Topic: POLL: 25 worst Tech Products of all time

[Nemesis]

Personally I used 2 of the 25.

Feel free to nominate other candidates.  (Recent Norton Utilities for example)

Link to original article  With writeups on the "products"

[Javora]

The only one I ever used was Internet Explorer 6.  Guess I was one of the lucky ones.   

[E_Look]

Um... what's so bad about the Lion King?

Oops.  I muffed it- you meant the CD; I meant the DVD.  Stupid is as stupid does.

[Bonk]

Realplayer and IE6 here. Realplayer was almost as bad as Quicktime, but not quite. Neither of them will ever touch a PC I own again.

Never installed Comet Cursor myself but have cleaned it from dozens of machines, a lot of people got sucked in.

[Darth Sidious]

Where's Clippy!?!

(MSBob doesnt count)

[Just plain old Punisher]

Where's Clippy!?!

(MSBob doesnt count)

Hey! Looks like you're trying to write a suicide note..

[Nemesis]

Where's Clippy!?!

(MSBob doesnt count)

Hey! Looks like you're trying to write a suicide note..

That explains a lot.  Punisher IS CLIPPY!!![/color]

[Dracho]

Hands down... DRDOS.

[Nemesis]

Hands down... DRDOS.

I never used it myself but pretty much all I ever heard of it was good.  What problems did it give you?

[Dracho]

Hands down... DRDOS.

I never used it myself but pretty much all I ever heard of it was good.  What problems did it give you?

It crashed hanged (DOS would hang, not crash) more than Windows 3.1, and for some reason all of the command line applications didn't seem to work with any consistency.  I also had the FAT go bonkers a couple of times and lost all my data.

[prometheus]

It's not in the list, but I just had to mention the Sinclair C5, the vehicle that was going to address mankind's city center transport problems for the 21st Century...  Everytime I think of that machine I just can't get that image of a terrified Stirling Moss on a roundabout narrowly avoiding being killed by an articulated lorry...

[Mr_Tricorder]

The only items on the list that I've used are RealPlayer, Windows ME, and IE6.  I marked Windows ME and IE6 because they're both absolutely horrible and prime examples of buggy, substandard sofware that M$ has imposed on unsuspecting users.  RealPlayer doesn't seem that bad once you disable those annoying pop-ups and seems to start up faster than Windows Media Player, but now I mainly use VLC, which may not look as pretty but works much better.

I think Norton products and Nero should be on this list.

[Bonk]

Hands down... DRDOS.

I never used it myself but pretty much all I ever heard of it was good.  What problems did it give you?

It crashed hanged (DOS would hang, not crash) more than Windows 3.1, and for some reason all of the command line applications didn't seem to work with any consistency.  I also had the FAT go bonkers a couple of times and lost all my data.

I have always found it quite reliable as implemented in Partition Magic 7.

[Overmind]

Worst software of all times: Micro$oft Windows.
Worst game of all times: Doom 3.
Worst car of all times: well... I can't determine that; I'll let you choose.
Worst weapon of all times: M14 series.
Worst army of all times: the French army.

[Commander Maxillius]

Worst software of all times: Micro$oft Windows.  Millennium Edition
Worst game of all times: Doom 3. any game that comes out on the Mac first
Worst car of all times: well... I can't determine that; I'll let you choose. toss up between the Yugo and 78-84 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel
Worst weapon of all times: M14 series.
Worst army of all times: the French army. after Napoleon.

[Javora]

Don't forget the Ford Pinto.  Although I wish I could.   

[el-Karnak]

Worst software of all times: Micro$oft Windows.  Millennium Edition
Worst game of all times: Doom 3. any game that comes out on the Mac first
Worst car of all times: well... I can't determine that; I'll let you choose. toss up between the Yugo and 78-84 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel
Worst weapon of all times: M14 series.
Worst army of all times: the French army. after Napoleon.

If you are going to go after the French Army (after Napoleon) then you will also have to go after the British Army after the Boer War.  French Army won at Verdun in 1916 while the British lost heavily at the Somme. If France lost at Verdun in 1916 then the western front would have collasped.  In both WW1 and WW2, Germany would have beaten both Britain and France if the USA did not get involved.  So, you cannot put all the blame on France for the World War debacles pre-USA involvement.

You should visit the Hotel d'Invalides and Versailles sometime to read up on French military accomplishments. May also want to drop by Yorktown one day.

It may also interest you to know that currently US Army officers are consulting with the French Army over its experiences in the 1955 to 1963 France/Algeria war in order to learn new tactics to deal with the insurgents in Iraq.  CIA is also reporting that the French counter-terrorism Intelligence agencies are the most helpful to them among all the USA allies.

