10 biggest computer flops of all time

7/28/2019 10 Biggest Computer Flops of All Time

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10 Biggest Computer Flops of all time

Over the years, computers have changed the way we live!Marketing and Technologyhave recently

started to "merge" together to create new amazing experiences. Howeverm In order to get us to

where we are today, many software development and hardware companies have pushed the envelope

to create what we use today. Software developmentcompanies have evolved, Hardware has

improved. Although we currently live in an age of amazing hardware and software achievements,

these products did not come without a price. Below is a list of some of the worst flops in computer

history.

1.The Xerox AltoDeveloped in 1972 at Xerox's Palo Alto Research

center, the Alto had a bitmap display, windows,

drop-down menu bars, a mouse, built-in Ethernet

and hard disk, keyboard, word processor and more

in their software productivity suite, a paint

application, and even e-mail. Xerox was far too

busy fighting the copier patent war, and was not

interested. Steve Jobs was, and in 1984, Apple

introduced Apple Lisa, and the Apple Macintosh.

Although this was the most ingenious creation of

the time, quite possibly responsible for the way we

use computers today, it should be viewed also as a

huge flop when Xerox did not capitalize on its

innovation.

2.NeXT computerThis seemed like a great idea at the time. Steve

Jobs resigned from Apple back in 1985 to start a

new company called NeXT. The NeXT computer

would be the most affordable UNIX super computer

of its time. Running a Motorola 33-MHz 68030

processor, enclosed in a black case, there was no

doubt this was the hottest and most powerful

computer of its time. However at $6,000 apiece,

and with no software that would run on the

machine, it was really a $6,000 brick. Roughly
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50,000 were ever produced. The company had spent over $250 million producing them.

Although a huge disaster, this was also the computer that Tim Berners-Lee would later use

to create the World Wide Web, and Steve Jobs would use as the core principles behind the

new OS X.

3.IBM PCjrIBM was trying to build an affordable machine for

the classroom and the masses. Unfortunately, they

ended up building an inferior non IBM-PC

compatible machine with a ridiculously small

keyboard that wouldn't run any software. The

costs was a few dollars less than some IBM-PC

compatible clones, so it was pointless to buy one.

Another nice feature, the keyboard communicatedwith the computer via infrared beams. This provided hours of enjoyment in the classroom

screwing up other peoples computing.

4.Apple NewtonAlthough produced for six years, it was never as

successful as Apple had hoped. The main reasons:

High price, Large size. It's handwriting recognition

was notoriously bad, a problem that was featured

in the Doonesbury comic strip. However, although

the Newton product itself never made mass appeal,

the technologies that were developed for the

Newton are still used today and responsible for

many huge success' for Apple (iPod, OS X) and started the PDA line of computer products.

5.Apple 3Released in 1980, the Apple 3 became one of the

worst computers ever built and most expensive. It

was designed for the high end business market,

but at a cost of $7,800, even businesses hadtrouble justifying the cost. To make matters

worse, the computer was made far too cramped

with parts to make it smaller. When it became too

hot inside the computer (Engineers opted to not

use a fan), chips would start popping out of the

boards! In order to correct the issue, Apple tech
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support could be heard saying "please lift up your Apple 3 about 10 centimeters off the desk,

and drop it." this would put the chips back in the slots sometimes.

6.Apple LisaHow much to get into an amazing Apple Lisa?

$10,000 dollars. Announced in 1983, this was a

complete disaster for Apple. Hardly any were ever

sold. How many were produced? 100,000. The

machine itself was far from powerful, and Apple

users simply preferred the Macintosh. The

development costs aren't to be found.

7.Microsoft Windows MEMicrosoft Windows Millennium Edition was touted

as the first operating system to support Universal

Plug and Play. Unfortunately, this operating

systems was quite possibly less compatible with

hardware, than its predecessor, Windows 98. It

was also notoriously difficult to re-install, which

was terrible since this operating system needed to

be re-installed almost weekly. This was one of the

worst software development projects of all time for

Microsoft. Hardcore users claimed that Windows ME

was more stable than 98, or 98SE, and the

instabilities came from users installing bad drivers

that were not approved and certified. Nevertheless, most users of Windows were beginners,

and thus the perception that Windows ME actually stood for "Microsoft Experiment", "Moron

Edition", "Mistake Edition", and "Memory Eater".

8.Microsoft BobAnotherSoftware developmentdisaster. This one is

great. In 1995 Microsoft released a software

package and interface that was aimed at replacing

the Windows desktop with one aimed at novice

computer users. The interface featured a big

yellow smiley face with glasses and virtual rooms.

Complete disaster! Far too simple, not powerful

enough, overpriced, and all and all, ridiculous. This
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software development project was run by Bill's wife by the way!It was replaced that same

year by Windows 95.

9.IBM OS/2In the 1990's after feeling "Had" by Microsoft, IBM

decided they could trounce Microsoft and come up

with their own operating system. A great idea gone

bad by marketing, the idea became to market OS/2

and the PowerPC Chip together. Had IBM pushed

OS/2, and later OS/2 Warp as an operating system

alternative to Windows, the computing landscape

might have been different today. Instead, by the

latter half of the 1990's, Windows 95 and 98 had

obliterated OS/2.10.Gary Kildall's CP/M

Grab a cup of coffee for the biggest mistake, and

largest computing stroke of luck that created

Microsoft, and one of the wealthiest fortunes the

planet has ever seen. This one created the

software industry as we know it! In 1980, IBM

finally realized they needed to put a home

computer out on the market extremely fast.

However they could not find the time to wait around to build their own operating system.

They wanted to buy one, and the best one at the time, Gary Kildall's CP/M operating

system. Where was Gary Kildall on this fateful day that the IBM suits came knocking? Out

of office flying a private plane. IBM went back to the office's and looked up Microsoft, which

they thought had a broad license to sell CP/M. Microsoft came in and negotiated a per

licenses model to sell the operating system at 50 dollars per machine. Bill Gates had created

the Software Licensing Industry!

Microsoft did not have such an operating system themselves, nor did they have a license tosell CP/M. In fact, Gary Kildall's Digital Research didn't have CP/M ready to run on the 16-bit

computers IBM would manufacture. Tim Patterson did at the Seattle Computer Company,

which Microsoft bought for $50,000. Had Gary Kildall been at the office, Microsoft and Bill

Gates might have been eating macaroni and cheese, and the Digital Research operating

system would be running on all of our computers. Gary Kildall died in July 1994 at the age of

52. The computer media mainly ignored his passing.
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What do all of these stories have in common? Yes they were all mistakes (at the time), but almost all

of them paved the way for some of the largest success's in computing history. Sometimes for the

same company, sometimes for other companies. The lesson here is persistence, determination, and

perseverance.

I've recently started a new blog focused onSocial Media,Digital Marketing,

andTechnologyatwww.miguelcarrasco.com. I'd love for you to check it out as there are many more

exciting posts including video casts available for you to watch.

If you would like to read other software development disasters, specifically Microsoft software

mistakes, make sure you readTen Biggest Microsoft Flops of All Time!
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10 biggest computer flops of all time

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