Tech FAILS. What was yours?

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#724797 29-Nov-2012 18:03

Got me a Mitsubishi E71 SVHS video cassette recorder 1990. I can't remember if it was the first or nearly the first consumer SVHS vcr. I know Panasonic had a model or models around the same time. Mightve cost me more than $2000? Can't remember. Upgraded to the E82 couple of years later..

Definitely recorded better than vhs, problem was expensive blank tapes and unfortunately didnt really kick off industry wise. Sold the trusty E82 about 5 years ago. I found a couple of tapes I hadnt got these ones to DVD yet and had to ask on GZ if anyone could record a lost SVHS recorded tape to DVD. Thankfully another GZ user offered to do this for me!

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Hobchild

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#724851 29-Nov-2012 19:52

scottjpalmer: The number of us that bought Minidiscs indicates it wasn't such a failure, even though it didn't stand the test of time.

Loved mine, no regrets!

Agreed, didn't have one myself but was extremely jealous of my friend who did. I think it was just unfortunately bad timing for Sony. It could have been huge.

surfisup1000

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#724854 29-Nov-2012 19:58

Seagate harddrives (ST31000340AS) bought around 2009/10.

I bought 3 and they all failed, then, the ones replaced under warranty also failed.

I've kept away from seagate ever since. Probably they are ok now but things like this put you off for life. Like the caterpillar I once found in a wendys burger. ...

freitasm

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#724862 29-Nov-2012 20:09

But, but... These are model failures, not product class failure. The fact some Seagate drives failed (as in mechanical failure, not market failure) doesn't mean hard drives as an entire class of product "failed" the market.

People are getting confused between "failure" as in faulty and "failure" as in unable to reach market acceptance.

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girlnz

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Wannabe Geek

#724893 29-Nov-2012 21:20

Buying a computer from Playtech and having no idea how to set it up!!!!!! *Facepalm*

oxnsox

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#724896 29-Nov-2012 21:27

Somewhere I have a half dozen ZIP micro(?) drives. These predated CF drives (and USB flash drives). I think they're 20 or 40megs!!

They're in a box with my first UMPC, another fail but this more due to bad timing (and the need for it to be manufactured in the USA).....an OQO model 1

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mattwnz

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#724901 29-Nov-2012 21:40

oxnsox: Somewhere I have a half dozen ZIP micro(?) drives. These predated CF drives (and USB flash drives). I think they're 20 or 40megs!!

They're in a box with my first UMPC, another fail but this more due to bad timing (and the need for it to be manufactured in the USA).....an OQO model 1

Parallel port zip drive has to be up there, popular in the late 90's as a high capacity floppy, before CD writers . They also suffered from the click of death. Rarely used mini as so slow and clicky, but better than a normal floppy.

oxnsox

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#724910 29-Nov-2012 21:57

mattwnz:
oxnsox: Somewhere I have a half dozen ZIP micro(?) drives. These predated CF drives (and USB flash drives). I think they're 20 or 40megs!!

They're in a box with my first UMPC, another fail but this more due to bad timing (and the need for it to be manufactured in the USA).....an OQO model 1

Parallel port zip drive has to be up there, popular in the late 90's as a high capacity floppy, before CD writers . They also suffered from the click of death. Rarely used mini as so slow and clicky, but better than a normal floppy.

Lol... That jogged my memory... The micro drive was called a 'Clik drive' (and yes I've also got a zip drive and a dozen 100 Meg disks somewhere as well)

mattwnz

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#724918 29-Nov-2012 22:06

oxnsox:

Lol... That jogged my memory... The micro drive was called a 'Clik drive' (and yes I've also got a zip drive and a dozen 100 Meg disks somewhere as well)

They were also expensive disks to buy, $20-30 each for the 100MB ones. Funnily enough, the normal floppy outlived it. Iomega who made them still looks to be around, but seems to only make conventional products these days that everyone else sells.

