Gizmodo has compiled a rogues’ gallery of buggy, disappointing, and just plain pointless gadgets that all made their mark during the 2000s. If you’ve been following computing news over the past ten years, you probably remember lots of them, and may have been personally disappointed by some of them. Some highlights: Segway, wearable PC, n-Gage, Rokr.I can’t say that there are a lot of similarities holding this list together. Some are items that work well, but should be much better, lighter, cheaper, etc (such as the AppleTV, Segway, and Sony’s $800 PDA). Some were great ideas, and even good technology that were spoiled by bad industry support or tepid consumer uptake, such as the CableCard format and Intel Viiv. Some were just flat out stupid ideas. Others were brilliant ideas only because they adequately estimated the astounding level of consumer stupidity that’s out there (Anything from Monster Cable and the “Audio Grade” AC plug). One of my personal favorites is the two-in-one device where the two features are either comically unrelated or actively in conflict with one another (iPod dock/CD player, Tazer/mp3 player, mouse/phone).
Bringing this discussion back to computing, one common refrain is consumer devices that perform one task or a limited subset of tasks that can be better performed by a general-purpose, and usually less-expensive, computing device. Yes, a handheld device that only does Twitter sounds interesting, until you remember that it’s stupid. Likewise, the Audrey and every other device that’s like a real computer but more expensive and less functional.
The heartbreaking devices on this list are the pioneers. Devices that promised to do something useful, such as a WiFi or Bluetooth camera, but fail because they’re too early and the technology hasn’t caught up to the vision. I would personally like a network-enabled wristwatch, camera, car, and media player. But we’ll all just wait for the tech to evolve a bit, won’t we?
The most maddening items on the list are all technologies that have been thoroughly discredited in the marketplace because they deviated from well-accepted standards and consumer expectations, but the vendors soldier on, producing newer versions that nobody wants except the suckers who may have made a bet on a now-obsolete standard. Interestingly enough, almost all of the products in this category are made by Sony. MemoryStick, MiniDisk, Clie, UMD, ATRAC3 Walkman. Interesting, and tragic.
Some of the products on this list actually became big hits in the hacker community after they failed in the mainstream marketplace and became inexpensive bargain-bin items. Both the CueCat and the Audrey were huge hits among hackers after they failed. You used to get a CueCat for free, but now if you want one you have to pay $10 on eBay for it.
So Happy Holidays and let’s all look forward to another decade of lame gadgets.
Too much WIN for one sentence, David.
A good read about the segway http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=segway_more_complic…
I wish that every Segway in the world would just blow up.
After a huge American ran me down in Vienna on one, had the cheek to accuse me of running him down. Then having my foot in plaster for a month due to the three broken bones in my foot, you can guess that I think they are the dumbest invention of the decade.
Did it hurt more or less than if a huge American ran you down with an F350?
😀
Sitting in the rear passenger side of a ’97 Nissan Altima, I was hit by an F-350 going about 45 MPH
Somehow I only managed to crack a rib (with my elbow)and tear a few muscles in my back.
Luckily, I’m 23 and bounced. Built kinda solid I suppose
Back will never be the same, that’s for sure
Anyway, on topic, I am also sick of the Sony only junk. Memory stick? Why?! ATRAC 3?!
Get with the standards. It’s cheaper than rolling your own.
Ah! That’s what it was! I guess I was paying as much attention as everyone else was when they announced it…
The certain pet-care gadget sparked a not-that-interesting philosophical discussion in my head about the future of humanity…very disturbing indeed.
An unrelated side note: merry christmas everybody
I got a cuecat. I was considering bar coding inventory at work (film cans, etc) and using the cuecat as the reader. Nothing ever did come of the inventory stuff, though. Too bad the cuecat wasn’t USB.
Well, it is now:
http://www.collectorz.com/cuecat_barcode_scanner.php
It’s a pity MD never caught on, as it really was a nice balance between the sound of a CD and the recordability of a cassette tape. But then again what do you expect from Sony hardware? Every device they put out has some ridiculous proprietary limitation–either what it can read, how it connects to other devices or, more often than not, both. Add to it Sony not allowing anyone else to license the format and they basically shot it dead before it even came out. Now, of course, it’d be far too late as digital recorders completely trounce MD in every way possible.
Wonder when they’ll make a “worst software of the decade” list? I bet Sony’s audio CD rootkits make the top of that one. Anyone remember those? They’re worse than Apple when it comes to wanting total control over their stuff.
OSNews should make one.
Sony Rootkits
Windows Vista RTM
iTunes (what it became)
Internet Explorer 6 (again, what it became)
Code Red
Blaster
Iloveyou
I personally thought that one of the dummest ideas of the decade was the Internet refrigerator:
http://articles.smashits.com/articles/home-and-garden/87720/interne…
Edited 2009-12-25 00:49 UTC
I was unlucky enough to put two Deathstars in my shiny new PC. Both drives failed within the first few months.
In total I had 7 failed drives before I gave up on using the replacements. IBM’s reputation for reliability certainly took a knock, and I’m not surprised that IBM branded drives are a thing of the past.
