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What a year for technology, what with all its tiny tablets and overhauled operating systems. But for every Nexus 7 triumph, a Nexus Q disaster reared its gruesome head. Here are the worst screw-ups the tech industry endured in 2012. Advanced warning: They’re not for the faint of heart.
9. SOPA
The only reason SOPA’s not at the top of this list is that it didn’t pass. It didn’t even make it to a vote. But the worst internet regulation bill in, well, ever came dangerously close to becoming a law this year. That it made it as far as it did is embarrassing, and more than a little bit terrifying.
8. Anything the HP Board Thought or Did
It was a rough year for HP on almost every conceivable front. After wasting away its £900 million Palm investment in 2011, it lost webOS Big Brain Jon Rubenstein, spent months dithering under new CEO Meg Whitman, and announced that its £7 billion prize purchase, Autonomy, was actually riddled with (very expensive) fraud. Oh and uh, still waiting on that phone, guys.
7. Google’s Search Plus Your World Launch
By shoe-horning Google+ into its showcase product—search—Google diminished its user experience by leaps and bounds. It’s fine that Google wants to give its fledgling social network as much juice as it can spare. But making social search an opt-out product—instead of opt-in—made Google searches worse by default, and gave Bing the opening it needed to get a foothold.
6. Trusting Sabu
Just when you think you know the guy who’s the poster child for your international hacking syndicate, he goes and gives up everything and everyone you know and love to the FBI. Whoops! The high-level Anonymous arrests that followed Sabu’s betrayal gutted the mischief-makers so deeply the group still hasn’t recovered, and may never.
Image by gualtiero boffi/Shutterstock
5. Intel’s Phony CES Demo
Intel’s demonstration of Ivy Bridge-based ultrabooks this past January was terrifically impressive. It was also totally fake. While the company claimed that the graphically intensive racing game on stage was being played in real-time, it was actually a prerecorded video clip. There’s nothing wrong with showing a video of your product instead of doing it live; what hurt the most in this case was—as it always is—the lying.
4. Nokia’s Fake Lumia 920 Ad
Another one from the big fake fakers file. When Nokia showed off the PureView camera technology on its Lumia 920, we were left agog at its stabilization capabilities. And even more so when we found out the images weren’t actually taken with a Lumia 920 at all. And then again when Nokia claimed it never said it was a 920 demo in the first place. It was misleading, but most of all it was insulting. Again, there’s nothing wrong with showing product simulations. But trying to pass them off at the real thing—and getting caught—is about as big a screw-up as you can do.
3. Apple and Amazon Security Holes
Until just a few months ago, it was mind-bogglingly easy to get access to someone’s Apple or Amazon accounts, and to summarily wipe out their entire digital existence (sorry, Mat!) The worst part though? Both companies knew about the loophole, and did nothing to shut it down until public outcry forced them to. Kudos to Amazon for the quick fix; stern finger-wag to Apple for dragging its heels.
2. Nexus Q
Google introduced its odd little media-streaming spheroid with terrific fanfare back in June, without ever clearly making the case for why anyone would actually want a £200 Android exclusive alien dung beetle deposit in their living room. Also: it didn’t work, to the point that Google pulled the plug on the Q before it could ever officially ship. And made the ones that did leave the warehouse retroactively free.
1. Apple Maps
The apocalyptic horror show that was the Apple Maps launch would have been a disaster from any company, but it was a particularly unexpected disaster from one that has historically placed so much value on things just working right out of the box. How bad is it? Apple added a Maps section to its own App Store so that you wouldn’t have to use its unfortunate effort. It apologized publicly and repeatedly. And it fired at least two prominent executives—including Scott Forstall, the Godfather of iOS.
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The distinct lack of gallery view: one of many advantages Giz UK has over the original
My god how I hate gallery views!
Also the fact that police in Australia today said that one Apple maps mistake over there could be life threatening, having dumped people in the centre of an area with no water source, that can hit 46 degrees celcius.
Although that could be seen as evolution in progress – anyone who relies on their mobile phone and doesn’t kinda notice the kanagroos, desert, blistering heat and sense of “not being in the middle of Sydney” is probably no great loss to society,
Anyone who doesn’t instinctively notice danger or not know that they’re getting lost before they actually get lost is too bloody stupid to be let out in public! Don’t blame technology for getting you lost, you should know! Smartphones and sat navs haven’t been around that long, mankind managed for thousands of years without electronics to tell them where they are. It’s just common sense
The Nexus Q, like stated, was announced yet never released, bigger vapour ware in the word, technically as it was never sold then it can’t be a screw up and shouldn’t really make the list – it can only really be a screw up if Google pumped in all their profits to develop it, which they didn’t. Seems like a case of Apple fucked up really bad at number one, lets deflect that and pretend Google is number 2.
Sorry buddy, but it’s a pretty big screw up to accept pre-orders for it and not release it. If they hadn’t accepted pre-orders, I’d agree with you. However, it was definitely a smaller cock up than HP’s stuff. HP’s stuff really should be number 1 – biggest direct impact on the company.
Printer apps. PRINTER APPS.
What printer apps?!!?!?!?
But taking pre-orders for a unfinished product is buyer beware, we know this – it is incomplete. No harm caused to the intended buyer, just disappointment if it doesn’t appear, but they did a amazing catch to prevent that.
If the number two screw up of the year is succeeding in stopping a substandard product going to market while keeping the intended buyers happy then what an amazing year for everyone. I am guessing the number 1 screw up of the year isn’t that bad after all… just googled it – yikes, that is really fucking bad, why haven’t I seen this before? Do the people know? Everyone else well done.
Where’s the Surface?
Apple had to be number one, Samsung is going round and sponsoring all the tech blogs.
#conspiracies
I wouldn’t call it a screw up, the pricing was misguided but not to the level of the rest of these.
No “RIM failing to launch BB10 this year”? that’s a pretty big screw up, considering they are leaking market share like a punctured balloon and are almost at the point where Windows Phone might overtake them (once they overtake bada that is).