The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time

**KcMizzou** · 05-26-2006, 02:55 PM

As per PC World. Numbers 1 and 2? AOL and RealPlayer.

Can't argue with that.

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...72,pg,1,00.asp

Basileus777 · 05-26-2006, 03:27 PM

Sony should have been #1. As bad as AOHell is, its not a fricken rootkit.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 05-26-2006, 03:46 PM

Zip drives...I always hated those fucktarded things.

'Hamas' Jenkins · 05-26-2006, 03:48 PM

Ahh, the CueCat, I have firsthand knowledge of those dumbass things as a former Radio$hack employee. Completely and utterly worthless, the company could not literally give them away.

Eleazar · 05-26-2006, 03:49 PM

Realplayer sucks donkey balls.

Miles · 05-26-2006, 04:58 PM

I figured this would turn up on that list somewhere.

Talisman · 05-26-2006, 10:34 PM

ROB was awesome compared to the headache-inducing VirtualBoy.

KC Jones · 05-27-2006, 05:28 AM

I wonder if I still have my parellel port external zip drive around here? Back in the day it seemed like a godsend that something could actually hold 50MB of data and be re-writtable.

**Baby Lee** · 05-27-2006, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Ahh, the CueCat, I have firsthand knowledge of those dumbass things as a former Radio$hack employee. Completely and utterly worthless, the company could not literally give them away.

When you have 1200 CDs and a couple hundred DVDs, and a collection database program that can process the CueCat's input, the fact that you can pick those babys up for next to nothing is a Godsend.

EDIT:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zip Drive

Click-click-click. That was the sound of data dying on thousands of Iomega Zip drives. Though Iomega sold tens of millions of Zip and Jaz drives that worked flawlessly, thousands of the drives died mysteriously, issuing a clicking noise as the drive head became misaligned and clipped the edge of the removable media, rendering any data on that disc permanently inaccessible.

pb]Iomega largely ignored the problem[/b] until angry customers filed a class action suit in 1998, which the company settled three years later by offering rebates on future products. And the Zip disk, once the floppy's heir apparent, has largely been eclipsed by thumb drives and cheaper, faster, more capacious rewritable CDs and DVDs.

That's bullshit. I had a Zip 100 from the start, and it eventually developed the 'click of death' after about 6 years of use. Called customer service, they sent a voucher for me to mail the unit to them, and when they verified that was the problem, send me a new unit AND 30 blank discs on my word that that was how many I had that COULD be affected.

**Baby Lee** · 05-27-2006, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Jones

I wonder if I still have my parellel port external zip drive around here? Back in the day it seemed like a godsend that something could actually hold 50MB of data and be re-writtable.

I bought the USB Zip 750 MB like 5 minutes before blank CDs started selling for a nickle per 100-pack.
Who needs rewritable when you can write a new one for 1/10 of a penny.

KC Jones · 05-27-2006, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I bought the USB Zip 750 MB like 5 minutes before blank CDs started selling for a nickle per 100-pack.
Who needs rewritable when you can write a new one for 1/10 of a penny.

Ouch - just goes to show that you never know when your most recent tech expense was the final iteration before becoming obsolete.

Side note: the really cheap Cds are known to not hold up well over time, if you have important data (family pics, etc.) on them, you may want to look into archival quality media, or at least regularly burn new discs.

**Baby Lee** · 05-27-2006, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Jones

Ouch - just goes to show that you never know when your most recent tech expense was the final iteration before becoming obsolete.

Side note: the really cheap Cds are known to not hold up well over time, if you have important data (family pics, etc.) on them, you may want to look into archival quality media, or at least regularly burn new discs.

OTOH, I bought the Zip Drive in that golden era when you could surf around and find a bajillion coupons and gift certificate codes. Think I picked it up bundled with 3 750 MB discs for around $50-60 from Buy.com.

Boozer · 05-27-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

I had a Zip 100 from the start, and it eventually developed the 'click of death' after about 6 years of use.

Safe to say that this was after 1998?

