Vapourware: The best software that never was
summary
A tour of concrete failures: a Flash prototype shows WinFS based on SQL Server and Avalon UI features but the project resets and bans .NET from the kernel; Ovation demos run from VHS while claiming 7 million spreadsheet cells and collapse into bankruptcy; a streaming site built on LimeWire via Silverlight ships bootlegs because no licensing deals exist; Duke Nukem switches engines for years and ships after a 14-year development time as a poor product; many bold storage and hardware claims fail basic math or never leave prototypes.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Welcome
- 1:51Windows Longhorn
- 7:29Spreadsheet revolution
- 10:03Ovation Technologies
- 14:02Duke Nukem Forever
- 20:21Neiman Marcus catalog
- 23:37IBM’s vapor computers
- 28:31Q-Trax failure
- 32:28Rainbow Technologies
- 35:41Ted Nelson’s Xanadu
- 44:34Nerd Perfect
- 46:44Reflections on vaporware
- 47:48Closing remarks
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