Top tech flops of 2012 tainted a good year for gadgets

17 hrs.

Molly Klinefelter , Laptop

A lot of good things happened in tech this year.?The iPhone 5 premiered with 4G and a feather-light design. Google released its Nexus 7 tablet to go head-to-head with the Amazon Kindle Fire, and equipped it with Jelly Bean.?Samsung delivered a powerful one-two punch with the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. And we saw a fair number of Ultrabooks that gave the MacBook Air?a run for its money.

But where there?s good, there?s bad. And there were plenty of major tech?fails this year. These awards go to the eight biggest.

Wrong-Way Award: Apple Maps
With all the anticipation surrounding iOS 6, many didn?t think twice about giving up Google Maps for Apple?s new Maps app. But once users switched over, the complaints and outcries that the iOS app was far inferior to Google Maps mushroomed. The app was riddled with errors ? including wrong addresses and warped-looking landmarks in the Flyover view ? while it lacked integrated mass-transit directions.

Apple eventually apologized for the Maps gaffe, and even recommended alternatives. CEO?Tim Cook probably put it best, saying, "We screwed up."

More:?7 Things Apple Must Do in 2013

False Start Award: Windows 8
After Microsoft?released a preview of the highly anticipated Windows 8, users were dismayed to find that, although the new system's classic "desktop" was practically identical to the Windows 7 interface, it lacked a Start menu. Microsoft had substituted the menu with a shortcut to the Start screen, which meant users are forced to leave the desktop just to launch an app that takes them right back to the desktop.

Talk about frustrating. The good news is that a number of third parties have stepped up to the plate with alternatives, including Stardock's Start8 and Samsung's S Launcher utility.

More:?8 Windows 8 Annoyances and How to Fix Them

Worst Sales Pitch: Dell?s ?Daily Deals?
During Laptop's annual Tech Support Showdown, we made three calls to Dell's?tech support line and got more than we bargained for. During the calls, Dell pushed premium warranties on us, saying we had won a daily drawing that would allow us to buy a $500 four-year extended warranty for just $317. Lucky us ? we were chosen to spend even more money on something we didn?t need! When we resisted, the representative rushed us through the call, barely attempting to answer our question, but routinely haranguing us to buy the warranty, because otherwise the next caller would get our "prize."

According to Dell, using "drawings" as a sales tactic is against company policy. However, aggressively pushing extended warranties and hardware purchases is not, as we experienced on two other calls where support reps seemed more interested in making a commission than solving our problems.

More:?Tech Support Showdown 2012

IP-(Uh)-O Award: Facebook
Although Facebook?s IPO initially set a record for technology companies by raising more than $16 billion, it quickly became the decade?s worst initial public offering. When the social networking giant went public in May, its initial offering price was set at $38, while the company was valued at $104 billion. However, a little more than two weeks later, Facebook shares had dropped dramatically to $26.90 per share.

As it turns out, Facebook?s inability to monetize mobile traffic has caused a lot of concern among investors.?Although the stock has rebounded from a recent slide, the share is still way off the debut price.

More:?26 Ultimate Facebook Tips

Biggest Rip-Off Award: Shared Data Plans
In June, Verizon unveiled its new Share Everything plans, which allow customers to pay a flat fee for each device, plus a single charge for shared monthly data, which ranges from 1GB to 10GB. The plan includes unlimited voice minutes and text messages and makes you pay for them, whether you need them or not. As a result, a 2GB data plan costs $100 on the new plan while 2GB with a limited number of minutes and texts cost $70 on the old plan.

AT&T followed suit with similar Mobile Share plans. However, neither of these shared-plan options lets you opt for limited voice minutes or data. Plus, you still need to pay an additional monthly fee as you add devices, whether it?s a tablet?($15 for AT&T, $10 on Verizon Wireless) or mobile hotspot ($50 for AT&T, $20 for Verizon Wireless). At least AT&T kept its individual plans for those who don?t want to go the shared route.

More:?Top 10 Smartphones

Broken Promises Award: BlackBerry?10
BlackBerry 10 has become somewhat of a punchline in the tech industry, with the release of Research?In?Motion?s new mobile?OS continually delayed at a time when the straggling smartphone-maker should be trying anything to keep up with its Android and iPhone?competitors. After a brief demonstration of BlackBerry 10 at BlackBerry World in May, RIM pushed back the operating system?s release until Q1 of 2013, and soon after slashed 5,000 jobs.