Not sure it really rates as one of the “worst gadgets of the decade”, though, not in the same category as all the others on the list, asking the question “who the hell thought this was a good idea”.
The Deathstars were just one model in what had previously been a fairly reliable range of disks – they just happened to be so disastrously defective as to completely force IBM out of that market.
BMW fans were really disappointed to see the iDrive – the most un-intuitive UI in the world. The next generation is way better, but the base for comparison is very low. Besides having had Chris Bangle’s design in BMW, the iDrive is really a nonsense. Topgear did a test with the new and the old one – the new one had completed a task (with human being on the rotary push) 2 minutes ahead of the old one, AFAIR. Nice article.
The dog toy, especially the comment, had me busting up laughing. INSANE, AND they are STILL selling it!
I have to say that I have a soft spot for the Segway!
It’s kind of a geekish thing that just didn’t catch on.
(Maybe that’s why – because it was a bit geekish and “different”).
My “Segway story” is that there was a Segway delivered to our office by mistake. The office girls had a great time zooming around on it. Because of that, when it got to its rightful owner, I think it would probably have run for about 30 seconds before needing a recharge.
It’s a little early for all the “Of The Decade” articles – the decade isn’t over until the end of NEXT YEAR. Sorry, folks, but decades still go from 1 to 10, not 0 to 9. These are the same idiots who thought 2000 was the new millennium.
Unlike geeks, Jesus does not count from zero.
Last I heard, Jesus doesn’t count at all. He’s dead.
While you’re going around trying to convince everyone that 1990 is still in the 80s, the rest of us will be living our lives. A decade is any arbitrarily grouped ten years, and it’s pretty much common practice that when the tens digit changes, we mark the passing. When the hundreds digit changes, all the more so.
The 3Com Audrey brings back distant memories. I can remember hanging around Audrey hacking sites and I very nearly tried to import one to the UK. I still find devices like this sort of interesting, suppose I should go buy myself a Chumby.
I’m going to have to disagree on this one. Until cable companies actually go out of business due to overwhelming majority of content moving up to the Internet (which I’m certain will happen eventually), a good amount of cable content is going to remain encrypted. (Aside: Let’s not get into a religious argument about whether DRM is evil. I don’t like cable DRM, but it exists and it isn’t going away anytime soon. So, please, spare me from your thoughts on cable DRM, please. I really don’t care).
So, since some cable content is encrypted, you have 4 basic choices: (1) don’t use it and therefore don’t care, (2) get the cable company’s set-top box and pay for service, (3) get a pirate set-top box and risk prosecution, or (4) get a CableCard from the cable company, plug it into a digital tuner (like ATI’s), and turn your Windows PC into a PVR. Options (1) through (3) don’t interest me at all; in fact, they’re the least attractive options possible.
I have two digital tuners with CableCards, and I record programs through Windows 7 Media Center. I realize that many people like Tivo HD but, frankly, Media Center is better. Hands-down better. Read this article on EngadgetHD:
http://hd.engadget.com/2009/07/27/windows-7-media-center-review/
Forget about MythTV and other freeware PVRs. They don’t support CableCard so, therefore, they can’t decrypt premium content. Some people will BS you by saying that “it records everything that I need” but they’re full of crap. Since the digital conversion, cable companies have organized their cable line-ups in a way that you need a set-top box or a Cable Card to decrypt the most interesting content. Doubt it? Try plugging the cable from the wall directly into your TV — without going through the cable set-top box — and see how interesting it is. You will be disappointed. Welcome to the freeware experience. Not so with Cable Card.
Which brings me to the conclusion of my post. With Cable Card, I record and use the cable content the way that I want on my PC, right alongside Internet content, without being enslaved by Tivo or a proprietary cable box. In my opinion, that makes Cable Card a great solution. Better than any alternative.
Edited 2009-12-28 02:06 UTC
There’s still content worth watching on cable?
Actually, yes. I watch a fair number of historical documentaries, science & nature shows, and odd shows like Fringe and Lost. Comcast doesn’t provide most of those channels in the basic lineup. They require you to have a STB or Cable Card. Don’t get me wrong. I like the fact that there are freeware PVRs like MythTV out there. But they just don’t meet my needs, and I’m skeptical that they meet other peoples’ needs, either. Cabe companies are clawing not only with satellite providers but also Internet based TV like Hulu in order to defend their walled gardens. And they’re using ploys like the FCCs digital conversion to force consumers into using more DRM, not less. Unless MythTV et al support this trend, they risk becoming irrelevant in the short term. Longer term, I see the cable companies being relegated to a role as providing Internet pipes – and that’s about it. The walled garden will move up and out, but it will probably never truly go away unless all content is ad-supportable and trackable. My two cents.
Just a clarification about the “MythTV and other freeware DVRs don’t support CableCard” comment: Not that it may make much difference to a non-technical end user, but an open system is not allowed to use the CableCard; the system must be allowed by Cable Labs to use the CableCard and it’s not in their interest to allow a system they can’t enforce DRM control to access the content you paid for in a manner they don’t approve.
