The tastiest tech turkeys of 2011
by ZDNet Author | November 23, 2011 12:10am PST | Image 1 of 11
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What do a bad video game that took 15 years to make, a lost iPhone, a hacked gaming network, and a bunch of companies that can't seem to get their acts together have in common? They?ve been named to CNET?s Top Tech Turkeys list for 2011.
Of course, there's more to our list than that. We have a bankrupt solar panel manufacturer that's led to congressional hearings and a perfectly nice digital recorder cruelly cut by the company that spent $500 million not all that long ago to acquire it. What else do all these things have in common? Mostly, terrible decision-making on products, prices, design, personnel, acquisitions, and what exactly you bring with you for an evening at the tequila bar. Enjoy (the list, not the tequila, but you can like that, too).
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There are those that understand sufficient physics to be considered not quite brain dead and then there's you! Very nearly every joule of energy on earth comes from sunlight apart from utterly miniscule amounts of radioactivity and geothermal energy. That gas in your fuel tank and coal powering the local power plant are there because, and only because, of the sun's mind-blowing energy output.
Please do not pretend to know any physics when you clearly do not know one of its most elementary facts. By the way, the sun doesn't go round the Earth either.
As for economics, I doubt that, given your abysmal ignorance of kindergarten physics, you know much about that either, although I will admit that the technology is too expensive at present. However, given that whatever gizmo you used to prove you are a buffoon is millions of times more powerful than its ancestors of just 50 years ago which cost millions of dollars, the omens are good that exponential technological advances will render that point moot very soon.
Just because Solindra went belly-up dont mean that we stick to the old fashioned resources for our needs forever. Con-artists at Solindra were influential and manipulative and were able to get investors to look at the lucrative side of next gen projects only to make them fall through the donut hole. Every business needs a business plan approved to convince creditors and promoters to get involved, and unfortunately the sinister plans of Solindra were deceiving enough to get everybody conned. Those that were involved with the creation of utopia la la land business plan should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
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