Although there are some features in BB10 that look promising, many BlackBerry loyalists have already jumped ship. We'll find out in January if RIM has a shot at a better 2013.

More:?BlackBerry 10 Video Preview

Bait-and-Switch Award: Microsoft Surface
When commercials for the Microsoft?Surface started airing, viewers were enthralled by the device's Touch Cover. It came in fun, eye-catching colors and magnetically snapped onto the device for an easy typing experience.

One would assume that if Microsoft was putting the Touch Cover into its Surface commercials, it would come with the Surface, right? Wrong. Turns out the Touch Cover is a separate purchase, and shoppers would have to invest an additional $119 for the accessory ($100 if you buy it with the black one).

More:?Top 10 Windows 8 Tablet-Laptop Hybrids

Bad Idea Award: Google Nexus Q
Nexus Q could have easily made our list of most overpriced gadgets of all-time ... if it had actually come out. First shown and given to attendees at Google I/O 2012, the Nexus Q is a set-top box in the shape of an orb that streams music and movies to your home theater from Google Play ??and Google Play only.

While a $49 Roku box, a $99 Apple TV or a $99 Google TV box offers a variety of content services, even apps, the $299 Nexus Q didn't even have Netflix. Once you got over its unique design, the Nexus Q's main feature was allowing multiple users to add to the same playlist, something that was sure to create plenty of arguments among family members with different tastes. To Google's credit, the company quickly realized it had a dud on its hands, stopped accepting new orders and gave free units to anyone who had preordered.

More:?The 15 Most Overpriced Gadgets of All Time

More from Laptop:?

Tags:

• Gadgets ,
• failure ,
• tech ,
• laptop-magazine ,
• apple-iphone ,
• windows-8 ,
• dell ,
• facebook-changes ,
• data-plans ,
• blackberry ,
• google-hangout ,
• Google

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/top-tech-flops-2012-tainted-good-year-gadgets-1C7657745

bonnaroo 2012 lineup twisted metal sea lion si swimsuit 2012 westminster dog show abe lincoln vampire hunter xi jinping

Egypt: New constitution approved, parties say

Nasser Nasser / AP

An Egyptian election worker shows his colleagues an invalid ballot.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

CAIRO - A constitution drafted by an Islamist-dominated assembly was approved by a majority of Egyptians in a referendum, rival camps said on Sunday.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Mursi to power in a June election, said 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday. It cited an unofficial tally.

An opposition official also told Reuters their unofficial count showed the result was a "yes" vote.

Official results are not expected until Monday. If the outcome is confirmed, a parliamentary election will follow in about two months.

Mursi's Islamist backers say the constitution is vital for the transition to democracy, nearly two years after the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in an uprising. It will provide stability needed to help a fragile economy, they say.

But the opposition accuses Mursi of pushing through a text that favors Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women. They say it is a recipe for further unrest.

"According to our calculations, the final result of the second round is 71 percent voting 'yes' and the overall result (of the two rounds) is 63.8 percent," a Brotherhood official, who was in an operations room monitoring the vote, told Reuters.

His figures were confirmed by a statement issued shortly afterwards by the group and broadcast on its television channel.

Regional news channel Al Jazeera also reported that early indications suggest the draft constitution will be approved.

"It appears at the moment that in the region of 68 per cent of voters have approved the draft constitution, some 32 percent have voted against," said reporter Mike Hanna in Cairo.

The Brotherhood and its party, as well as members of the opposition, had representatives monitoring polling stations and the vote count across the country.

The opposition said voting in both rounds was marred by abuses and had called for a re-run after the first stage. However, an official said the overall vote favored the charter.

"They (Islamists) are ruling the country, running the vote and influencing the people, so what else could we expect," the senior official from the main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, told Reuters.

Opponents of Egypt President Morsi say he's betraying the revolution, but his supporters say he wants to guarantee human rights with a controversial referendum on a new constitution. NBC's John Ray went onto the streets of Cairo to hear from both sides of the deepening divide.

The vote was split over two days as many judges had refused to supervise the ballot.

"I'm voting 'no' because Egypt can't be ruled by one faction," said Karim Nahas, 35, a stockbroker, heading to a polling station in Giza, in greater Cairo, in the last round.

At another polling station, some voters said they were more interested in ending Egypt's long period of political instability than in the Islamist aspects of the charter.

Related content:
At polling stations, strong sentiments for and against?
Analysis: Egypt is rapidly approaching its own 'cliff'
Christians, liberals left out as Islamists back Egypt's draft constitution

"We have to extend our hands to Mursi to help fix the country," said Hisham Kamal, an accountant.

