Welcome to InventFail.com - the museum of technological failures, where every failed idea gets a second chance. We don't just collect curious inventions, but analyze:
Why did they fail?
Analysis of technological failures and marketing mistakes
Ahead of their time?
Ideas that were too innovative for their era
Can they be revived?
How modern technology can give them new life
Why is this interesting?
Technology history isn't just about successes. Failures teach us more than triumphs. In our archive you'll find:
- Funny and absurd inventions that should never have seen the light of day
- Brilliant ideas that came too early
- Technological dead ends that could have changed the world
- Modern startup failures with detailed error analysis
Brief Summary:
Invention/Product: Google Lively
Company: Google
Country: USA
Period: Launched in July 2008, closed in December 2008 (lasted about 5 months).
Essence: A web-oriented 3D virtual world (or set of virtual rooms) where users could create personalized avatars, communicate, interact with objects, and embed their "rooms" into web pages and blogs.
Google Lively was an attempt by Google to enter the space of social virtual worlds similar to Second Life, but with a focus on simplicity and integration with the existing web. However, the project failed to capture user interest, suffered from technical issues and a lack of clear purpose, and was shut down just a few months after launch, becoming one of Google's many short-lived experiments.
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Invention/Product: Google Lively
Company: Google
Country: USA
Period: Launched in July 2008, closed in December 2008 (lasted about 5 months).
Essence: A web-oriented 3D virtual world (or set of virtual rooms) where users could create personalized avatars, communicate, interact with objects, and embed their "rooms" into web pages and blogs.
Google Lively was an attempt by Google to enter the space of social virtual worlds similar to Second Life, but with a focus on simplicity and integration with the existing web. However, the project failed to capture user interest, suffered from technical issues and a lack of clear purpose, and was shut down just a few months after launch, becoming one of Google's many short-lived experiments.
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Brief Summary:
Invention/Project: Project Cybersyn (also known as SYNCO, from System of Syncretic Control and Information)
Key Figures: Stafford Beer (British cybernetician, theorist, and consultant), Fernando Flores (Chilean engineer and politician), Salvador Allende's government.
Country: Chile
Period: 1971-1973
Essence: A revolutionary project to create a decentralized computer network and decision support system for managing Chile's nationalized economic sector in near real-time.
Project Cybersyn was one of the earliest and most ambitious attempts to apply cybernetic principles and computer technology to managing an entire national economy. It included a futuristic operations room, a network of telex machines for data collection from enterprises, and complex software models for forecasting and optimization. The project was interrupted by the military coup on September 11, 1973, leaving behind a legacy as a bold but tragically unfinished experiment that was ahead of its time.
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Invention/Project: Project Cybersyn (also known as SYNCO, from System of Syncretic Control and Information)
Key Figures: Stafford Beer (British cybernetician, theorist, and consultant), Fernando Flores (Chilean engineer and politician), Salvador Allende's government.
Country: Chile
Period: 1971-1973
Essence: A revolutionary project to create a decentralized computer network and decision support system for managing Chile's nationalized economic sector in near real-time.
Project Cybersyn was one of the earliest and most ambitious attempts to apply cybernetic principles and computer technology to managing an entire national economy. It included a futuristic operations room, a network of telex machines for data collection from enterprises, and complex software models for forecasting and optimization. The project was interrupted by the military coup on September 11, 1973, leaving behind a legacy as a bold but tragically unfinished experiment that was ahead of its time.
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Brief Summary:
Invention/Product: Setun Computer
Developers: Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov (lead), E.A. Zhogolev, V.V. Vereshchagin, S.P. Maslov, A.M. Tishulina, and others (Moscow State University, MSU)
Country: USSR
Period: Development 1956-1958, serial production 1959-1965
Essence: A small digital computer (EDC), unique for operating based on a ternary symmetric numeral system (-1, 0, +1) instead of the commonly used binary system.
