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Ask Slashdot: What Software (Or Hardware) Glitch Makes You Angry?

Posted by EditorDavid on from the you-wouldn't-like-me-when-I'm-angry dept.

This question was inspired when Slashdot reader TheRealHocusLocus found their laptop "in the throes of a Windows 10 Update," where "progress has rolled past 100% several times and started over." I pushed the re-schedule dialogue to the rear and left it waiting. But my application did not count as activity and I left for a few moments, so Windows decided to answer its own question and restart (breaking a persistent Internet connection)... I've had it. Upon due consideration I now conclude I have been personally f*ck'd with. Driver availability, my apps and WINE permitting, this machine is getting Linux or pre-Windows-8...

That's mine, now let's hear about the things that are pushing you over the edge this very minute. Phones, software, power windows, anything.
There's a longer version of this story in the original submission -- but what's bugging you today? Leave your best answers in the comments. What software (or hardware glitch) makes you angry?

8 of 484 comments (clear)

  1. Windows focus by Kokuyo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I'm typing on my keyboard and some application thinks it's important enough not just to pop up in front of all the other windows but also move the cursor to its windows.

    Especially funny when you're entering an internal password with a customer looking over your shoulder.

    I also very much hate it when I enter a domain and the browser goes "Oh, I know tha tone! Let me autocomplete that for you, even though you hit enter after the ".com""

    I want the computer to sopt trying to think for me until it's actually smarter than me. But at that point, I want to be able to copy a url, a username and a password and just hit ctrl+v three times and the system pastes the correct value in each field.

    1. Re:Windows focus by CODiNE · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There needs to be a slight UI freeze of a quarter second or so whenever a dialog or prompt jumps up unexpectedly. This is a universal problem.

      iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux all of them. You're typing a command and JUUUUSST as you press enter a dialog comes out of nowhere and you just pressed "Ok" on who knows what! It's worse for people who look at the keyboard while typing, they don't even know anything happened.

      Mobile... you're taping away like normal and all the sudden just as your finger is microns from the screen a dialog shows up and you tapped.... whatever it was. Probably just accepted a mysterious self-signed certificate on an important service that definitely shouldn't have one.

      There needs to be a tiny inactive period on those so you can't just confirm something in the middle of something else by mistake. The OS can easily handle this without any app code changes since it owns the dialogs.

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
  2. Re:When it lies, or doesn't say what it wants by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When my computer's OS lies by stating a username/password combination is wrong, when actually the account has been (temporary) disabled.

    That's standard security practise, and it's actually for good reason.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  3. My car. Still on same SW version it came with. by seoras · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Car manufacturers are the worst for software updates. Some worse than others. There's a couple of stupid little bugs in the audio system of my 3 year old car, that make it too painful to use, that could be fixed easily enough with a software update but probably will never get one.
    The dealer and manufacturer are aware of the problems. The dealer just gives me a blank look when I ask when a fix is coming.
    It's that lack of appreciation of software's importance that sank the likes of Nokia et al in the mobile phone market.
    I fully expect the same to happen to the traditional big car manufacturers, they deserve it.

  4. Deliberately breaking software... by msauve · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is to you, Mozilla, Google, Firefox...

    STOP deliberately breaking things. I don't care that my 5 year old IOT thing uses HTTPs with old encryption. I don't care that it uses self-signed certificates. It's still better than unencrypted, and I can't update it. You just deliberately broke things so now I'm forced to use unencrypted communications - what idiot decided that's better than even weak encryption? Put up a warning, fine, but don't break it. Idiots.

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  5. Hiding UI functionality by lordlod · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Programs which hide (delete) menu entries based on state.

    I once spent two days trying to figure out how to recover a low quality software raid disk because the recover menu entry had been deleted and the documentation was useless. The menu entry to start the recovery wasn't visible until the spare disk had been precisely configured as the software wanted. Of course with no feedback of that being the case I was left searching through the interface and floundering around until I managed to luck into the solution.

    1. Re:Hiding UI functionality by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Same applies to the horrible ribbon menus. Especially in MSO they are a shape-shifting horror. Why would anyone think that I do not want to change formatting while working in tables? Constantly have to switch between the big hunking ribbon menus. The menu system was the least of the problems in MSO. Worse, that effen ribbon now pops up in every app, Microsoft or not. I hate it! Dumbest UI change ever, worst user experience since Zuse invented the computer!

  6. Re: When it lies, or doesn't say what it wants by John+Napkintosh · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So you're saying successful login is bad because it indicates credentials are correct?

    --

    Long signatures suck.