The build-up to the vote witnessed deadly protests, sparked by Mursi's decision to award himself extra powers in a decree on November 22 and then to fast-track the constitution to a vote.

Hours before polls closed, Vice President Mahmoud Mekky announced his resignation. He said he wanted to quit last month but stayed on to help Mursi tackle the crisis that blew up when the Islamist leader assumed wide powers.

Mekky, a prominent judge who said he was uncomfortable in politics, disclosed earlier he had not been informed of Mursi's power grab. The timing of his resignation appeared linked to the lack of a vice-presidential post under the draft constitution.

The new basic law sets a limit of two four-year presidential terms. It says the principles of Islamist sharia law remain the main source of legislation but adds an article to explain this. It also says Islamic authorities will be consulted on sharia - a source of concern to Christians and others.

In the first round of voting last week, the district covering most of Cairo voted "no," which opponents said showed the depth of division.

"I see more unrest," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, an opposition coalition formed after Mursi expanded his powers on November 22 and then pushed the constitution to a vote.

At least eight people were killed in protests outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. Islamists and rivals clashed in Alexandria, the second-biggest city, on the eves of both voting days.

Reuters contributed to this report

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/23/16100892-egypt-constitution-approved-by-voters-parties-say?lite

ghost ship tiger woods masters jet crash virginia beach petrino clayton kershaw tyler perry face transplant

Ex-Marine held in Mexico freed, officials say

By Juan Ortega and Diana Gonzalez, NBCMiami.com

Updated 10:30 p.m. ET: The South Florida Marine veteran who for months was detained at a Mexican prison for bringing an unloaded shotgun into the country has been freed, officials and his lawyer said late Friday.

Jon Hammar is seen in an undated photograph provided by his family.

The attorney for Jon Hammar tweeted Friday night that his client had been released from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. officials were planning to drive the 27-year-old Hammar across the border at Brownsville, Texas.

"He's out. Going home," wrote Eddie Varon Levy in a tweet.

With the judge?s ruling, Hammer was expected to be released after noon Friday, according to a statement from U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

---

Several members of Congress said earlier Friday that a judge had agreed to free Hammar.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson's office said in a statement that according to a defense attorney, 27-year-old Jon Hammar was being held at the Matamoros prison on a gun charge, but at a hearing, it was determined he had no intent to commit a crime by taking the firearm to Mexico.

"No American should be in a Mexican jail for five months without being able to have his case in front of a judge," Nelson said Friday. "We're grateful; this is a good Christmas present."

With the judge?s ruling, Hammar was expected to be released after noon Friday, according to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

NBCMiami.com: Family steps up lobby to get Hammar released

?Our Marine hero, our local hero, will be freed today from a Mexican prison,? Ros-Lehtinen said at a press conference. ?He?s been there chained to his bed in terrible condition since August for a trumped-up gun charge that should have never been leveled against him.?

The Marine veteran?s mother notified congressional members of her son?s pending release early Friday. The news was confirmed by a defense lawyer, the State Department and the Mexican embassy, according to spokespeople for Nelson and Ros-Lehtinen.

His mother, Olivia Hammar, called Ros-Lehtinen?s office to say, ?Hallelujah! Prayers work and hard work pays off,? Ros-Lehtinen said.

Friday, the U.S. Consulate was standing by to safely escort the former Marine to the United States. Instead of being taken on a plane, Hammar was to be driven across the Mexican border to Texas.

Ros-Lehtinen said the Hammar family is thankful for the community?s support. ?He will be home for Christmas,? Ros-Lehtinen said. ?The family has been so grateful.?

At his home in Palmetto Bay, Hammar's mother anxiously waited until she was assured he was safe and in the U.S.

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/21/16070208-former-marine-held-in-mexican-jail-freed-officials-say?lite

trump debate presidential debate lance armstrong Iron Man 3 marco scutaro Kendrick Lamar

Analysis: NRA tries to seize initiative on gun debate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At a news briefing interrupted by angry protesters, the leading U.S. gun lobbying organization, the National Rifle Association, proposed on Friday putting armed guards in American schools and offered to put money and support into an idea in keeping with its longstanding positions.

Following is a snap analysis of the event, which took place a week after gunman Adam Lanza massacred 20 young children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.

