Google Buzz, Windows XP Rank on Halloween ‘Zombie Tech’ List

Google Buzz, Windows XP Rank on Halloween ‘Zombie Tech’ Listby Nicholas Kolakowski

Originally released in 2001, Windows XP continues to hold a substantial install base. Despite the numerous updates and Service Packs rendering it a rock-solid operating system, however, XP is also an aging one, which Microsoft hopes users will put out to pasture sooner rather than later.

Upon its release in late 2009, Microsoft’s Zune HD earned positive reviews for its hardware and software. Those reviews failed to attract a substantial audience. Microsoft hasn’t officially canceled its Zune project, but it also neglected to offer an updated version this year.

Google’s launch of a micro-blogging/messaging service attracted a good deal of, well, buzz in February 2010. But Google’s attempt to out-Twitter Twitter failed to gain traction.

Now that Windows Phone 7’s on the marketplace, Microsoft’s previous mobile operating-system franchise is officially outdated. There’s just one little problem: Many businesses continue to rely on Windows Mobile and its apps, guaranteeing the platform will stick around past its freshness date.

The desktop used to rule the hardware roost. Now it’s all about ever-smaller laptops and mini-notebooks, paired with tablets and smartphones.

While the regular iPhone 4 earned its own share of controversy over the summer (mostly related to the antenna), continuing delays for the white-case iPhone 4 have essentially made it a zombie product: not quite alive, but also not fully dead.

Yahoo executives insist that their company remains a branding powerhouse. But one of its core features, Yahoo Search, is now powered by Microsoft’s Bing-effectively eliminating Yahoo from the search game.

Barnes & Noble’s recent full-color Nook upgrade, paired with rapid tech advances by Amazon.com’s Kindle and the rise of tablet PCs, will likely doom smaller e-reader manufacturers in years ahead.

A certain percentage of the enterprise still relies on tape to back up their data, as opposed to solid-state drives or other, more updated technology.

VOIP seems to be a trend increasingly embraced by many companies—but analog phones haven’t disappeared from the market quite yet.