Flops

Power Grab: Turbos vs. Superchargers (CNET On Cars, Episode 15)

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Got a lot of email from you about turbos and superchargers, the purposes and differences of each. Not surprising, since there are a lot of both showing up in all kinds of cars these days, not just in hot rides. So this week we lay out the difference by walking you through some cutaway engines.

We're pretty smart about the data on our computers and phones these days, but most people do not give enough thought to the fact that … Read more

Top 5 Facebook flops

After Facebook's recent update to the Newsfeed, I got to thinking about how many Facebook features have failed over the years. And I don't mean the now-typical Terms of Service disasters. I mean new ideas, new features, and new products that took developers months or years of work, and just flat-out bombed.

Now, this is one of my lists that's completely subjective. I didn't rate these based on estimates of Facebook's time invested or profit loss or some ridiculous calculation of "flop" factor. If you disagree with my selections or ranking, you won'… Read more

Tech flops of 2012

2012 was a year when many of the big names in tech took big gambles...and lost.

CNET recently ran a collection highlighting 2012's biggest Tech Turkeys, and it seemed ripe for a remix over here on Top 5. I swiped four from their list, added one of my own, and ranked the whole thing by how long I imagine it took the respective CEOs to remove their palms from their face.

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The 10 worst tablets of 2011

It takes a special kind of alchemy to make a great tablet.

Even mediocre tablets require a certain finesse of software and aesthetic. The screen, the right Android OS, the placement of the buttons, the cameras, and the connections all have to come together in the right way, and at the right price.

Sometimes, though, things go terribly wrong. You cut the wrong corner or rush out with buggy software and the next thing you know, you end up here, on CNET's list of the worst tablets of 2011.

Top 5: Tech Turkeys of 2011

2011 was a rather remarkable year for products and companies that were on top, taking a flop.

Here are our Top 5 moves and happenings that were hard to watch, from Flip to HP to Netflix and BlackBerry. It just goes to show that some of the biggest names can lose their way spectacularly.

ArchPort: Walk a mile in that man's flashlights

Enter the ArchPort Sandals. They can even enter in the dark as each pair come with flashlights tucked into their soles.

That's this pair of shoes' claim to fame--the "first flip-flops with a flashlight in the sole." We didn't put hours of research into validating that statement as it seems a pretty safe boast. It's like saying you've made the first sport coat tie with a built-in melon baller--or a dress that charges your iPod. Who else was scrambling to wrench that claim away?

The folks at ArchPort say the little hoof-torches pack a slide-out lamp that fits into a small chamber tucked away in the arch of the sole (note: "Arch of the Sole" should not be confused with the little known, incomplete John Steinbeck novel of the same name). The bulbs project a cone of visible light that highlights the ground immediately in front of the owner, making night walking theoretically safer.

But the luminescent slippers beg a question. If the wearer is walking in an area so treacherous that he or she must spot-weld high beams to the feet to keep their pedicure secure, why wear sandals? How bad must your sweaty foot problem be that you can't sport closed-toe shoes when you do your buck and wing across a fire pit studded with broken glass? … Read more

Why aren't people buying the Verizon iPhone?

For years, Verizon customers were clamoring for the iPhone, but now that the phone is here, evidence is mounting that it's more of a dud than a hit.

First, there were those short, almost nonexistent lines on launch day. Then Boy Genius Report got its hands on some "sensitive information" from a source that indicated sales numbers for the new iPhone were lower than expected (according to those numbers, the Verizon iPhone 4 was barely outpacing its AT&T counterpart four days after launch). Next, Marco Arment, the app developer behind Instapaper, reported that he didn'… Read more

Top 5 home entertainment flops of the last decade

It's been an unprecedented decade for home entertainment innovations. Then there are these five, which don't exactly qualify as the valedictorians.

If you want to know what's new in HDTV, check out CNET's fresh wrap up of the hottest new TV tech we spotted at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show.

The decade's 30 biggest tech flops

First, an admission. We ran this same story last year with many of the same picks. At the time, several readers said we were not only wrong for running it, but were downright ignorant.

As elbrado67 so eloquently put it:

We still have another year left in the decade, I would expect more from a "tech" site to be scientifically correct. You start counting with "1," not "0." Despite popular belief on the news and everywhere else, the new "Millennium" started in 2001, not 2000. Please stop dumbing everything down.

Many others … Read more