Dec 22, 2006
Toys that didn’t work in 2006
If I ever seem grumpy or bitter about gadgets, it’s probably because a lot of what I get doesn’t work, or doesn’t work well. The stuff that doesn’t work well I write about on Engadget, but usually the stuff that just doesn’t work we don’t much mention, which is kind of just how it goes. Here’s a short list of some products that died, broke, didn’t work, or otherwise caused me grief this year, in no particular order:
- MusicGremlin (left audio channel died)
- Two Linksys WRT54G series routers (not so much broke as are just really shitty post-VXworks)
- Monster HT&L Controller 3000
- Zune software and Zune firmware v1.2
- Two Xbox 360s. That’s right, two.
- MacBook Pro (dead file system)
- Sharp 46D62U (severe horizontal banding)
- Samsung Helix (totally worthless)
- Panasonic Lumix FX01 (lens jammed)
- Logitech Bluetooth headset (audio cuts in/out)
- Rosewill power supply (died)
- More as I think of them…
Top pieces of buggy software I for whatever reason use all the damn time:
- Adium (I wish I could quit you)
- Gears of War (I really wish I could quit you)
- Photoshop CS3
- Missing Sync
- Parallels (granted, it’s gotten a lot better)
- Gmail mobile client app (just doesn’t like my phone)
- OS X (way, way more crash-proned than I ever expected)
- Windows (sometimes I do really miss it, despite itself)
- Windows Mobile (sigh)
Co-founder of 
Ryan, I’m curious about your experience with the Logitech Bluetooth headphones. I’ve owned a number of BT stereo headphones (Plantronics Pulsar 590A, Nextlink Spider, Jabra BT620s, and some no-name OEM brand from CompUSA) — I’ve found this audio cutting in/out problem to be very common across brands, with the sole exception of the Plantronics set. (Unfortunately, the Plantronics ‘phones also happen to be extraordinarily geeky looking.) Have any idea where the problem is — like in the difference between Bluetooth 1.2 and 2.0, or maybe a problem with Microsoft’s Bluetooth stack? (I’ve heard Sony’s products, which I think run the Widcomm stack, are nearly flawless with most headphones.) I think interference from Wi-Fi APs and even taxi radios may be a problem, as I’ve noticed a significant difference between BT stereo reliability indoors versus outside on NYC streets. Or are we doomed to *never* truly enjoy our music wirelessly?