Basically, France pretty much locked down Algeria with 100,000 troops, and used torture extensively to keep the Algerian terrorists under control. In the end, France walked away from the whole mess and the French Army almost did coup d'etat by trying to assasinate President Charles de Gaulle for leaving.   And, for the last 4 decades France has been on constant terrorist alert as a side effect of the Algerian war.  That pretty much sums up some big reasons why France was not exactly enthusiastic about getting involved in another Arab war in Iraq.

[Nemesis]

A new candidate arrives.  Link to article

A Dell laptop apparently exploded at a Japanese conference.

[Nemesis]

This is not really the forum for discussion of the relative merits of various armies and who made what contribution to a given war.  Please move that discussion to a more appropriate forum guys.  I might even take part if you do.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

[Just plain old Punisher]

This is not really the forum for discussion of the relative merits of various armies and who made what contribution to a given war.  Please move that discussion to a more appropriate forum guys.  I might even take part if you do.

Your cooperation is appreciated.

Bah! Your attempts to keep this thread on topic will fail old man!

Look, I shall derail everything with a single word that shall turn this forum into a seething and uncontrollable mob.

Poop!

Yes, that's the word. LET CHAOS REIGN!!

::crickets::

Or the word panties.

Humm I forget.

::wanders off::

[Nemesis]

Bah! Your attempts to keep this thread on topic will fail old man!

Look, I shall derail everything with a single word that shall turn this forum into a seething and uncontrollable mob.

Poop!

Yes, that's the word. LET CHAOS REIGN!!

::crickets::

Or the word panties.

Humm I forget.

::wanders off::

The topic can wander so long as it wanders in a way suitable to this forum.  That particular topic is inappropriate and all too likely to get "Hot" and Engineering is not for that type of "Hot".

[Commander Maxillius]

hmm... sounds like SOMEONE needs a few fans in their shorts or something


j/k

[Just plain old Punisher]

Bah! Your attempts to keep this thread on topic will fail old man!

Look, I shall derail everything with a single word that shall turn this forum into a seething and uncontrollable mob.

Poop!

Yes, that's the word. LET CHAOS REIGN!!

::crickets::

Or the word panties.

Humm I forget.

::wanders off::

The topic can wander so long as it wanders in a way suitable to this forum.  That particular topic is inappropriate and all too likely to get "Hot" and Engineering is not for that type of "Hot".

::sigh:: Fine you win.

Horrible tech products? I really hate whatever son-of-a-bitch that invented auto dialers that let computers from companies dial your home phone, but no one answers for like 15 seconds when you pick up.

[Nemesis]

Horrible tech products? I really hate whatever son-of-a-bitch that invented auto dialers that let computers from companies dial your home phone, but no one answers for like 15 seconds when you pick up.

I hate the automated ad that calls you and you are not able to disconnect them and use your own phone line until the ad finishes 5 minutes later.  I'm waiting for the lawsuit when a 911 call can't be made because when you hang up you aren't disconnected. 

[Just plain old Punisher]

You're kiddin right? Never heard of that before. You mean that just hanging up won't clear the line?

[Nemesis]

You're kiddin right? Never heard of that before. You mean that just hanging up won't clear the line?

No joke.  My phone numbers are unpublished (not just unlisted, the phone company is supposed to deny I have a phone) so I have only recieved 2 such calls over the years but you cannot disconnect them by hanging up.  How they manage it I don't know.  You have to wait until the machine finishes its spiel before you can use your phone to make an outgoing call.

[Just plain old Punisher]

You're kiddin right? Never heard of that before. You mean that just hanging up won't clear the line?

No joke.  My phone numbers are unpublished (not just unlisted, the phone company is supposed to deny I have a phone) so I have only recieved 2 such calls over the years but you cannot disconnect them by hanging up.  How they manage it I don't know.  You have to wait until the machine finishes its spiel before you can use your phone to make an outgoing call.

You know, that would piss me off.

Every so often I get a solicitation call at work on one of the standard phone lines (The non-STU secured lines) I don't usually answer the phone, but sometimes I'm at the help-desk so eh, I gotta answer the phone.

Ring, Ring: Hello, METOC systems center, we are not secure, this is James speaking how can I help you?

Telemarketer: Hi, can I speak to the person who makes decisions on your long distance provider?

Me: That would be the U.S. government, sir.

Telemarketer: I'm sorry??

Me: You're calling a government installation, in violation of about 5 different FTC regulations, which carries up to a 5,000 dollar fine each violation.

Telemarketer: ::Click::

Hehe. Works every time.

[Commander Maxillius]

It should be possible to drop a virus back down the line while it's playing the ad.  When you answer the phone and realize it's one of the kind that doesn't shut up, connect a PC that's loaded with pr0n with no firewall and you're good to go.

[Dracho]

Oh, did anyone ever get one of those 286 Cyrix processor upgrade chips that fit in the math coprocessor slot?  Man those blew.

[Just plain old Punisher]

Wern't they like 300 bucks or something?

[Dracho]

Yeah, in 1992 money.

[Just plain old Punisher]

My God! That's like a brazilion kagillion dollars!!