Microsoft's Windows Vista has easily won the top prize in the
2009 Fiasco
Awards, which were awarded in Barcelona yesterday
(Thursday).
Windows Vista has been ridiculed by users since its launch in
January 2007. Its nomination stated, "An operating system must be
robust and reliable, and that before marketing it you have to carry
out all the necessary tests to ensure that its functionality and
performance achieve satisfactory levels."
Obviously it doesn't, going by the votes cast in the Fiasco
Awards. Out of the 6,403 people who voted through the web, 5,222
considered Windows Vista "a Great Fiasco".
The Fiasco Awards weighted the votes to ensure that an
opportunity was given to local projects, so a consolation prize was
given to SAGA, the Administration and Academic Management System of
the Catalan Government.
Its candidacy argued that an application that does not solve the
needs of users, teachers in this case, "requires a faster reaction"
to solve problems.
The Fiasco Awards are the initiative of a group of people linked
to the ICT sector, which want to reward the best non-successful
projects in the area, say the organisers.
The Awards want to promote critical spirit and a positive
attitude towards failure, which is a necessary stage in the road to
success, they say.
Whether Vista will reach that point is up for debate though, as
Windows 7 is set to replace it next year.
Other nominations that scored highly this year included the now
closed Google Lively virtual world, leading virtual world Second
life (which has had recent security problems among other issues),
and DAB digital radio.