2014 has been an eventful year for the technology world. The year saw some impressive innovations, emergence of new revenue models, advances in social media and app craze touching new heights. But with these there were also services and products that failed to live up to the expectations and missteps from tech giants.
From an Indian e-commerce giant's botched up sale to a global movie studio's servers being compromised, here's a look at 10 big disappointments of the year 2014...
From an Indian e-commerce giant's botched up sale to a global movie studio's servers being compromised, here's a look at 10 big disappointments of the year 2014...
In October, Flipkart hosted what it claimed to be its biggest sale offering huge discounts and cash back offers. But India’s leading e-commerce player was not able to handle the load its servers received and crumbled. Some even labeled the sale as ‘Flopkart.’ The company was also accused of manipulating prices and did not honour some purchases, cancelling orders.
Disgruntled consumers took to social networks to express their displeasure about jacked up prices, cancelled orders and the time and number of attempts made to complete orders after adding items to cart. Even consumer goods companies suspended fresh sales after their wares were sold at heavily discounted prices.
Flipkart sent an apology letter to its customers apologising for the glitches and responded to various allegations.
Disgruntled consumers took to social networks to express their displeasure about jacked up prices, cancelled orders and the time and number of attempts made to complete orders after adding items to cart. Even consumer goods companies suspended fresh sales after their wares were sold at heavily discounted prices.
Flipkart sent an apology letter to its customers apologising for the glitches and responded to various allegations.
In November, Twitter CFO Anthony Noto appeared to accidentally disclose some confidential corporate strategy plans on Twitter itself. He tweeted what was meant to be a Direct Message sent to a colleague disclosing business plans.
His tweet, which was subsequently deleted, read: "I still think we should need %to buy them. He is on your schedule for 15 or 16 - we %will need to sell him. i have a plan (sic)." It was speculated that the company Twitter was eyeing was Mic, a news startup.
His tweet, which was subsequently deleted, read: "I still think we should need %to buy them. He is on your schedule for 15 or 16 - we %will need to sell him. i have a plan (sic)." It was speculated that the company Twitter was eyeing was Mic, a news startup.
Swing Copters was game creator Dong Nguyen's return to mobile gaming after the much popular Flappy Bird, a game that he removed from the App Store after receiving unwanted attention from press and paparazzi. This was also the primary reason for the hype surrounding the new game.
While the gameplay of Swing Copters was in many ways similar to Flappy Birds, casual gamers found the game to be exceptionally difficult, draining out the fun element. The game failed to make an impact and at the end of the year you probably don’t even remember it existed.
While the gameplay of Swing Copters was in many ways similar to Flappy Birds, casual gamers found the game to be exceptionally difficult, draining out the fun element. The game failed to make an impact and at the end of the year you probably don’t even remember it existed.
Facebook took another stab at ephemeral mobile messaging with its Slingshot app taking on popular players like Snapchat (after a failed attempt at acquiring it).
With the app, Facebook intended to appeal to fans of Snapchat and other messaging apps that allow users to send self-destructing messages. Slingshot works with both Apple and Android devices and a Facebook account wasn’t required to use it.
Although it offered some additional features, Slingshot can be considered a me-too attempt at best. Adopters of Snapchat were skeptical about switching to another service made by Facebook, which is not exactly known for user privacy, and just like its previous attempts (read Poke), this one too failed to gain user mindshare.
With the app, Facebook intended to appeal to fans of Snapchat and other messaging apps that allow users to send self-destructing messages. Slingshot works with both Apple and Android devices and a Facebook account wasn’t required to use it.
Although it offered some additional features, Slingshot can be considered a me-too attempt at best. Adopters of Snapchat were skeptical about switching to another service made by Facebook, which is not exactly known for user privacy, and just like its previous attempts (read Poke), this one too failed to gain user mindshare.
Apple’s iOS 8 was dubbed as one of the biggest updates with several under the hood changes, but just like any other first release, it too had its share of bugs. However, the follow up, iOS 8.01, which was a big fix release, was one of Apple’s biggest goof ups.
