Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun New software that has been announced or marketed but has not been produced.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An advertised product, often computer software, whose launch has not happened yet and might or might not ever happen.
Etymologies
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Examples
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Techies use the term vaporware to describe the products of visualization.
Thinking in the Future Tense A WORKOUT FOR THE MlND 2003
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The term vaporware has both malign and benign connotations.
Forbes.com: News Gregory Unruh 2011
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Redefining the term vaporware, research scientists at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore Labs detonated two computer simulations.
World’s Fastest Supercomputer Simulates Nuclear Explosion | Impact Lab 2002
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I've been attending SHOT Shows for 25 years and I've noticed that vaporware is not uncommon in our industry.
Guns that Aren't: Why do manufacturers hype rifles and shotguns that you can't get? 2006
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The hate part comes in two flavors: I hate the stories that just gush about some nebulously defined bit of vaporware from a press-release (see this blog entry for an example: Link) and then there're stories like this one, where Elisa Batista covers the new 802. 11a wireless standard, which is nearly five times faster than existing WiFi networks.
Boing Boing: September 9, 2001 - September 15, 2001 Archives 2001
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Apple rarely gets tagged as a purveyor of "vaporware"--products that get pre-release hype yet never find their way to market.
Apple Duds 2006
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Ghostbusters has never been called vaporware – they were showing screen shots and play samples back when it was first released.
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It's known as "vaporware," a tactic by which a company announces the launch of a product that doesn't exist yet.
Forbes.com: News Gregory Unruh 2011
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The epic tale of vaporware, which is comparable to timeline today.
Joystiq 2010
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The epic tale of vaporware, which is comparable to timeline today.
Joystiq 2010
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