**Bugeater** · 05-27-2006, 09:47 AM

Heh, I find what they said about AOL rather amusing. I didn't buy an internet-capable PC until 2003 and of course, I didn't know any better and I signed up with AOL. It wasn't too long after when I started hearing all the grumbling about AOL being bad, so I switched to Earthlink.

For about a week.

The ****ing spam was so bad and I hated using Internet Explorer as well. And trying to get my Earthlink cancelled was like pulling teeth. I have no complaints about AOL. I also don't understand what they said about some of the internet being "walled off". I've never had trouble accessing anything.

**banyon** · 05-29-2006, 08:12 PM

Wow. This could be the worst idea I've ever seen for any product, ever:

24. DigiScents iSmell (2001)
Few products literally stink, but this one did--or at least it would have, had it progressed beyond the prototype stage.

In 2001, DigiScents unveiled the iSmell, a shark-fin-shaped gizmo that plugged into your PC's USB port and wafted appropriate scents as you surfed smell-enabled Web sites--say, perfume as you were browsing Chanel.com, or cheese doodles at Frito-Lay.com. But skeptical users turned up their noses at the idea, making the iSmell the ultimate in vaporware.

05-26-2006, 02:55 PM
KcMizzou Supporter Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Parkville MO Casino cash: $10005170	The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time As per PC World. Numbers 1 and 2? AOL and RealPlayer. Can't argue with that. http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...72,pg,1,00.asp
Posts: 54,695

05-26-2006, 03:27 PM	#2
Basileus777 MVP Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New Jersey Casino cash: $5455958	Sony should have been #1. As bad as AOHell is, its not a fricken rootkit.
Posts: 9,213

05-26-2006, 03:46 PM	#3
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $8009572	Zip drives...I always hated those fucktarded things. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 74,826

05-26-2006, 03:48 PM	#4
'Hamas' Jenkins Now you've pissed me off! Join Date: Jan 2006 Casino cash: $8009572	Ahh, the CueCat, I have firsthand knowledge of those dumbass things as a former Radio$hack employee. Completely and utterly worthless, the company could not literally give them away. __________________ "When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read 'all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics.' When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”--Abraham Lincoln
Posts: 74,826

05-26-2006, 03:49 PM	#5
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	Realplayer sucks donkey balls.
Posts: 80,659

05-26-2006, 04:58 PM	#6
Miles MVP Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Casino cash: $1652400	I figured this would turn up on that list somewhere. Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 14,521

05-26-2006, 10:34 PM	#7
Talisman Champions Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Des Moines, IA Casino cash: $3166743	ROB was awesome compared to the headache-inducing VirtualBoy.
Posts: 6,832

05-27-2006, 05:28 AM	#8
KC Jones Genious Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Colorado Casino cash: $10012761	I wonder if I still have my parellel port external zip drive around here? Back in the day it seemed like a godsend that something could actually hold 50MB of data and be re-writtable.
Posts: 5,366

05-27-2006, 09:47 AM	#14
Bugeater The Maintenance Guy Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Renovated Bugeater Estate Casino cash: $6252680	Heh, I find what they said about AOL rather amusing. I didn't buy an internet-capable PC until 2003 and of course, I didn't know any better and I signed up with AOL. It wasn't too long after when I started hearing all the grumbling about AOL being bad, so I switched to Earthlink. For about a week. The ****ing spam was so bad and I hated using Internet Explorer as well. And trying to get my Earthlink cancelled was like pulling teeth. I have no complaints about AOL. I also don't understand what they said about some of the internet being "walled off". I've never had trouble accessing anything.
Posts: 70,443

05-29-2006, 08:12 PM	#15
banyon Supporter Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Hermosa, SD Casino cash: $10176551	Wow. This could be the worst idea I've ever seen for any product, ever: 24. DigiScents iSmell (2001) Few products literally stink, but this one did--or at least it would have, had it progressed beyond the prototype stage. In 2001, DigiScents unveiled the iSmell, a shark-fin-shaped gizmo that plugged into your PC's USB port and wafted appropriate scents as you surfed smell-enabled Web sites--say, perfume as you were browsing Chanel.com, or cheese doodles at Frito-Lay.com. But skeptical users turned up their noses at the idea, making the iSmell the ultimate in vaporware.
Posts: 44,355