I’ve been pursuing photography as a hobby since the early 1980s. I remember the first camera I ever owned - it was a new format (a disc camera) that was supposed to be the next big thing. Or at least it was in the eyes of a teenager in Oklahoma.

Well, it didn’t turn out that way, as you can see here.

I don’t know if that qualifies as a technology disaster, though clearly it was not a success.

But here’s a look by PCMag.com at 20 pieces of technology that, perhaps, should have remained on someone’s drawing board.

Here are three:

Facebook Beacon
Facebook users will remember Beacon all too well. It was an advertising program implemented in 2007 that tracked the activity of Facebook members on certain partner sites and then posted an item in users’ news feeds when they purchased something. This meant that all of your Facebook friends would know where you shopped and what you bought. As a result, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the social-networking site that said Beacon violated several laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). Although the initiative was never officially declared illegal or intrusive, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg apologized and Facebook allowed members to opt-out of Beacon.

Apple USB Mouse
An ergonomic disaster, Apple’s hockey-puck-shaped USB mouse was released in 1998 with the iMac. It was definitely hit with the ugly stick: a circular translucent mouse with just one click button. It’s known as one of Apple’s worst mistakes.

Pets.com
Pets.com was probably the biggest failure of the first Internet bubble. It launched in August 1998 and sold pet accessories and supplies directly to pet owners. The company advertised for its site by using a dog sock puppet, performed by Michael Ian Black, which became so popular that it made appearances on all of the major talk shows, including Live with Regis and Kathie Lee and Good Morning America. At the time, however, it was difficult to convince consumers that they should shop for their pets online. Hence, the company folded in November of 2000.