We love tech stuff. Instead of watching TV or dining out, we read stuff on the web for all sorts of gadgets. So you could say we keep a
close eye on the goings on in the tech industry.
Looking back over 2012, we can identify at least five advancements and innovations
that seemed so important at the time... but they never really lived up
to expectations. And now they could risk fading away unless something changes. Hey we could be wrong by the way as some of these we love. Here they are.
1. Google+
We don't know if Google+ is growing or not, but we do know one thing:
No one ever talks about it anymore. Occasionally, We will click one of
those Plus links like the one alongside this article. And we have heard a
few tech luminaries have a presence on Google+. But we see signs of
failure: Just about every article we've read in the past few months has a
big fat "zero" next to the Plus link. That can't be a good sign,
especially when the the number of Tweets and the Facebook likes are in
the hundreds or thousands.
2. 3D Projectors
It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time. A 3D projector for
business made sense because you could liven up a presentation, or
entertain the crowd with clips to demonstrate a point. Besides, 3D seems
like it is here to stay at the local Cineplex why not in the office?
But until 3D technology advances to the point where you can flip a
switch at your next meeting, not hand out goggles, to show a bar graph
in 3D, these products might be doomed for the bargain bin forever.
3. Klout Scores
We was into Klout scorekeeping for a while. The service, which looks
at your Twitter activity and connections and analyzes your social
networking behavior, seemed to catch on last year over the summer. We
heard about companies that wanted potential employees to put a Klout
score on their resume, and a few people even listed a link in their
email signature. Then, nothing. We stopped hearing about the service,
perhaps because there was something amiss with the metrics.
4. Bluetooth Watches
We are not ready to say the Bluetooth watch is dead, especially since
Pebble Watch has not even started shipping. The idea is brilliant: Turn
the time-keeping device you wear all day into a smart reminder system, a
music player, and even a navigational add-on. The problem: We already
use phones that do all of those things, including showing us the time at
a glance.
5. Dropbox
Put this in the "you can't be serious" category, We know. Dropbox is
amazingly popular, and the simplicity of this sync-and-store service is
great for personal use. But then last August, someone hacked Dropbox,
which had more of a direct impact on us. (As a side note, so did the
recent Nationwide breach.) At that point, Dropbox became a failure for
business use for us. Dropbox added two-factor authentication in late
summer, but by then the damage was done. Many businesses have told me
they have stopped using the service.
In addition to unveiling all those laptops,
HP just announced a boatload of peripherals. Of the bunch, the most
compelling might be the NFC-enabled Touch to Pair Mouse, which, as the
name suggests, can be paired with another device simply through tapping.
(Good thing lots of computers currently have NFC, right?) If, by
chance, you don't have NFC on your laptop -- and you probably don't --
the mouse will function just fine as a regular old Bluetooth device.
Look for it in November for $39.
Elsewhere on the wireless mouse front,
HP announced the X6000 (pictured), which has four-way tilt scrolling and
can be used on most surfaces, including glass. That arrives this month
for $59. Finally, if your tastes are a bit simpler, there's also the
Wireless Mouse X4500 and X5500, which will be available this month for
$29 and $39, respectively.
Beyond mice, HP also trotted out the
$29 Wireless Classic Desktop keyboard, along with the $49 Wireless Elite
v2. For audio lovers, there's the HP Portable Bluetooth Speaker, which
will go on sale next month for a cool $79. Eighty bucks (or thereabouts)
will also get you a 90W universal power adapter that claims to be
compatible with most notebooks. It also has a built-in USB port,
allowing you to charge a mobile device at the same time. Rounding out
the list is the Webcam HD 4310, a $69 $89 shooter
capable of 1080p video, autofocus, autoexposure and three-way video
calling. All that in more digestible form in the PR after the break.
