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vaporware

Tablets of 2011 that never were

An embarrassing number of tablets from 2011 should never have been made.

No one was safe, not even big manufacturers like HP and RIM.

In hindsight, it might have been smarter for some companies to just put their half-baked designs back in the oven. Sure, it might cause some short-term embarrassment. Stockholders would be left puzzled. Products would miss their ship dates. But it's still far less humiliating than releasing a product that flops.

The following slideshow collects the tablets that were announced for 2011, but never made it. Some, like the Sony Tablet P, have a better-than-even chance … Read more

Duke Nukem Forever to see light of day after all

After well over a decade of "development," 2K Games announced today that Duke Nukem Forever will actually see the light of day. The publisher went on to say that Gearbox Software has taken the reigns on the project, rescuing it from development limbo after the game's original studio 3D Realms went under. Gearbox Software is responsible for titles such as the recently successful Borderlands.

The game will be on display at this weekend's PAX 2010 convention in Seattle, where press and gamers in attendance can have a go at the title 14 years in the making. … Read more

Top 5 CES vaporware

Editors' note: Update, ha! Well, this happens sometimes. Turns out that Psyko Audio Labs DID ship some headphones this year and some customers e-mailed with pictures, so it must have happened. My apologies to Psyko Audio! But I'm excited the product is real, because it's a good one.

OK, folks. This is our last Top 5 of the year. And it's obviously meant to sync up with the start of our year when we head to CES first thing in 2010.

So watch the show to get a look at some of the products we loved last … Read more

Sanwa Throat Microphone: Speak to the neck?

First, there were bone conduction earpieces. Now, microphones are going the way of the *cough cough* throat. Apparently, no part of the human body is inviolable when it comes to tech accessorizing.

Inspired by the military, Japanese company Sanwa's Throat Microphone design is fortunately styled to appear more like a slim necklace than a neck brace. Though whether this odd gadget will actually improve call clarity using neck vibrations rather than the spoken word has yet to be put to the test, since this is still vaporware now awaiting commercial takeoff.

(Source: Crave Asia via Akihabara News)

Vaporware: The tech that never was

Vaporware may sound like a technical term to describe the gradual corrosion of a kettle, but today we're using it to describe a product announced by a company with great fanfare, hoohah, and occasionally hullaballoo--but that never materializes.

Continual delays, setbacks, and excuses are the calling cards of a product that becomes vaporware. Windows Vista ran the risk of joining the club, and the terrific multiplayer first-person shooter Team Fortress 2 was in production for almost a decade before it was released in 2007. Devoted TF fans feared it would become a distinguished entrant in the who's who … Read more