Slang, Comput. a commercial software product that has received much advance promotion but whose ultimate appearance on the market has become doubtful because of continual delays
Origin of vaporware
vapor + -warevaporware
va·por·wareWebster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"vaporware." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware>.
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vaporware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware
vaporware
noun
New software that has been announced or marketed but has not been produced.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"vaporware." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware>.
APA Style
vaporware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware
Noun
See also: vapourware(uncountable)
- An advertised product, often computer software, whose launch has not happened yet and might or might not ever happen.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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MLA Style
"vaporware." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware>.
APA Style
vaporware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware
vaporware - Computer Definition
In the Computer Underground (CU), it is a sarcastic term designating software or hardware that has been announced by vendors but is not yet available on the market.
Webster's New World Hacker Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Bernadette Schell and Clemens Martin.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"vaporware." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware>.
APA Style
vaporware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware
Software that is not yet in production, but the announced delivery date has long since passed. At times, software vendors are criticized for intentionally producing vaporware in order to keep customers from switching to competitive products that offer more features. However, programmers are notorious for being awful estimators of time. As a result, shipping dates often slip over and over again. Sometimes, the gap between management and technical staff in software companies is just as large as in user organizations. Dates slip because the project is not managed properly, which can be caused by management's lack of understanding of the scope of the project as well as a lack of knowledge of the competence of the technical staff. In addition, as software projects progress from stage to stage, new functions and changes always seem to creep in.
Remember This Well
"As bad as programmers are at estimating the length of a project, they are equally as optimistic about their ability to meet the requirements and deadlines." See wares.Computer Desktop Encyclopedia THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher. © 1981-2017 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"vaporware." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware>.
APA Style
vaporware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/vaporware