A number of users complained that the update rendered their phones unusable as they were unable to make calls, and caused problems with Touch ID, a feature that lets people unlock their phones with their fingerprints.
Apple decided to pull the update and seeded it at a later time, after fixing the issues.
A number of users complained that the update rendered their phones unusable as they were unable to make calls, and caused problems with Touch ID, a feature that lets people unlock their phones with their fingerprints.
Apple decided to pull the update and seeded it at a later time, after fixing the issues.
Android 5.0 Lollipop was perhaps among Google's most radical software upgrades that aimed to tweak the performance under the hood, adding new features and overhauling the design language of the user interface. However, as soon as Google started seeding the Android 5.0 Lollipop update to Nexus 5 phones, users started complaining about software bugs, SMS issues, connectivity problems and reduced battery backup on online forums and social networks.
A number of Nexus 5 users in India who have recently updated their phone's operating system to Lollipop are also reporting problems ranging from less than optimum battery life, system apps crashing, Wi-Fi connectivity issues and the phone getting heated up.
A number of Nexus 5 users in India who have recently updated their phone's operating system to Lollipop are also reporting problems ranging from less than optimum battery life, system apps crashing, Wi-Fi connectivity issues and the phone getting heated up.
Twitter's stock fell about 85% this year ending the year at $35.87. Most analysts feel the reason for this big decline is the social network’s inability to draw new users and monetise the old ones. The lower than expected user growth is discouraging advertisers. Digital marketing agencies also reported decline in user engagement.
However, even Facebook went through a similar situation and it’s likely that the stock could bounce back soon. Recently, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams took a dig at Instagram when the latter announced that its user base was more than Twitter’s. He said that Twitter's impact on the world was more significant and that he didn't care if 'more people were looking at pretty pictures.'
However, even Facebook went through a similar situation and it’s likely that the stock could bounce back soon. Recently, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams took a dig at Instagram when the latter announced that its user base was more than Twitter’s. He said that Twitter's impact on the world was more significant and that he didn't care if 'more people were looking at pretty pictures.'
King Digital, maker of the popular Candy Crush Saga app, went public on the New York Stock Exchange, raising almost $500 million. The IPO valued the company at about $7.6 billion. However, the stock flopped and closed at price more than 15% lower than its offer price of $22.50 at $19.
It appeared that investors were more cautious after seeing similar stocks such as Zynga, maker of the popular Farmville game. King was a part of many lists that featured the worst IPOs of 2014.
It appeared that investors were more cautious after seeing similar stocks such as Zynga, maker of the popular Farmville game. King was a part of many lists that featured the worst IPOs of 2014.
Global e-commerce marketplace eBay disclosed in May that hackers raided its network three months ago, accessing some 145 million user records in what is poised to go down as one of the biggest data breaches in history, based on the number of accounts compromised.
It advised customers to change their passwords at the earliest, saying the passwords were among the pieces of data stolen by cyber criminals who carried out the attack between late February and early March. EBay said the hackers got in after obtaining login credentials for "a small number" of employees, allowing them to access eBay's corporate network.
It advised customers to change their passwords at the earliest, saying the passwords were among the pieces of data stolen by cyber criminals who carried out the attack between late February and early March. EBay said the hackers got in after obtaining login credentials for "a small number" of employees, allowing them to access eBay's corporate network.
The year's biggest online attack was when Sony Pictures Entertainment’s servers were compromised and the information including emails, employee information and even copies of unreleased films were released by the hacker group 'Guardians of Peace.'
It’s believed that the hack was due to the planned release of ‘The Interview,’ a film that depicts the travails of two journalists who get enlisted to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. The film’s release was initially limited to select theatres and online destinations following threats from hacker groups that reportedly belonged to North Korea.
It’s believed that the hack was due to the planned release of ‘The Interview,’ a film that depicts the travails of two journalists who get enlisted to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. The film’s release was initially limited to select theatres and online destinations following threats from hacker groups that reportedly belonged to North Korea.
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