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{{Short description|Computer products, programs, and platforms that have been abandoned by their developers}}
'''Orphaned technology''' is a descriptive term for [[computer]] products, programs, and platforms that have been abandoned by their original developers. Orphaned technology refers to [[software]], such as [[abandonware]] and [[retrocomputing|antique]] software, but also to [[computer hardware]] and practices. In computer software standards and documentation, [[deprecation]] is the gradual phasing-out of a software or [[programming language]] feature, while orphaning usually connotes a sudden discontinuation, usually for business-related reasons, of a product with an active user base.

For users of technologies that have been withdrawn from the market, there is a choice between maintaining their software support environments in some form of [[emulator|emulation]], or switching to other supported products, possibly losing capabilities unique to their original solution.

Abandoning a technology is not only due to bad or outmoded idea. There are instances, such as the case of some medical technologies, where products are phased out the market because they are no longer viable as business ventures.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Biomedical Engineering Principles, Second Edition|last=Ritter|first=Arthur|last2=Hazelwood|first2=Vikki|last3=Valdevit|first3=Antonio|last4=Ascione|first4=Alfred|date=2011|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781439812334|location=Boca Raton, FL|pages=457}}</ref> Some orphaned technologies do not suffer complete abandonment or obsolescence. For instance, there is the case of IBM's [[Silicon-germanium|Silicon Germanium]] (SiGe) technology, which is a program that produced an ''in situ'' doped alloy as a replacement for the conventional implantation step in silicon semiconductor bipolar process.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Silicon Germanium: Technology, Modeling, and Design|url=https://archive.org/details/silicongermanium00sing|url-access=limited|last=Singh|first=Raminderpal|last2=Oprysko|first2=Modest|last3=Harame|first3=David|date=2004|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|isbn=047144653X|location=Hoboken, NJ|pages=[https://archive.org/details/silicongermanium00sing/page/n70 40]}}</ref> The technology was previously orphaned but was continued again by a small team at IBM so that it emerged as a leading product in the high-volume communications marketplace.<ref name=":0" /> Technologies orphaned due to failure on the part of their startup developers can be picked up by another investor. This is demonstrated by Wink, an [[Internet of things|IoT technology]] orphaned when its parent company Quirky filed for bankruptcy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://connectedworld.com/when-iot-devices-and-solutions-get-left-behind/|title=October 2018: Abandoned Tech: When IoT Devices and Solutions Get Left Behind|last=Staff|first=Connected World|date=October 2018|website=Connected World|language=en|access-date=2019-07-16}}</ref> The platform, however, continued after it was purchased by another company called Flex.<ref name=":1" />

Some well-known examples of orphaned technology include:
* [[Coleco ADAM]] - 8-bit [[home computer]]
* [[TI 99/4A]] - 16-bit [[home computer]]
* [[Mattel Aquarius]]
* [[Apple Lisa]] - 16/32-bit graphical computer
* [[Apple Newton|Newton PDA]] (Apple Newton) - tablet computer
* [[DEC Alpha]] - 64-bit [[microprocessor]]
* [[HyperCard]] - hypermedia
* [[ICAD (software)|ICAD (KBE)]] - knowledge-based engineering
* [[Javelin Software]] - modeling and data analysis
* [[LISP machines]] - LISP oriented computers
* [[Classic Mac OS]] - [[m68k]] and [[PowerPC]] operating system
* [[Microsoft Bob]] - graphical helper
* [[Windows 9x]] - x86 operating system
* [[OpenDoc]] - compound documents ([[Mac OS]], [[OS/2]])
* [[Prograph]] - visual programming system
* [[Poly-1]] - parallel networked computer designed in New Zealand for use in education and training
* [[Mosaic notation program]] - music notation application by [[Mark of the Unicorn]]<ref>(19 August 2008). [http://www.sibelius.com/cgi-bin/helpcenter/chat/chat.pl?com=thread&start=195426&groupid=3&&guest=1 Request by Sibelius users for a Mosaic to Sibelius conversion application]. [[Sibelius (software)]]</ref>
* [[Open Music System]] - [[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]]<ref>(2 September 2009). [https://www.cnet.com/uk/news/opcode-web-site-finally-taken-down/ Opcode Web site finally taken down]. [[CNET]]</ref>

Symbolics Inc's operating systems, [[Genera (operating system)|Genera]] and OpenGenera, were twice orphaned, as they were ported from [[LISP machines]] to computers using the [[DEC Alpha|Alpha]] [[64-bit]] CPU.{{elucidate|date=May 2014}}

User groups often exist for specific orphaned technologies, such as The [[Hong Kong]] [[Apple Newton|Newton]] User Group,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crmloyalty.com/hknug/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2006-09-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311170255/http://www.crmloyalty.com/hknug/ |archive-date=2007-03-11 }}</ref> Symbolics Lisp [Machines] Users' Group (now known as the Association of Lisp Users),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alu.org/alu/about|title=About Us|publisher=Association of Lisp Users|access-date=2013-06-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121140804/http://www.alu.org/alu/about|archive-date=2013-01-21|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Newton Reference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panix.com/~clay/newton/ |title=Newton Reference |website=Panix.com |date=1998-02-27 |access-date=2017-04-03}}</ref> The [[Sibelius (scorewriter)#'Save Sibelius' campaign|Save Sibelius]] group sprang into existence because [[Sibelius (scorewriter)]] users feared the application would be orphaned after its owners [[Avid Tech]] fired most of the development team, who were thereafter hired by [[Steinberg]] to develop the competing product, [[Dorico]].

==See also==
* [[Orphan works]]
* [[Abandonware]]
* [[Planned obsolescence]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Orphaned technology| ]]
[[Category:Orphan works]]
[[Category:Technological change]]
[[Category:Information technology]]

Orphaned technology - Revision history

JJR: 1 revision imported: Orphan_works

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