Top 10 Biggest Bogus Tech Rumors of 2008 (2/2)

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... Continued from PART 1 of this series ...

10. Diggsoft or DigGoogle?
9. Google Phone Delayed Until 2009
8. Zune Phone
7. The iPhone Nano
6. Xbox in a Blu-ray Player

5. The $100 Midget PC Hoax
The concept of a small netbook or a large UMPC called a "Midget PC" sounded plausible. Perhaps it's only natural that a company would introduce a stripped-down model for around $100. So when the rumors grew louder about a tiny Midget PC netbook, everyone thought it would be interesting. One telltale sign that it was bogus was its name: What company would give a product such a horrible label? Turns out, no company would. This rumor proved to be a big hoax.

4. I Want My Mac Netbook, Now!
With netbooks selling like crazy this year, the idea of an Apple mini-notebook with either a multitouch display or a smaller shape seemed inevitable. Analysts say that, due to the weak economy, netbooks might just be the right market for Apple to penetrate. Steve Jobs has categorically denied any forthcoming Apple mini-notebook, end of story.

3. The Trials and Tribulations of Yahoo
Have you heard the latest Yahoo rumor? You probably have, because the only way to avoid Yahoo rumors is by living under a rock. One big fat Yahoo rumor in February claimed that Microsoft would gobble up Yahoo for a whopping $46 billion. That never materialized. Yahoo's then CEO, Jerry Yang, reportedly refused Microsoft's offer and sought an advertising deal with Microsoft rival Google. That didn't work out too well, either. More speculation followed the MicroHoo rumor. One included AOL's possible merging with Yahoo. But the Microsoft-to-buy-Yahoo rumor just wouldn't quit.

2. Shock! Horror! Obama Owns a Zune!
In what would become known as ZuneGate, a contributor to a Philadelphia news weekly reported that, in December, when he was working out one morning, he was surprised by president-elect Barack Obama, who joined him at the gym. According to writer Neal Santos, Obama "hopped on the machine next to me [at the gym] and broke a mean sweat while reading a copy of USA Today and listening to his Zune." The news Obama that used a Zune drove a bitter partisan wedge between the Apple and Zune camps. Unfortunately for Zune fans, the rumor was short-lived.

1. Steve Jobs Dead? Not So Fast, Shorty!
The biggest bogus rumors of 2008 is Steve Jobs's alleged heart attack. This farce has the same roots as the bogus Midget PC: citizen journalism. A CNN iReport stated: "Steve Jobs was suffering a major heart attack." Twitter was aflutter over the news. Apple stocks fell sharply. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into the iReport. In the end investigators found that an 18-year-old had spread the rumor. But shortly after the "news" broke, Apple representatives reassured everyone that Jobs was fine. And the world sighed in relief.