Dart started as a compile-to-JS language for web use with a VM for server use, with an browser-hosted VM for development with a long-term plan that compile-to-JS might not be necessary on the web.
And its still a compile-to-JS language for web use with a VM for server use, with an browser-hosted VM for development use.
Reader was a failure according to Google itself, which closed it due to supposed lack of interest. Once again, if the decision to close it was an error by your criteria, then they failed.
The rest I would agree with.
Is it?
> By that definition, Orkut and Reader qualify just fine
If everything is a moonshot, nothing is, etc.
AFAIK both projects were just 20% time projects scaled up to three or four people[1]. A "moonshot" is obviously a wishy-washy term, but opportunity for success doesn't seem to be sufficient to call something that.
[1] http://massless.org/?archive=2007/05/about-google-readers-bi...
Yes. They first used the word when referring to Andy Rubin's departure from Android.
If you are Google that reads as "Orkut only got traction in Brazil and India, hence failure". Maybe they could have sold it to some smaller company, but they tried to move the customers to their other services instead.
Umm, no. Reader was not hugely successful. Users loved the idea of using Reader but they did not actually use it.
Orkut was wildly successful in Brazil and India, until they stopped building it for Buzz and Plus
Reader was hugely successful, which is why the outcry on its closing
Chromebooks are doing great, atleast on Amazon, the world's biggest retailer.
Dart pivoted into a compile-to-JS language, but is still alive
Motorola streamlined it's product lineup under Google and is doing fairly okay for Lenovo
Calling above items as failure is inaccurate. None of them were moonshots btw.