I know that people have listed Minidisks as being a bit of a failure, but they have probably been around for the same duration as the ipod classic, which is now near the end of it's life. I remember seeing minidisks in Japan in about 91 and at the time they were big, as they were seen as a replacement to cassettes. eg cd quality recording in a small form factor. They were still quite popular in the early 2000's until the ipod devices came in.Then sony had their own music format 'atrac' , like they usually do, which they used on the minidisc which was supposedly better than mp3, but another format that never took off. I guess it depends where you purchased it in it's lifecycle, because if you buy it at the end, then it will be a tech buy failure.

mattwnz

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#724923 29-Nov-2012 22:10

sleepy: Buying a new desktop pc for work with XP on it then paying extra $75 for vista upgrade when released - never installed cant think why

Feel the same way with buying a windows 7 PC, and paying $20 for a windows 8 upgrade, as it won't get installed on the PC I purcahse it for. (I think windows 8 is a downgrade on windows 7 for desktop users) But least I can use it to upgrade an old xp computer once support ends..

alasta

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#724925 29-Nov-2012 22:14

Damager: Got me a Mitsubishi E71 SVHS video cassette recorder 1990. I can't remember if it was the first or nearly the first consumer SVHS vcr.

My father bought one of those around the same time and it was an absolute lemon. So much so that I have avoided Mitsubishi Electric products for over 20 years, but this year I gave in and bought an Oasis dehumidifier which admittedly I'm very happy with.

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mattwnz

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#724928 29-Nov-2012 22:22

alasta:
Damager: Got me a Mitsubishi E71 SVHS video cassette recorder 1990. I can't remember if it was the first or nearly the first consumer SVHS vcr.

My father bought one of those around the same time and it was an absolute lemon. So much so that I have avoided Mitsubishi Electric products for over 20 years, but this year I gave in and bought an Oasis dehumidifier which admittedly I'm very happy with.

I have found the opposite. Have two Mitsubishi oasis dehymdifiers, and both were lemons, as both 'degased' after a few years and stopped producing water. Had them regased, but that only lasted another year before they degased again and stopped producing water. They weren't even used that much, but were about $800 each. If I had known about the CGA back then, I would have got them to replace them.
However had 2 Mitsubishi video player and both lasted over 10 years.

Damager

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#724931 29-Nov-2012 22:29

alasta:
Damager: Got me a Mitsubishi E71 SVHS video cassette recorder 1990. I can't remember if it was the first or nearly the first consumer SVHS vcr.

My father bought one of those around the same time and it was an absolute lemon. So much so that I have avoided Mitsubishi Electric products for over 20 years, but this year I gave in and bought an Oasis dehumidifier which admittedly I'm very happy with.

Shame about the vcr. Had the E71 2 years with no problems and the E82 for 15 years, no issues at all. Bought the top model Diva 33" tv in 1996.. And still have today as a garage tv.. No problems at all!

Though this thread as Mauricio put it.. is about product class fails, ala SVHS format ( I just happened to have a Mitsi), not actual specific model failures.

colinuu

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#724933 29-Nov-2012 22:40

I liked the LS120 floppy drives that followed behind the Iomega zip disks. 120MB on a 3.5" floppy seemed pretty good back then, and the drive could also read and write a standard floppy disk. The timing was bad however, it wasn't long before floppies disappeared from PC's altogether.

mattwnz

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#724945 29-Nov-2012 22:53

colinuu: I liked the LS120 floppy drives that followed behind the Iomega zip disks. 120MB on a 3.5" floppy seemed pretty good back then, and the drive could also read and write a standard floppy disk. The timing was bad however, it wasn't long before floppies disappeared from PC's altogether.

Writable CDS that could store 700MB basically came in around the same time which wiped them off the map. Then USB thumb drive and portable harddrives then wiped out CD writers. Now according to some, the cloud will wipe out all forms of physical media.

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