2014 gave the world of tech plenty to talk about with the inaugural launch of the Orion Mars spacecraft and the promise of free, clean energy from Lockheed Martin's revolutionary nuclear fusion design.
This year also brought about some not so good news whether it was the Orbital Sciences rocket explosion or the the fact that Lockheed Martin hadn't actually got their reactor to work yet.
What we've done then is condensed the most-disappointing tech news from the last year into a name and shame list that'll have you frothing at the mouth with anger.
Did BlackBerry's ludicrously square Passport anger you beyond belief? Or perhaps it was the world's smallest upgrade on the iPad Mini 3.
Check out the list below and prepare to get -- at the very least -- mildly irritated.
Tech That Just Wasn't Good Enough In 2014
Smart Watches(01 of11)
That's right, smart watches are top of the list. Why? Well because they're not ready yet. Some of them got really close (like the Moto 360 pictured) but even then it had some pretty major flaws. Android Wear is clean, simple and now -- thanks to a major update -- slightly more useful than it was. It's still pretty un-intuitive though, a constantly scrolling set of cards wasn't what we imagined when we thought 'smart watch'. 2015 will be its year to shine though, it better.
Apple iPad Mini 3(02 of11)
In October Apple announced the arrival of their most underwhelming update ever: the iPad Mini 3. Where the Air had been given a trim and a brand new display the only thing that arrived for the iPad Mini was Touch ID and a new gold colour. Apple then popped it on the shelves and charged exactly the same as the old one. It upset a few people and puzzled us something silly.
Next-generation Games(03 of11)
We can see we'll need to explain this one, so hear us out. The PS4 and Xbox One are truly impressive and their gaming credentials can't be faulted. Whats been the biggest let down then are the games, we've had a year of facelifts and first-time next gen games that have mostly either been reviewed as OK or launched in a fiery explosion of bugs and glitches (Assassin's Creed: Unity). Think about it, the best games this year have almost all been games that were just as good on Xbox 360 or PS3. Have hope however, The Division is on the horizon and the future looks apocalyptic and stunning.
PlayStation TV(04 of11)
It's the Vita, but for your TV! I mean how could that possibly disappoint. Well disappoint it did because as soon as we plugged it in we realised it was Vita for the TV, literally. The interface just wasn't suited to large TVs while a small and selective game list meant that you actually couldn't explore the full range of mostly amazing Vita and PS One games that are in Sony's library. PS4 streaming was OK, however a lack of any TV services became the final straw.
Google Glass(05 of11)
Google Glass wasn't good enough this year because it failed to do anything. It still costs £1000, it still pisses people off in bars and Google hasn't said a word about what it plans to do with it in the future. This isn't good enough for the simple reason that just because something is difficult, doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Glass may have its faults but you ask anyone that used it what they thought and the majority either found it incredible or confusing, two clear signs that it's something we should be looking into more.
Nuclear Fusion(06 of11)
Nuclear Fusion has the potential to be the answer to all our problems. OK so not all of them, but it'd go a long way to solving some of them, most notably the energy crisis. Lockheed Martin shook things up a bit this year by unveiling their mini reactor and while it certainly sounds promising we're still getting those '10 year' predictions. Until we see one powering either a small city or an Iron Man suit it'll continue to be a disappointment.
Orbital Sciences Antares Rocket Explosion(07 of11)
When the Orbital Sciences rocket exploded there were outpourings of shock and surprise. What later became apparent however was that one man in particular wasn't surprised: "Their rocket honestly sounds like the punch line to a joke. It uses Russian rocket engines that were made in the ’60s." That person was Elon Musk, a man who knows a thing or two about rockets. He was right of course and while we feel for the team, it certainly gave the public confidence a particularly firm kick in the shins.
The Autographer(08 of11)
It had a simple and impressive remit: to stop you taking pictures all the time. Instead it would do it for you. We respected that and thanks to a myriad of contextual sensors on board it looked like it could -- on paper at least -- fulfil that promise. Alas instead what you ended up was a hugely expensive piece of plastic that sometimes took a photo and other times took lots of blurry photos. It was well-meaning but ultimately it turns out there's a reason we take pictures ourselves, and that's because we only take them when they're worth taking, most of the time.
3D Printers(09 of11)
3D Printers have promised us so much. They claimed to give us an endless supply of iPhone cases, funny statues and anything our imaginations could think of. The reality is that unless you own an industrial one they're lumpy, noisy and the majority of the time, not very good at printing.
Batteries(10 of11)
Why are we not spending more on R&D into batteries? While a couple of smartphones can boast a two day battery life the rest of us are suffering horribly as our phones die by lunchtime. Surely by now we must have found a way to cure the battery problem.
BlackBerry Passport(11 of11)
Sigh. For starters, just look at it. Secondly there's BlackBerry's long list of reasons why having a giant square phone is actually really useful. What they neglected to mention was how it made it almost impossible to hold or use. Big, bulky, very expensive but beautifully built. This phone will be remembered, just sadly not in a good way.