The certification required and the cable companies still controlling what and who can use the cable card is what prevents you from bring able to build your own CableCard system outside of their approved vendors list (who play by their rules, obeying copy protection and DRM flags); It’s also what has neutered the CableCard completely (that and them charging as much or more for you to be allowed to use a cable card than they charge for their own STB).
If we were allowed to, I assure you every DVR platform would support CableCard instead of a bundle of STBs with IR adapters and crap galore.
Epic fail: MythTV doesn’t work with encrypted content. People don’t care about your ideology. What matters is whether your product DELIVERS. There’s nothing stopping anyone in the open software movement from adopting reasonable encryption. FOSS people think that they can wag the dog by refusing to go with the flow and deal with DRM. Again, epic fail. Which is fine by me — and apparently most consumers — who will ignore MythTV and go with Tivo or Windows Media Center.
It costs me $1 per month for a Cable Card. Oh, the horror … the horror…
You are allowed to. You simply choose not to. Which I have no patience for.
Edited 2009-12-28 21:31 UTC
I pay $10 per month for CableCard, or $8 per month for STB. I chose the CableCard because I prefer TiVo to the crap software cox offers.
And no, it’s not possible to build an open source system that supports the DRM flags without the end user being able to disable the copy protection which circumvents to whole point of DRM, hence the reason CableLabs won’t allow it. An encryption code / piece of hardware has never been the issue.
A derogatory “Epic Fail” comment when you’re obviously ignorant on the subject might not be your best strategy for intelligent discussions in the future.
The interesting thing here is that you actually do seem to care what you are allowed to do. That’s the first time I’ve really seen a foss developer actually playing by the rules, so to speak. Most of the things we can do in foss when it comes to media, sadly, are the results of cracking encryption. DVD playback being a good example. I’m amazed no one has just been hacking away at the cablecard encryption and breaking it the way many other encryptions have been broken in foss.
Sadly, in the end, it really does come down to the fact that users don’t give a flying hoot about your ideology. Most of them want something that works. That being said, how much of an issue is it for foss really? I don’t see many actual foss developers, aside from the obviously crazy RMS and a few others (mostly fanatics who aren’t even developers mind you), that really care if their software becomes the dominant player. Most of them just want to write software that scratches their itch and make it free while doing it. The traditional marketshare concept doesn’t really apply.
Bottom line, if it doesn’t do what you need then don’t use it. It might do exactly what someone else needs, however, just because Tomcat watches encrypted cable doesn’t mean I do (I don’t watch cable at all). Use what works best for you, I’ll use what works best for me, and everybody’s happy. I really couldn’t care less if someone else finds cablecard useful, that’s up to them.
It all comes down to the “content” companies trying to control use of images and sound the same way as physical objects in order to maximize their profit margins.
The encryption and DRM they use to “prevent piracy” is basically a failure, and always will be; you can’t plug the analog hole. They use the guise of stopping the “big bad pirates” who release their content for free instead of through them as a reason for controlling how I use the content I bought…
The “real” pirates they’re trying to stop aren’t phased, there’s many ways around the “protection” if you want to make a buck; but as an honest citizen who just wants to have backup copies of my media, watch recorded streams in multiple rooms of the house, and time shift programming so I don’t have to live my life around their programming schedule, there’s no legal option for me to design and build my own custom solution unless I stick to degraded content and work around wonky annoyances.
I’m a geek, I like to program and be pretty self-sufficient, why should I be given no legal options to be a geek, only a consumer? Treating all your customers as criminals doesn’t seem like a viable long term solution to me.
It’s all moot anyway, because they’re sticking with the tried and true old methods and using law as a beat-stick instead of evolving with the times, they’ll go extinct eventually anyway, especially as the Internet and on-demand alacart content grows (unless they buy enough laws to prevent that from happening, which certainly seems to be the path of least resistance for them so far).
It’s just an annoying time to be in
.
Also, as far as I understand it, the cable-card is a hardware based de/encryption solution with a unique id registered with the cable office after coupling with the unique id of your hardware; pure software would be easy to hack, hardware, if designed well, not so much. The DRM protection the cable companies use just force people to go to the “big guy pirates” to get their content instead of paying the cable company for it.
Edited 2009-12-29 17:40 UTC
Walled gardens suck. That’s why I (at least) like the solution that CableCard provides.
Again, it is POSSIBLE for FOSS developers to create and interoperate with cryptographically secure software/hardware components; however, they wouldn’t be able to distribute the source code and keys in the clear (anybody who knows how to find psuedorandom keys can find them, even if you package them in a binary). Just like they can’t legally distribute source code that decrypts DVDs. That’s not a big deal. Just ship a binary. Ubuntu ships binary drivers that it licensed and which it doesn’t distribute source code for. They did it because they’re targeting their OS at normal people who want to do normal things like play DVDs. People who don’t give a rat’s ass about ideology. They just want the crap to work.
LOL@ignorant. In all likelihood, I’ve been coding and using technology since before you were born. I’m a kernel developer by trade, so I do know a little about this subject.
Edited 2009-12-29 23:54 UTC
Neo 1973/FreeRunner.
Maybe not pointless, but certainly buggy and a big disappointment.