* NRA SAYS IT HAS THE ANSWER: Turning aside calls for new gun control laws, the NRA volunteered itself as the organization to prevent future school massacres. It offered to use its network of firearms training programs to coordinate a new cadre of armed officers in schools. Contrasting its plan with what would be drawn-out, months-long debates in Congress, the NRA said it could act immediately in time to have people in place for the reopening of schools in January after a winter break. The NRA did not address calls for a ban on certain semi-automatic firearms. It answered no questions at the news conference, saying that would happen only next week.

* NRA LASHES OUT AT THE MEDIA: Much of the NRA's message was aimed at about 200 reporters, editors and photographers at the news conference and their organizations. NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre said the news media get facts wrong about guns, confusing, for example, a semi-automatic weapon with a machinegun. LaPierre asked reporters why they had not written about a video game he called "Kindergarten Killer."

* FRIDAY BLACK HOLE: By holding its news briefing on the Friday before Christmas, when most Americans are tied up with family gatherings and celebrations, the NRA effectively limited the ability of opponents to mount a quick and sustained response to its message. Even most of Congress was taking a brief break before they return on about December 27 - to deal not with gun control, but with taxes and spending.

* UNUSUAL THAT IT EVEN HAPPENED: The NRA is press shy, so the fact that it held a news conference shows some extra concern about the fallout from the Newtown shooting. The organization's headquarters are in suburban Fairfax, Virginia, about 20 miles from the downtown hotel near the White House where the news conference took place. Its usual audience is its membership, which it speaks to daily through an active news website. The audience-shifting will continue on Sunday, when NRA leaders take to political talk shows.

* EXPERIENCED HANDS AT THE WHEEL: The NRA is not led by a group of novices. LaPierre, who runs the organization day-to-day, has been in his job since 1991. Chris Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, has held his position since 2002. David Keene, who is serving a two-year position as NRA president, is a veteran of Washington's think tank world, having served as the longtime chairman of the American Conservative Union and as an adviser to Republican campaigns. Guiding them from the outside are Washington lobbying and law firms - SNR Denton, Crossroads Strategies and Prime Policy Group - whose typical clients are more likely to be corporations. Asa Hutchinson, picked to lead the NRA's school plan, is a former Bush administration prosecutor.

* OUTGUNNING THE OPPOSITION: In 2011, the NRA spent over eleven times more on lobbying than all gun control lobbyists combined. In 2011, the NRA spent $3.1 million lobbying lawmakers and federal agencies, while all gun-control groups combined spent $280,000 according to records the groups filed with Congress. http://link.reuters.com/pub84t

(Editing by Howard Goller and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gun-lobby-ceo-calls-guns-protect-schools-162454142--finance.html

bobby petrino fired buffett rule lollapalooza lineup joss whedon ronnie montrose melissa gilbert dancing with the stars dandelion wine

Pope visits jail to pardon ex-butler over 'Vatileaks'

AFP - Getty Images

Former Vatican butler Paolo Gabriele meets Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican City prison Saturday, as seen in this handout photo released by the Osservatore Romano.

By Reuters

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict made a surprise pre-Christmas visit to the jail holding his former butler on Saturday and pardoned him for stealing and leaking documents that alleged corruption in the Holy See.

The pope and Paolo Gabriele spent about 15 minutes together before Gabriele was freed and allowed to return to his family in their Vatican apartment, a Vatican spokesman said.

Gabriele was convicted of aggravated theft on Oct. 6 in a case that shone unwelcome publicity on the Vatican and had been serving an 18-month sentence in a jail cell in the city state's police headquarters.

"This was a paternal gesture towards a person with whom the pope shared his daily life for several years," Father Federico Lombardi, a spokesman, said.

"This is a happy ending in this Christmas season," he said.

Pope Benedict: 'Sadness in my heart' over butler leak scandal

Gabriele was arrested in May after Vatican police found many documents in his possession that had been stolen from the pope's office.

The former butler gave them to the media in what mushroomed into an embarrassing scandal for Benedict's pontificate that became known as "Vatileaks."

The pope's once-trusted butler, Paulo Gabriele, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his part in leaking private Vatican documents. NBC's Duncan Golestani reports.

Pope's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele gets 18-month sentence in 'Vatileaks' case

Gabriele told investigators he had leaked the documents because he saw "evil and corruption everywhere in the Church" and that information was being hidden from the pope.

The Vatican said the pope had also pardoned a second Vatican employee, Claudio Sciarpelletti, who was convicted in a separate trial of helping Gabriele and given a two month suspended sentence.

Gabriele will no longer be able to work in the Vatican but will be helped to find a job and start a new life outside its walls together with his family, the Vatican said.

