Brochureware was a term used to describe "simply listing products and services on a Web site."[1] To emphasize what's lacking, Advertising Age referred to "static brochureware"[2] - it just stands there and "is little more than a brochure."
The New York Times wrote that it's "not the kindest of terms."[3] IBM's initial online annual report was "standard brochureware: sticking the print annual report on the Web;" the third year they made it "easy to navigate" and added features to enable viewers to "create charts slicing the company's figures any number of bean-counting ways."[4] In 1999 The Economist referred to "stodgily designed billboards, known in the business as brochureware which do little more than ..."[5] Pre-Y2K political websites were described as "bland brochureware."[6]
'Get us on the internet'[7] was the mandate at a time when low dial-up speeds[8] did not allow much use of computer graphics, and interactive features were minimal. "They put us on the internet" was a praiseworthy accomplishment.[9] [10] [11]
Even after Y2K it was considered news to headline "Toyota Elevating Its Site From Brochureware."[12] Technology was not the only obstacle. In 1997, it was still the case that "Federal financial disclosure regulations still favor paper over electrons"[4] (something not scheduled to be remedied by SEC rule changes until 2021).[13] Even brochureware was not that simple: "brochureware that works in multiple languages" was needed.[14]
The computer industry's trade shows were described as hype, crowds, and "bags of brochureware."[15] Concurrently, half of the advertising field's top 10 agencies were shoeless shoemakers, and Advertising Age wrote: "Three of the top agencies have pages that boast a full site will be coming…"[16]
Earlier than brochureware was the use of the word vaporware. Based on an alleged 1982 coining of the word following Ann Winblad's investigating Microsoft Xenix's non-future,[17] Esther Dyson publicized the word in 1983: the first time it appeared in print. By 1985, Computerworld used the word in a survey.[17] A still earlier xWare-related word is FUD: Fear, uncertainty, and doubt.[18]
Shelfware is a computer-industry term still in use.[19]