12/17/2007, 9:45am, EST
Monday, December 17thVista, iPhone 'big' disappointments of 2007
Both Apple and Microsoft have defined the list of the most significant technology disappointments of 2007, according to a new review of the year by PC World. Windows Vista reaches first place among the disappointments for the gap between what was originally promised and actually delivered. Despite its extended, five-year development time, the software had to cast off important promised features such as the WinFS file system to make its January 2007 release window. The OS is not fundamentally flawed, but is frequently plagued by hardware compatibility issues, poor performance, and excessive security warnings.
"No wonder so many users are clinging to XP like shipwrecked sailors to a life raft, while others who made the upgrade are switching back," the magazine explains. "And when the fastest Vista notebook PC World has ever tested is an Apple MacBook Pro, there's something deeply wrong with the universe."
Microsoft also appeared on the list of disappointments through the eleventh-place Zune, whose proprietary DRM is criticized for locking customers into a single store, and the reportedly confusing "ribbon" interface of Office 2007 at ninth place.
Apple also occupies the list with two products, however. The iPhone occupies fifth place largely due to the politics surrounding its launch: the sudden $200 price drop, software damage to modified iPhones, and poor AT&T service reflect poorly on the device in spite of its actual quality, according to the report. Mac OS X Leopard reaches eighth place through a flawed early release that brought bugs with data transfer, security, and upgrading that were not fixed until mid-November, weeks after the original launch.
Other notable entries on the list include Amazon's Unbox video service (#15), which is "cluttered" compared to iTunes, and both landline and wireless data providers attempting overly strict control of their networks and devices.
Filed under: iPhone, Apple
Other story tags: Microsoft, Leopard, Vista, Zune, Office
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"disappointments for the gap between what was originally promised and actually delivered".
Early adopters always get boned when it comes to technology. Ask anyone with a Blu-ray recorder, or hard drive larger than 500gb, or quad-core CPU, etc...
Most hillarious thing is $200 iPhone price drop "disappointment". What, you wanted to see $300 price drop? $400 maybe? No sir, I wanted the price remain as high as on day one for at least a year, despite that iPhone has highest customer satisfaction rating. Who needs satisfaction when someone else's going to get the same by paying less! Apple disappointed me!
MS bashing too, as always. Second edition of Zune is much better than the first one, yet how may sane person not be disappointed in Microsoft these days? Here goes brilliant Office 2007 interface too... how dumb a person have to be to find this one "confusing"? And Vista... yes, it is a disappointment in many ways. But why people mention WinFS when they haven't a slightest idea what this thing is about? Dude, what you need WinFS for? Uh... well, to organise my files in database-like fashion... I guess.
now with the dominant DAP, online music store, a phone that is quickly becoming a very significant player in the smartphone market, it's no longer "good journalism" to pump them up. just take a look at this month's fast company cover story - a complete load of crap.
But their reasons for putting leopard on the list are really absurd. Do they even do research at all, or do they get all their headlines from IRC chat rooms?
However, I am not an iPhone owner but from where I am sitting, it's clearly not a disappointment - it's revolutionary in a number of ways. Now if AppleTV mattered at all, it would have been a big disappointment.
As both a user of an iPhone and Leopard I've had nothing but good luck. I carry a new Windows Mobile 6 phone for my work and everytime I have to use it makes me appreciate my iPhone so much more. The Windows mobile 6 phone is so clunky. You have to go through 6 menus (no joke) to find your phone number.
And Leopard with Time Machine has saved my bacon when my HD crashed. I put in a new drive reloaded the base Leopard and during the first boot I clicked restore from a Time Machine backup and all my files and settings were brought back as if it never happened. I think the problems people are having with Leopard are more isolated then widespread.