Most technological breakthroughs come with a good dose of hyperbole. Exhibit A: The Apple Newton, which was going to revolutionize hand held computing. Exhibit B: Satellite radio, which was going to kill broadcast radio; and Exhibit C: The Segway, which was going to change transportation.
Setting aside the fact that most hyped technologies fail to make the dent their makers promise, a technology flop isn’t always skin-deep. After all, out of the Newton (one of Apple’s biggest flops) came the PDA and, eventually, the game-changing iPhone.