreds of dignity or differences with Apple to rest, it'll be "Welcome to MSFTWorld!" with nothing but overpriced shite in stores that look like ghost towns, truly pathetic and this is coming from somebody that has sold and serviced Windows system since 3.x and even I'm looking at exit strategies.

Re:Facebook IPO

[pjt33]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Patch86]

"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 Inc. or iPhone users are feeling inclined to boycott Google on moral grounds. The fact is that Apple (seller of expensive, top of class premium devices) removed a polished and much loved piece of software from their phones and replaced it with something broken, unsatisfactory and not fit for prime time. And those phones cost £570 each.

Re:Facebook IPO

[drinkypoo]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Black LED]

Oh yeah?

Re:Facebook IPO

[b1t r0t]

Wait two years. That should be about when they get dumped because of lack of sales, and corporate ADD on the part of Microsoft.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Hentes]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[argStyopa]

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.

Re:Facebook IPO

[MisterSquid]

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 traveling to new cities, when conducting business in unfamiliar environs, etc.

Anyhow, yeah, GPS is really important and once one gets access to it, there really isn't any going back, is there?

Re:Facebook IPO

[MisterSquid]

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"?

Re:Facebook IPO

[UnknowingFool]

I never said the codebase is great. What I said was the problem seems to be the data and not the app functionality itself. Except for voice instructions and 3D, the basic functionality is the same. Removing the new functionality makes little difference if the data they are using is still bad. I work in data all day. It is surprising to me how often IT has to explain that garbage in = garbage out, and that bad data doesn't magically get fixed by a new SQL database server or new coding. The other week, the business side was miffed that IT couldn't get them some piece of data they desperately wanted. Despite explaining that they were not recording the data anywhere in their business process, they didn't understand why IT wouldn't help them get it out of the database server.

Re:Facebook IPO

[Dr Herbert West]

That has never occurred to me in all the years I've had that microwave-- that there would be a setting for dishes rather than food.

See? Bad UI design... sometimes results in a PEBKAC error.

Re:Facebook IPO

[AmiMoJo]

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 are curated by TomTom themselves, with some very limited user input. Google's database is much better because they can tie it up with web data and with Street View data. If you ask to go to house number 33 in a road they know exactly where it is because their image recognition software read the number off the front door. They know where shops are because of the building numbers and signs visible from the street.

I think Apple will inevitably have to develop their own version of Street View, or find someone else replicating it and buy the data from them. Then they will have to develop all the advanced processing Google has, and start crawling the web or do a tie up with some search engine to link everything up. It is going to take them years.

Re:Facebook IPO

[hairyfish]

Interesting. I took it to mean that you have a plate full of dinner (meat and vege etc) that you want heated?
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?

Seriously?

[Anonymous Coward]

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!

Re:Seriously?

[Jetra]

Except it's about the OS and not the code, so how did C# come to mind?

Re:Seriously?

[UnknowingFool]

Most likely because of the MS monopoly, few consumers have a choice. OEMs will install Win 8 on most new PCs; some OEMs may be forced to offer Win 7 downgrades if the uproar is loud enough. Now the Surface tablets may be a flop as consumers when presented with the choice between Android, iPad, or Surface most likely are picking iPad and Android over Surface.

Re:Seriously?

[vux984]

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?

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:Seriously?

[Bizzeh]

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/, its also increasing pretty quickly.

Re:Seriously?

[ahabswhale]

No way, dude! It's paradigm shifting! You just don't get it. What, are you like a 80??

Re:Seriously?

[UnknowingFool]

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.

Re:Seriously?

[gmuslera]

So if Windows 8/Surface/WinPhone8 don't sell this december as much as Microsoft predicted, would be a 2013 flop? Or we will have to wait till 2020 to list them in the flops of the decade?

Re:Seriously?

[Terrasque]

* 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.

Re:Seriously?

[thereitis]

I'm surprised that Windows 8 didn't make the list, too. When you have store clerks swaying customers towards Windows 7 equipped laptops to avoid the Windows 8 "experiment", that's got to indicate some sort of major failure.

Re:Seriously?

[Samizdata]

* 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.

I am in on Windows 8 sucking. Of course, that is somewhat hypothetical, based on the fact that I have yet to be able to use it, as my legitmately purchased update will not install on my netbook.

Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[l0ungeb0y]

They are no longer free and require registration, unless linked to from Google News.

Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[SternisheFan]

1. Apple Maps fiasco How bad was it when Apple replaced Google Maps with its own mapping system on iOS 6? Well, a Tumblr blog showing Apple Maps' biggest fails emerged days after the release, and Apple chief executive Tim Cook issued an apology and suggested iOS 6 users download alternate mapping tools. Then in December, Australian police accused Apple Maps of stranding motorists in a national park, shaming the company once again.