Pope's ex-butler says eyesight was damaged by 24-hour light in Vatican cell

Gabriele, 46, told the court that convicted him at the trial - one of the most sensational in the recent history of the Holy See - that he did not consider himself a thief and that he had done what he did out of "visceral" love for the Church.

In one of the most dramatic betrayals of trust in Vatican history, Gabriele, who served the pope his meals and helped him dress, photocopied sensitive documents under the nose of his immediate superiors in a small office adjacent to the papal living quarters in the Apostolic Palace.

He then hid more than 1,000 copies and original documents, including some the pope had marked "to be destroyed," among many thousands of other papers and old newspaper clippings in a huge armoire in the family apartment inside the Vatican walls.

A former member of the small, select group known as "the papal family", Gabriele was one of fewer than 10 people who had a key to an elevator leading directly to the pope's apartments.?

More world stories from NBC News:

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/22/16088256-pope-visits-jail-to-pardon-ex-butler-who-leaked-private-papers?lite

bill cosby us open bill nye Hurricane Isaac 2012 Snooki Baby terrell owens terrell owens

Udall comes out in favor of reinstating assault weapons ban - KWGN 2

Posted on: 2:33 pm, December 20, 2012, by Eli Stokols, updated on: 07:19am, December 21, 2012

DENVER ? In his first interview since last week?s deadly schoolhouse shooting in Newtown, Conn., Colorado Sen. Mark Udall told FOX31 Denver that he supports gun control legislation, including the reinstatement of the ban on assault weapons and a separate ban on high-capacity magazines.

?It?s just not acceptable to do nothing in the face of these periodic massacres,? Udall said, calling for a ?comprehensive approach? that also includes focusing on mental health.

?I?ve come to the conclusion that military style weapons really don?t have any place in our society. We ought to reinstate the assault weapons ban that served us well for 10 years from 1994 to 2004.?

Udall, who released a broad statement last weekend issuing support for a national conversation about gun laws and mental health, but hadn?t answered questions about or taken a position on the specific proposals being advocated this week by President Obama and several Democratic lawmakers.

?I?ve been listening to Coloradans over the last week, I?ve been studying the laws that are in place. As I considered what happened in Aurora this summer and now Connecticut and the mass shootings in between, it just seems to me that guns that belong on the battlefield and are used to kill as many people as possible, that we ought to make sure they don?t get in the hands of people who want to commit these heinous crimes.

?I wanted to believe that the existing laws we have would be enough to prevent these tragedies, but experience tells us otherwise.?

Source: http://kwgn.com/2012/12/20/udall-comes-out-in-favor-of-reinstating-assault-weapons-ban/

april 17 boston marathon tu pac hologram shuttle pippa middleton space shuttle discovery spacex

Ideas for a Good Crock-Pot Soup Recipe? Good Questions | The ...

My crockpot cookbook came with a recipe for potato and mushroom chowder that I quite like. It is a bit creamy (has 1 cup of milk I think), but definitely not a cream of such-and-such type soup. I just went to look for the recipe so I could list the ingredients for you, but I couldn't find it! I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to find a similar recipe, though, or just make it up. I think it would work well for a soup party because there are infinite options for toppings that people could select from--green onions, bacon, fancy croutons, shredded cheese, etc etc.

Side note: I will say that, in my experience, crockpot soups are much better if you saute the aromatics and any dried herbs in olive oil or butter before dumping them in the crockpot. That's one of the tips in the "7 tips" article linked above, and it is well worth the time.

Good luck! Sounds fun.

Pork, Pineapple, and Acorn Squash Stew in Slow Cooker

Olla Gitana
Dairy free, but has green beans and chickpeas; must be adapted for slow cooker. You can swap the green beans for another green veggie. Could swap a ground nut or such for the chickpeas if they annoy you. I didn't notice them when we did this on the stove. The tomatoes vanish completely.Everything melds nicely. Could use veg stock, chicken broth.

The curried vegetable and chickpea stew listed above is amazing. Make it!

The only thing left that I can think of is an italian sausage soup. There's a really good one on allrecipes. I dont remember what it was called. Probably italian sausage soup.

I love that curried vegetable stew that's linked to above. It's one of my favorites - so so good!

Beef stew comes out great in the crockpot!

Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/suggestions-for-a-good-crock-pot-soup-recipe-good-questions-181734

randy moss hunger games premiere the bachelor good morning america red meat bachelor ben jon hamm kim kardashian