On 17/09/2014 20:45, Roland Perry wrote:
[...]
This vapourware concept you're so very keen on and contactless in
London - how do you describe it - the gases have now solidified?

It's a product that long conformed to the definition:

"Has been advertised but is not yet available to buy, either because it
is only a concept or because it is still being written or designed."

I'd add the rider that such a thing is especially vapourous if it fails
to meet several announced release dates.

It's taken almost two years to move it on from buses to the rest of the
TfL estate, for example.

It's here and is working right now. That doesn't seem very vapourous
to me.

The vapour was the 2+ years that it was "coming soon".

2+ years? Well, if you want to be precise about your vapourware
allegation then at least get it right - contactless on buses was
initially announced for being in time for the Olympics (so July) but
actually arrived in December '12, then contactless on the rest of the
system was initially stated to be coming in "early 2013" ('early' in a
year doesn't have a defined meaning).

So let's say April 2013 - actually arrived September 2014. Difference of
a year and a half.


Obviously, once such a product has beaten the odds and actually
appeared, it comes off the vapourware list.

"Beaten the odds" - what odds?


It wasn't heavily advertised to the public at large for years either.
Yes, there were vague, broad time scales on the relevant project page
of the TfL website that slipped, but (apart from people who take joy
in pointing out how rubbish everything is) people weren't waiting on
baited breath for it to appear.

TfL met their announced, specific , solid 'go-live' date of 16 September.

Except Boris promised a date last year, and others promised dates before
that.

Cite? I'm after a specific announcement of a date.


Delayed (but working), not vapour.

The delay is what made it vapour.

Seems you expend a lot of vapour worrying about these things! I can't
remember hearing anyone else get quite so agitated/excited by it.