Brochureware was a term used to describe "simply listing products and services on a Web site." To emphasize what's lacking, ''

Advertising Age ''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in ...

'' referred to "static brochureware" - it just stands there and "is little more than a brochure."

Overview

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that it's "not the kindest of terms." IBM's initial online annual report was "standard brochureware: sticking the print annual report on the Web;" the third year they made it "easy to navigate" and added features to enable viewers to "create charts slicing the company's figures any number of bean-counting ways." In 1999 ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' referred to "stodgily designed billboards, known in the business as ''brochureware'' which do little more than ..." Pre-Y2K political websites were described as "bland brochureware."

History

'Get us on the internet' was the mandate at a time when low dial-up speeds"IDT first offered dial-up services in 1994." did not allow much use of computer graphics, and interactive features were minimal. "They put us on the internet" was a praiseworthy accomplishment. Even after Y2K it was considered news to headline "Toyota Elevating Its Site From Brochureware." Technology was not the only obstacle. In 1997, it was still the case that "Federal financial disclosure regulations still favor paper over electrons" (something not scheduled to be remedied by SEC rule changes until 2021). Even brochureware was not that simple: "brochureware that works in multiple languages" was needed. The computer industry's trade shows were described as hype, crowds, and "bags of brochureware." Concurrently, half of the advertising field's top 10 agencies were shoeless shoemakers, and ''Advertising Age'' wrote: "Three of the top agencies have pages that boast a full site will be coming…"

xWare

Earlier than ''brochureware'' was the use of the word ''

vaporware In the computer industry, vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer Computer hardware, hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is late, never actually manufactured, or officially canceled. Use of the w ...

''. Based on an alleged 1982 coining of the word following Ann Winblad's investigating

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Xenix Xenix is a discontinued Unix operating system for various microcomputer platforms, licensed by Microsoft from AT&T Corporation. The first version was released in 1980, and Xenix was the most common Unix variant during the mid- to late-1980s. T ...

's non-future,

Esther Dyson Esther Dyson (born 14 July 1951) is a Swiss-born American investor, journalist, author, commentator and philanthropist. She is the executive founder of Wellville, a nonprofit project focused on improving equitable wellbeing. Dyson is also an ang ...

publicized the word in 1983: the first time it appeared in print. By 1985, ''

Computerworld ''Computerworld'' (abbreviated as CW) is a computer magazine published since 1967 aimed at information technology (IT) and Business computing, business technology professionals. Original a print magazine, ''Computerworld'' published its final pr ...

'' used the word in a survey. A still earlier ''xWare''-related word is ''FUD:

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a manipulative propaganda tactic used in technology sales, marketing, public relations, politics, polling, and cults. FUD is generally a strategy to influence perception by disseminating negative and dubio ...

''. '' Shelfware'' is a computer-industry term still in use.

References

{{reflist, 31em Business terms Vaporware