Technological inventions: the biggest failures in history
New ideas and inventions are driving technology development in all areas of our life. Some hit like a bomb and change our everyday life sustainably, others are quickly forgotten. We took a closer look at the biggest technology failures in recent history.
Good idea - better competition: HD DVD and IBM OS / 2
Flops a new technique, it does not necessarily mean that the idea was bad. Sometimes the competition just has better - or better marketing. The decision whether an innovation makes a breakthrough is often up to the consumer.
- The HD DVD (High Density Digital Versatile Disc) should replace the conventional DVD as a high-resolution version. In 2006 Toshiba launched the first HD DVD player. At the same time, a merger of nine companies developed the Blu-ray Disc. This "Blu-ray Group" included powerful groups such as Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Sony and Samsung. Apple and Acer later joined. A bitter battle for the market began, which Toshiba finally recognized as lost in 2008 and ceased to develop, manufacture and market the HD DVD.
- Software often belongs to technology. Here, too, there were promising ideas that could not prevail. For example, IBM launched its own operating system in the mid-1990s. However, IBM OS / 2 had no chance against Windows. However, that was not only due to the power of Microsoft. The IBM OS / 2 had too great demands on the hardware at that time. It took 12 MB of RAM alone - a lot at the time. In addition, there was simply a lack of programs for the operating system.
Bulky and simply too expensive - the LaserDisc
The LaserDisc is felt to be from the middle ages of technology. Introduced by Pioneer for the first time in 1986, the innovative and convincing optical storage medium, which was convincing due to its very high image quality, could not prevail at least in Europe.
- The LaserDisc was the size of a record. However, there was not much space for film: after 60 minutes it was over. The technology flopped not only because of the unwieldy size. There were only playback devices from Pioneer - and they still cost just under DM 3, 000 in the 1990s. When the technology came onto the market, a film on a LaserDisc also cost a whopping DM 100 - too much to be suitable for the masses.
Not a good star from the start: The WeTab
In 2010, the small German company 4tiitoo AG set out to compete with the iPad. The WeTab was originally to be called WePad, but the giant Apple insisted on brand name rights, which he saw infringed. Everything else that can be done wrong was actually done wrong.
- Even the presentation of the tablet looked more than professional. The tablet was there, but an operating system was still missing.
- After several postponements, the WeTab came on the market in September 2010 - and still made an unfinished impression. At that time we subjected it to a detailed CHIP test.
- The then managing director also made negative headlines. Under a false name, he placed reviews on Amazon that praised the WeTab in the sky.
- The development of the OS has been discontinued since 2013. But that didn't even come from the manufacturer. Followers of the tab developed their own Linux distribution, but it never made it beyond the beta version.
Flop here - top there: the MiniDisc
A technology fail can also be regionally limited. The best example of this is the MiniDisc from Sony.
- The MiniDisc was supposed to compete with the CD in the 90s. It also had some advantages over the adversary. So it wasn't just smaller: it was rewritable from the start.
- The customers chose the CD anyway. The MiniDisc could hardly gain a foothold - except in Japan. Here the MiniDisc was extremely popular and a hit.
- Sony ceased production in 2013.
Even market leaders go wrong
The approach was good, the result devastating: Microsoft's OS surface "Bob". Never heard? No wonder - after less than a year, Bob was taken off the market again.
- Windows 3.1 was current when Microsoft developed "Bob", an additional program that installed a user interface specially designed for Windows beginners.
- However, the implementation of the idea got quite out of hand. The screen, designed like a living room, confused with its "furnishings" rather than leading.
- Windows 95 started shortly thereafter. A revolution in user interface compared to Windows 3.1. Many of the principles of user guidance introduced at that time were adopted in subsequent versions.
Something that takes a long time ...
A technology flop does not necessarily have to disappear from the scene forever. Some things sound so crazy that it is immediately dismissed as a gimmick. Perhaps, however, the time is not yet ripe for an invention. A vivid example of a technical invention that at the time could be called a classic fail is the hybrid engine.
$config[ads_text5] not found- Already in 1902, over 100 years ago, Ferdinand Porsche won the Exelbergrennen with a gasoline-electric car. Porsche called the car "Mixte-Wagen". At that time there was no need for this type of engine, the idea was in the drawer for decades. Today hybrid engines are considered extremely modern and innovative.
There will also be further technical innovations in the future. Some will be a hit, others will end up in the bin. The SmartHome, for example, is a quite new concept. It is not yet clear whether it will change our life and living really. In this article, however, we explain what it means and what effects SmartHome can have.
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