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What's the Worst Technical Feature You've Used?
kooky45 asks: "In an effort to make our lives easier and more entertaining, technology designers pack more and more features into electronic devices, but often they're more nuisance than they're worth. An earlier article on LEDs discussed some of these. Another example is my Nokia 6320i mobile phone which has a back lit screen that drains the battery life at an alarming rate. When the phone is not in use the back light is off; if the battery starts to run low, it gives me regular warnings by beeping and turning the back light on! What other examples of designer stupidity have you seen?"
Clippy.
'Sensible' is a curse word.
My honda, and I think many others - have a security feature for the entertainment system. If the power is ever out to the unit, the owner must punch in a 4 digit code to turn it back on, after power is restored. If you forget the code, and don't have it written down somewhere - you can get it. You just need to remove the unit from the dash and call a dealer with a number written on the outside of it. This is not an easy process - and dealers will do it for you but it costs around $200 last time I checked. In other words - the only person who can easily get at the information necessary to the code is someone who already has the stereo out- like say a thief.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?
Fuck Context Menus /mac user
thats right, i said: "fuck context menus"
Mikey
I've always been the kinda guy to fall for the girl dressed like an eskimo.
My cell phone has a Camera button on the outside edge. Every now and then, I hear the fake shutter sound that lets me know my cell phone just took a picture of the inside of my pocket.
I'm surprised no one else has mention the worst feature ever: DRM.
Education is the silver bullet.
Cancel or Allow? feature.
A vending machine in my building does something similar. There are no "out of product" lights, there's only a single line display. If you select something that's out, it scrolls "NO PRODUCT TO DISPENSE - PLEASE TRY ANOTHER PRODUCT OR CALL 1-800-XXX-XXXX FOR REFILLS - NO PRODUCT TO DISPENSE" one letter at a time. During which time you cannot select another product, get your change back, or do anything at all. Pressing any buttons helpfully resets it to scroll from the start.
Oy!
Well, the worst thing about most PCs is the way the cup holder automatically retracts during a reboot.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I just called that number to complain about the vending machine being out of taco pellets. They were very helpful and understanding. They also have a website
Man, you really need that seminar!
But, who the hell thought it was important for a microwave to store the date?
Didn't you read the manual? Chickens cook differently in odd years than they do in even years.I had a friend who was remarkably good at mimicking the voice on my machine. She called and left a message that repeated the menu commands, and I was sitting there trying to figure out what was wrong with the damn thing.
It is absolutely pointless to be able to eject a DVD from across the room. You still have to get up and walk over to the device. Unless you are strong with the Force. Then you wouldn't need the remote for anything.