Face it, everyone loves a juicy rumor. And thanks to the Internet, 2008 has been a banner year for them. As the year comes to a close, I've put together my top-ten list of the biggest bogus tech rumors of 2008.
10. Diggsoft or DigGoogle?
Digg was the rumor golden boy in 2008, with either Microsoft or Google rumored to buy the social-bookmarking site. The Internet blogged, Twittered, and Dugg up a storm theorizing on whom Digg founder, Kevin Rose, would end up in bed with. In the end, it was no one.
With over , the rumor appears to have . The news Web site cited a "very, very good" anonymous source who said that Digg was prepared to take around $300 million from either Microsoft or Google. Many publications picked up on the rumor, including and (and then our own JR Raphael gave why he thought it wouldn't happen).
Digg never validated the rumors. A few months later TechCrunch that was negotiating with Digg, this time for $200 million. But then, , Google apparently walked away from the negotiating table, and DigGoogle joined the of Digg-acquisition rumors.
9. Google Phone Delayed Until 2009
I'm glad that the first Google Android phone wasn't delayed until 2009--as it was rumored to be. On , Google's shares dipped 1.3 percent. The word was that HTC, the manufacturer of the , was having problems delivering the Google phone on time.
Tales of the GPhone delay started out modest. At first there weren't enough out there, according to sources. People theorized that Microsoft, Apple, Research In Motion, and Nokia had absorbed all the developers, and so none could be bothered to make Android apps. But the rumor bomb dropped when the Wall Street Journal that the first Android device would not come until the second half of 2009.
In the end though, HTC squashed the rumors, and . The following month, in October, the went on sale for $179.
8. Zune Phone
The more in development, the louder the rumors about the device's imminent release became.
Microsoft never gave people any good reason to expect a , but from July through December 2008, you could find various from The Inquirer and from Wired of imagined Zune-phone hybrids. Closer to reality, perhaps, were rumors that the Zune might soon sport a .
The rumor is still alive and well. Currently, according to sources, the Zune phone . Mike Elgan at Computerworld why that won't really happen (at least not anytime soon): Microsoft "simply doesn't have the vision to build something really great in the consumer electronics space."
Ouch!
7. The iPhone Nano
From the category "I wish it were true" comes the idea of a smaller--and ultimately cheaper--iPhone, a rumor that has been with us all year long. First, to see a miniature iPhone, dubbed the iPhone Nano, at Macworld in January 2008. That never happened. Then that would arrive in time for Christmas. That never happened.
But maybe the third time will be the charm for the iPhone Nano? The is that Apple will release a smaller, cheaper iPhone at in January 2009. The latest gossip comes from , and is based on information from a Taiwan company that makes Apple accessories.
Personally, I could do without the iPhone Nano. Think of the horror of typing on a screen almost half the size of the iPhone 3G's. Battery life on an iPhone Nano couldn't be better either. It just doesn't sound right for Apple to push an inferior product. Nevertheless, collectively willing Apple to deliver an iPhone Nano could bring us .
6. Xbox in a Blu-ray Player
Some rumors start out as merely wishful thinking. Then they become willed into full-blown rumors. Some Microsoft Xbox 360 users really wanted to play Blu-ray discs on their favorite game console. And just like that, came along with the wacky idea of having an Xbox 360 in a Blu-ray player.
The suggestion was to have hardware that could run Xbox 360 game discs created by a party other than Microsoft--something like the , which launched in 2001 in Japan and could play both regular DVDs and GameCube games.
The rumor became quite popular on specialist blogs, even getting mentions on and , and it also surged on Digg, with over 1964 Diggs. My take: If third-party hardware could help prevent the , maybe Microsoft really should consider the option.
5. The $100 Midget PC Hoax
The concept of a small or a called a "Midget PC" sounded plausible. After all, . Perhaps it's only natural that a company would introduce a stripped-down model for around $100.
So when the rumors grew louder about a tiny Midget PC netbook, I thought it was interesting. But maybe I should have been more critical. One telltale sign that it was bogus was its name: What company would give a product such a horrible label? Turns out, no company would.
This rumor proved to be a big hoax. A few days later revealed that the Midget PC was a fake. The story was the creation of a hoaxster at a citizen-journalism site, . The article used two-year-old quotes from an unrelated and included many other fabrications to make it appear legit.
4. I Want My Mac Netbook, Now!
The Mac-netbook rumor is not a rumor anymore--it has morphed into a Mac-enthusiast to get Apple to build and release a mini-notebook. The device, , should be a cross between the iPhone and the MacBook Air.
With this year, the idea of an Apple mini-notebook with either a multitouch display or a smaller shape seemed inevitable. that, due to the , netbooks might just be for Apple to penetrate.
Regardless of whether you or you about it, this remains for a mythical product. Steve Jobs any forthcoming Apple mini-notebook, end of story. (Or is it?)
I hope Apple has a surprise for Mac-netbook fans at Macworld in January. But if Apple does deliver on the Mac netbook, I'm quite sure that it won't come as we would like it to.
3. The Trials and Tribulations of Yahoo
Have you heard the latest Yahoo rumor? You probably have, because the only way to avoid Yahoo rumors is by living under a rock.
One big fat Yahoo that Microsoft would gobble up Yahoo for a whopping $46 billion. That . Yahoo's , Jerry Yang, reportedly refused Microsoft's offer and sought an . That didn't .
More speculation followed the MicroHoo rumor. One included . But the Microsoft-to-buy-Yahoo rumor just wouldn't quit. Apparently even
Ballmer doesn't appear to be (at least not as of this writing). Meanwhile, Yahoo is planning another .
Can anyone please buy Yahoo and get it over with?
2. Shock! Horror! Obama Owns a Zune!
In what would become known as ZuneGate, a contributor to a reported that, in December, when he was working out one morning, he was surprised by president-elect Barack Obama, who joined him at the gym. According to writer , Obama "."
The news Obama that used a Zune drove a bitter partisan wedge between the Apple and Zune camps. While the Zune camp celebrated what it saw as a victory, the Apple camp was outraged and wanted their vote for Obama back.
Unfortunately for Zune fans, the rumor was short-lived. An Obama spokesperson set the record straight: .
1. Steve Jobs Dead? Not So Fast, Shorty!
Culminating my top-ten list of the biggest bogus rumors of 2008 is Steve Jobs's . This farce has the same roots as the bogus Midget PC: .
A CNN iReport stated: "Steve Jobs was rushed to the ER [...] suffering a major heart attack." Twitter was aflutter over the news. Apple to $94. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the iReport. In the end investigators found that an had spread the rumor. But shortly after the "news" broke, Apple representatives everyone that Jobs was fine. And the world sighed in relief.
Have I missed any juicy rumor that made headlines this year? Tell us your thoughts on what other stories we should have included in this article, and add your comments.