In Pictures: The 10 worst tech screwups of 2012 (so far)

Among a bounty of flops, flubs, and faceplants, Cringely picks tech's 10 biggest blunders we've seen in the first half of the year

4. Seriously, Siri?

Siri, the most notable new feature of the ho-hum iPhone 4S, sometimes says the darnedest things. Like when bloggers at WMPower User asked her, "What's the best cellphone ever?" and Apple's Intelligent Assistant piped up, "Nokia Lumia 900." How did this atrocity happen? PC World's Ed Oswalt has the real story: Siri bases some of her answers on data gathered by geeky search engine Wolfram-Alpha, which takes its information about smartphones from, of all places, Best Buy. The big-box retailer's website had a handful of five-star reviews for the Nokia 900, and that was good enough for Siri -- at least until Apple reprogrammed her to respond with the name of the One True Phone from now on.

5 of 11
VIEW ALL THUMBNAILS

Most Popular

What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
Samsung’s 2013 Smart TVs: everything you need to know
Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?
How do I connect my TV to the Internet?
Windows 7 Home Premium vs. Windows 7 Professional

Best Deals on PCWorld

Mobile PhonesView all »
NotebooksView all »
TabletsView all »
Printers & ScannersView all »
Networking, Wireless & VoIPView all »

Compare & Save

« 1 of 14 »
Deals powered by WhistleOut
Use WhistleOut's technology to compare:
Mobile phone plans & deals
Mobile phone models
Mobile phone carriers
Broadband plans & deals
Broadband providers
Deals powered by WhistleOut
Guides and Articles
National Broadband Network NBN 100Mbps Plans
Visualising Mobile Phone Plans
SIM Only Mobile Phone Plans
National Broadband Network NBN 25Mbps Plans
iPhone 5, 4S & iPhone 4 Plans - Compare Deals &...
Deals powered by WhistleOut
WhistleOut

rhs_login_lockSign up to PC World Today for the latest news, reviews and galleries from PC World Australia.