Orphaned technology

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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 antique software, but also to hardware and practices. In computer software standards and documentation, deprecation is the gradual phasing-out of a software or programming language feature.

For users of superior technologies that have been withdrawn from the market, there is a choice between maintaining their surrounding environments in some form of emulation or switching to other supported products and losing those capabilities.

Examples of orphaned technologies that still have or had a following after being dropped include DEC Alpha microprocessor, LISP machines, especially those of Symbolics Inc., OpenDoc, the Newton PDA (Apple Newton), Hypercard, the Prograph visual programming system, and the Apple II series of computers, and Classic Mac OS. Symbolics Inc.'s operating systems, Genera and OpenGenera were twice orphaned, as they were ported from LISP machines to computers using the Alpha 64-bit CPU. User groups often exist for specific orphaned technologies, such as The Hong Kong Newton User Group[1], Symbolics Lisp [Machines] Users' Group[2], and Newton Reference[3].

Orphan technologies also refer to technologies for which there is a need, but not a large enough market to make investment in the technology financially viable.