Where art thou, Apple Newton?
CNET editors recently compiled a list of the 10 technologies they miss most. Making the list are favorite Web services, such as Kozmo.com (RIP) and Napster, old gadgets, such as the original Palm Pilot and Apple Newton, and larger scale projects that captivated us, such as manned space exploration and the supersonic Concorde.
The list spurred many bloggers to wax nostalgia about the technologies they wish had stood the test of time. Among them, the Commodore Amiga and Atari Lynx, spamless Internet and (I'll try not to get too misty-eyed here) the Commodore 64.
Another part of CNET's 10th anniversary package of top 10 lists named the biggest dog-com flops, with Webvan and Pets.com topping the list. History has not been kind to most of these sites, nor have the bloggers.
Blog community response:
"CNET rounds up their top 10 dot-com flops and in the process blames everyone but the technology media (*cough*) for the excess of the times."
--Kottke.org
"The amazing thing to me, looking back on the dot-com era, is not the bad business models or unrealistic expectations of the companies themselves. It was how quickly and readily so many consumers believed that all the old rules no longer applied; that we had entered a brand new era of commerce over night and nothing would be the same again."
--Bogus Gold
"At number 1 we have webvan.com who raised and squandered $375m within 18 months, which is pretty good going when you think about it. Even Mike Tyson doesn't spend cash that fast!"
--Connected Internet
"Amusingly enough, I used the first 5 on the list, though some more than others (kozmo was awesome during my carrierpoint days, webvan was just great (even if they couldn't pick a decent mozzarella ball to save their life)..."
--Live Journal
"Personally, I think investors and dot-com gurus over-estimated the power of the web. A lot of us, still like to try a shirt before we buy it, and this is even more true for more expensive items. Security concerns, reputation of the seller and time to deliver are other important issues that one needs to consider."
--Blog Y?