The "Setun" was a pioneering development that demonstrated the potential advantages of ternary logic (higher information density, easier execution of certain arithmetic operations). However, it did not gain widespread adoption and development, remaining a unique experiment. The main reason for its "failure" (in terms of lack of continuation and mass adoption) was the global and Soviet computer industry's focus on the binary system, which made the "Setun" incompatible and "non-standard," as well as possible misunderstanding and lack of support from scientific officials.
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Invention/Product: Setun Computer
Developers: Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov (lead), E.A. Zhogolev, V.V. Vereshchagin, S.P. Maslov, A.M. Tishulina, and others (Moscow State University, MSU)
Country: USSR
Period: Development 1956-1958, serial production 1959-1965
Essence: A small digital computer (EDC), unique for operating based on a ternary symmetric numeral system (-1, 0, +1) instead of the commonly used binary system.
The "Setun" was a pioneering development that demonstrated the potential advantages of ternary logic (higher information density, easier execution of certain arithmetic operations). However, it did not gain widespread adoption and development, remaining a unique experiment. The main reason for its "failure" (in terms of lack of continuation and mass adoption) was the global and Soviet computer industry's focus on the binary system, which made the "Setun" incompatible and "non-standard," as well as possible misunderstanding and lack of support from scientific officials.
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Brief Summary:
Invention/Product: Palm Foleo
Company: Palm, Inc.
Country: USA
Period: Announced in May 2007, canceled in September 2007 (before launch).
Essence: "Mobile companion"—a compact subnotebook with a 10-inch screen and full keyboard, designed to work alongside Palm Treo smartphones, providing a larger screen and convenient input for email, documents, and web surfing.
The Palm Foleo became a classic example of a product that was canceled before hitting the market due to extremely negative reactions from the press, analysts, and potential users. It was criticized for unclear positioning (an incomplete laptop and an overly expensive smartphone accessory), high price, limited functionality (ran on Linux but did not support standard applications), and overall lack of prospects in the face of rapidly developing smartphones and emerging netbooks.
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Invention/Product: Palm Foleo
Company: Palm, Inc.
Country: USA
Period: Announced in May 2007, canceled in September 2007 (before launch).
Essence: "Mobile companion"—a compact subnotebook with a 10-inch screen and full keyboard, designed to work alongside Palm Treo smartphones, providing a larger screen and convenient input for email, documents, and web surfing.
The Palm Foleo became a classic example of a product that was canceled before hitting the market due to extremely negative reactions from the press, analysts, and potential users. It was criticized for unclear positioning (an incomplete laptop and an overly expensive smartphone accessory), high price, limited functionality (ran on Linux but did not support standard applications), and overall lack of prospects in the face of rapidly developing smartphones and emerging netbooks.
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Brief Summary:
Invention/Product: Sony Librie EBR-1000EP e-reader
Company: Sony Corporation (in collaboration with Philips and E Ink Corporation)
Country: Japan
Period: Released in Japan in April 2004
Essence: One of the first commercially available e-readers using electronic ink (E Ink) technology to create a paper-like display.
The Sony Librie was a pioneering device, ahead of its time, laying the groundwork for future e-readers like the Amazon Kindle. However, it did not achieve commercial success due to its high price, limited content selection, inconvenient DRM system, short content lifespan (books "self-destructed" after 60 days), and the market's overall unpreparedness for such a type of device.
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Invention/Product: Sony Librie EBR-1000EP e-reader
Company: Sony Corporation (in collaboration with Philips and E Ink Corporation)
Country: Japan
Period: Released in Japan in April 2004
Essence: One of the first commercially available e-readers using electronic ink (E Ink) technology to create a paper-like display.
The Sony Librie was a pioneering device, ahead of its time, laying the groundwork for future e-readers like the Amazon Kindle. However, it did not achieve commercial success due to its high price, limited content selection, inconvenient DRM system, short content lifespan (books "self-destructed" after 60 days), and the market's overall unpreparedness for such a type of device.
Learn more