Content area
Full Text
Delete: A Design History of Computer Vapourware. By Paul Atkinson. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. Pp. x+240. $94.50.
Most followers of recent computing history are familiar with the term "vaporware," defined as software that is announced but is delivered late, incomplete, or unusable, or never delivered at all. (I will use the American spelling in this review.) In this book, Paul Atkinson extends the definition to include computer hardware of various types, including machines that were delivered and "almost" successful, but that failed for a variety of reasons. His definition extends back in time all the way to Charles Babbage, whose inability to deliver his proposed Difference Engine or the more ambitious Analytical Engine is forever attached to his name.
In the book's preface, the author places the term in the historical context of how inventions and innovations occur, noting that failed products reveal as much about the evolution of technology as the successful milestones. This is familiar material to readers of this journal. However, Atkinson notes that computer practitioners may state publicly how important it is to fail and recover from failure, but they are nevertheless uncomfortable with the term if applied to their...