2. Path privacy breach It all started when Arun Thampi, a programmer in Singapore, blogged that the app for the social network Path was downloading his entire address book—including names, emaill addresses, and phone numbers--without asking his permission. The tech blogs took the story and ran with it, and before long, Path had a major publicity issue on its hands. Eventually, company founder Dave Morin issued an apology, and updated the app so users can opt in or out of sharing their contact list.

3. Facebook IPO When Facebook went public in May, many people bought its stock thinking they’d strike it rich quick. Many thought the IPO would be the most successful since Google went public in 2004. After a few hours of gains, the stock slide back to its opening price, but concerns over Facebook’s position on the mobile platform kept the slide going for going for the next few months.

The stock seems to have finally stabilized and has made gains since bottoming out, but it’s still more than $10 below its $38 opening day price. 4. Nokia's fake photos Nokia impressed quite a few people when it announced its latest flagship phone the Lumia 920 in September. Specifically, a Web ad showing the phone’s video recording and night-photographing capabilities made the Lumia 920 noteworthy. Unfortunately, Nokia’s positive press coverage went away when it was discovered the footage and photos used in the ad were not actually taken by the phone. In the end, Nokia had to issue an apology and label the video as a simulation.

4. Nokia's fake photos Nokia impressed quite a few people when it announced its latest flagship phone the Lumia 920 in September. Specifically, a Web ad showing the phone’s video recording and night-photographing capabilities made the Lumia 920 noteworthy. Unfortunately, Nokia’s positive press coverage went away when it was discovered the footage and photos used in the ad were not actually taken by the phone. In the end, Nokia had to issue an apology and label the video as a simulation.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/27/tech/web/top-tech-stories-2012/

Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[SternisheFan]

5. Instagram Instagram felt the wrath of its user base after announcing new terms of service that said the social network could let companies pay to use people’s photos for ads that would run within Instagram. That angered a lot of the service’s users, who began threatening to leave Instagram and take their photos with rival apps. Within days, Instagram caved to users’ demands and reverted back to its older terms of service.

6. Research In Motion The last year has been a tough one in general for Research In Motion, filled with plenty of embarrassments. For starters, the company failed to deliver on its goal of releasing BlackBerry 10, the next version of its mobile operating system, before the year’s end and delayed the software multiple times. So what did the Canadian company do to keep developers from leaving? It gathered several senior executives for an embarrassing cover of REO Speedwagon’s “Keep on Loving You,” with words changed to entice developers not to lose faith on the BlackBerry platform. Then, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins and a company vice president were spotted at a Lakers game with what were believed to be new BlackBerry 10 phones. It seemed the CEO was making a sneaky attempt at getting some free shots of his upcoming device in the press.

7. Oprah’s Surface tweet The Microsoft Surface got one of the best endorsements any product can get when Oprah Winfrey tweeted about how much she loved the tablet and had already bought 12 of them as holiday gifts. Unfortunately for Microsoft, though, it was quickly discovered that Oprah sent the tweet using an iPad. The embarrassing endorsement, though probably still helpful, highlighted the biggest issue about the product: its lack of apps, including a Twitter app. 8. The Facebook chair: In October, Facebook announced it had reached 1 billion monthly users. To celebrate, the company released its first ad, comparing Facebook to.chairs. “Chairs are for people,” a heartfelt voice over tell us, “and that is why chairs are like Facebook.” The toilet-themed parody was inevitable and swift. After all, toilets are for people too. 9. Homeless people as Wi-Fi hotspots: It's hard to imagine how anyone at BBH Labs thought that using homeless people as Wi-Fi hotspots at SXSW was a good idea, but it happened, and it got a lot of attention. Wired wrote that it sounds "like something out of a darkly satirical science fiction dystopia" but BBH Labs called it "a charitable experiment." 10. Samsung's killing puppies commercial: If you blinked, you missed it, but for a few hours in November, Samsung was running a commercial that showed people beating on computers cutely animated with puppy dog eyes, ears, and tails. The commercial for SSD 840--a flash drive--was quickly taken down. But those of us who saw it, wish we hadn't.

Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[SternisheFan]

Links... 1: Tumbler blog http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/

2: blog http://mclov.in/2012/02/08/path-uploads-your-entire-address-book-to-their-servers.html Apology http://blog.path.com/post/17274932484/we-are-sorry

8: First ad http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=c7SjvLceXgU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dc7SjvLceXgU Parody http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=-2vfxnfWGRA&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D-2vfxnfWGRA

9: Homeless people http://bbh-labs.com/homeless-hotspots-a-charitable-experiment-at-sxswi Wrote http://www.wired.com/business/2012/03/the-damning-backstory-behind-homeless-hotspots-at-sxswi/

Other links to LATimes articles, I did not know they were paywalled, lo siento. S.F.

Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[El_Oscuro]

An easy way to get around the LA Times Paywall and similar ones is to just select Private Browsing. Then you can read all you want. Assuming there is something worth reading.

Re:Why are we linking to the LA Times?

[MrHanky]

So the major tech gaffes of the year, according to the LA Times, are mainly advertising fiascos.

How about the Vita?

[Stormwatch]

Okay, its japanese release was in december last year, but I think it still counts. Darn thing can't even outsell the PSP!

Re:How about the Vita?

[Osgeld]

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

[tuppe666]

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
Think Digit http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/The-5-biggest-tech-failures-of-2012_11866.html
Read Write http://readwrite.com/2012/12/14/top-10-epic-tech-gadget-failures ...
Why pick the one that is designed for a tablet..or one that doesn't mention Windows 8; Windows Phone 8...or Surface.

Re:Designed for browsing on a phone

[SternisheFan]

I used my android phone to post/submit, my laptop was sabotaged by a "so called friend" who poured water into it some time ago. One does what one can with what one has. :^(

http://www.valuewalk.com/2012/12/the-top-10-colossal-tech-fails-of-2012/

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/28/tech/web/tech-fails-2012/

4G is missing. LTE

[Bizzeh]

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 because they changed the number from 4S to 5 and re-released the same phone, and the pain is, they were right, their customers are that stupid.

Re:4G is missing. LTE

[RyuuzakiTetsuya]

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).

Re:4G is missing. LTE

[dugancent]

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.

Re:4G is missing. LTE

[TheRealMindChild]

Car analogy. It is like buying the next year model of your favorite car, that regardless the engineering differences, gets the same gas mileage/performance at the previous years model. Except for in terms of a car, the lifetime of which it exists matters. In the case of a cell phone, it is a disposable computer

Re:4G is missing. LTE

[RyuuzakiTetsuya]

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.

Obligatory...

[sconeu]

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!

Re:Obligatory...

[SternisheFan]

The problems I've read about Windows8 is A) They don't have a touchscreen monitor, and B) Expect a more professional non-smartphone acting interface. From what I read you can revert to a more 'normal' setup with a button or two, it's still like an improved Win7 OS.

And aren't MS products still #1 where security is concerned? I'm asking for when I get another computer going I don't know whether to get a Win7 or Win8.

Re:Obligatory...

[Ash-Fox]

Shame you did not read my responses.

Re:Obligatory...

[SternisheFan]

Shame you did not read my responses.

Just went through some, you say it took you 15 minutes to figure 8 out. If I'm buying new, I do want the best. My dilemma is I've got a few thousand rare songs on 9 Win7 dvd restore disks, so I'll be looking for that os, then I'd pay for the upgrade.

Think of it more as a nail

[smartin]

As in the final nail in Ballmer's coffin.

Apple Maps - what went wrong

[Animats]

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.

Until? Google still has data problems

[SuperKendall]

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" 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 something, like claiming a baptist church in wyoming is the place to find a "demon statue" .

It also means that when you zoom all the way in to Denver International Airport on the map and search for "airport" again, you get some absurd results (but still not the airport you have filling the screen on your map).

Also personally I have found that Apple Maps has better routing for driving than Google. For metro use, there are a number of transit apps that have better presentation of data than Google does in their mobile app, and also some have real-time position data that Google Maps does not show.

Re:nah, you are reading it wrong

[TheRealMindChild]

News business just has to talk

Someone needs to learn the difference between data and information

Missing -- Knight

[istartedi]

They should have Knight Capital 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.

Yes, you can do that an on iPad

[SuperKendall]

Why not just get RemoteFX for the iPad?

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.

Re:No Dice

[Andrewkov]

But this list is for 2012..

Facebook IPO was a huge success

[drew_eckhardt]

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.

petaflops

[terec]

I prefer petaflops. Lots of them.

Re:Homeless men?

[Vreejack]

That's right, I'm a certified HI-FI Whatspot! An' I was once a boxer in San Diego!

Re:Homeless men?

[drinkypoo]

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.

What are you talking about

[SmallFurryCreature]

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 low and sold high for them it was a success, those who bought high and had to sell low are the ones complaining, mostly because they are upset THEY didn't manage to buy low and sell high. The only people who lost were speculators and the occasional investor who doesn't understand Wall Street.

the Nature of Technological Evolution

[m.shenhav]

Its a Trial and Error process. While there is a right way and a wrong way to do this trial and error - one must frequently simply try and see what happens.

Re:Homeless men?

[MisterSquid]

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.