When technology fails to impress you
When technology fails to impress you
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Discussion

davhill

Original Poster:

5,263 posts

214 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
I expect there's much mileage here, Eveen despite the sluggish PC parts, etc.

Pre-LED low energy lightbulbs spring to mind but I'll start by going more mechanical
and further back.

Think when some of us were trying not to turn our car's floors into Swiss cheese by getting
one of these for the arc welder.



Wotta piece of crap. All the control finesse of a weapons-grade curry fart on a Sunday morning.

A classic bad buy and we've all had those.

The floor's yours - the more dismal the failure the better...

smifffymoto

5,186 posts

235 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Wifi booster.Orange said it would work.It was st and didn’t,cue Mrs S hiding ethernet cables under rugs etc.

anonymous-user

84 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Office-based IT.

In 20+ years of CAD, traffic modelling, photo insertion in Office docs, PDFs, super-duper printers and plotters etc, it still takes the same amount of time to produce something publishable.

Every step of the way there's a cloud-based this or profile-based that, or you need admin rights to use the USB, or the wifi has dropped out and won't let you back in as you didn't log out properly, or any number of tosspot things which just clog things up and causes delays.

The IT gimps can now "remote" in from offices far away, and when they invariably can't fix it, they ask you to take your laptop to them. In bloody Croydon or somewhere else st. Moan at them and they get all snowflake and say they won't deal with you if you're nasty to them. Tell them they're as helpful as a brain tumour and they really kick off. If anyone ever did an FOI request on how much IT downtime we have while waiting for them to finish testing something or compatibility issues with their over-complicated cloud-based printing system, it would make for interesting reading. I don't know if it's the technology that fails to impress me or the idiots administering it.

Oh, and "paperless office", my arse.


bearman68

4,937 posts

162 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Oh I'm going to enjoy this thread.

Touch screens in cars for heating and ventilation control. WTF is all that about. Taken 3 easy to find manual controls you can find in the dark, and buried them deep in a touchscreen. sometimes 9 menu changes to adjust warm air to your feet. fking fkers.

dundarach

6,227 posts

258 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Number 1 for me:

The vast, vast majority of modern speaker systems...stereo separation anyone!

Our appreciation of music is at an all time low, tinny, raspy and ste!


Also

Any fecking cables which have a correct way up, without any obvious sign as to which way this is, whilst prodding around in the dark!


Pothole

34,367 posts

312 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Pull cord bathroom light switches. Why does a "silent" one cost £30?

croyde

26,385 posts

260 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Pothole said:
Pull cord bathroom light switches. Why does a "silent" one cost £30?
Class hehe

Pothole

34,367 posts

312 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
croyde said:
Pothole said:
Pull cord bathroom light switches. Why does a "silent" one cost £30?
Class hehe
I try. I've got loads about steam power...

anonymous-user

84 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
BluRay discs or whatever they are called. Much better picture quality i was assured...not impressed.

4k TV's...see above

Ikemi

8,610 posts

235 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
slopes said:
BluRay discs or whatever they are called. Much better picture quality i was assured...not impressed.

4k TV's...see above
Really? The difference between SD and HD (or HD and 4K) is night and day. If you want the best from 4K, you will need a larger panel e.g. 50”+

Otherwise, Specsavers? hehe

Yell_M3

389 posts

230 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
The Crack Fox said:
Software in general. Each release more complex than the last, more bugs, more features you don’t want, harder integration with other software, more updates needed, new releases more frequently.... did anyone ever say “fk it, let’s just make it simple, accessible and robust”?

Perhaps one for the unpopular opinions thread.
I only switched from Office 2000 in late 2017 because of this. And I work in IT!

Cold

16,711 posts

120 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Passwords. Passwords for everything but it's the passwords required for stupid, meaningless websites that give the greatest angst.

However, you shouldn't use the same password in case someone steals your identity and does something terrible with it like posting something naughty on a forum while pretending to be you.

Can't remember your password despite being certain you've entered it correctly? Never mind, ask for a re-set - only to be told that you've used that one before. Either that or they send a re-set to a long defunct email address and the automated unhelpful line can't fathom what the problem is. So of course you can't access that part of your account to update the email address despite the billing and contact details being up to date.

Oh well, use the memorable questions to prove it's you. No, that's not your date of birth. That wasn't your first car. You didn't live on that street. That wasn't your first pet. You must be an impostor so you're now locked out.

*None of the above is referring to Apple ID. None.



anonymous-user

84 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Ikemi said:
slopes said:
BluRay discs or whatever they are called. Much better picture quality i was assured...not impressed.

4k TV's...see above
Really? The difference between SD and HD (or HD and 4K) is night and day. If you want the best from 4K, you will need a larger panel e.g. 50”+

Otherwise, Specsavers? hehe
Got a 52" screen and it is 4K apparently but there is minimal difference between this one and the previous one that was HD. Really not that impressed considering all the furore regarding them.

Buster73

5,620 posts

183 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Cold said:
Passwords. Passwords for everything but it's the passwords required for stupid, meaningless websites that give the greatest angst.

However, you shouldn't use the same password in case someone steals your identity and does something terrible with it like posting something naughty on a forum while pretending to be you.

Can't remember your password despite being certain you've entered it correctly? Never mind, ask for a re-set - only to be told that you've used that one before. Either that or they send a re-set to a long defunct email address and the automated unhelpful line can't fathom what the problem is. So of course you can't access that part of your account to update the email address despite the billing and contact details being up to date.

Oh well, use the memorable questions to prove it's you. No, that's not your date of birth. That wasn't your first car. You didn't live on that street. That wasn't your first pet. You must be an impostor so you're now locked out.

*None of the above is referring to Apple ID. None.
Very much this , or put a password in that you want to use only to be told it’s not strong enough ?

Everyone seems to be asking for an email address “ so we can send your receipt “ , no it’s not it’s to spam you with mail , at least be honest about it.

croyde

26,385 posts

260 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Cold said:
Passwords. Passwords for everything but it's the passwords required for stupid, meaningless websites that give the greatest angst.

However, you shouldn't use the same password in case someone steals your identity and does something terrible with it like posting something naughty on a forum while pretending to be you.

Can't remember your password despite being certain you've entered it correctly? Never mind, ask for a re-set - only to be told that you've used that one before. Either that or they send a re-set to a long defunct email address and the automated unhelpful line can't fathom what the problem is. So of course you can't access that part of your account to update the email address despite the billing and contact details being up to date.

Oh well, use the memorable questions to prove it's you. No, that's not your date of birth. That wasn't your first car. You didn't live on that street. That wasn't your first pet. You must be an impostor so you're now locked out.

*None of the above is referring to Apple ID. None.
My biggest bugbear and the cause of so much stress.

Constantly being asked a question that you know you set thus know the answer yet it refuses to accept the answer.

Being asked to set up an account every time you want to buy something on-line Grrrrrrrrr

Ikemi

8,610 posts

235 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
slopes said:
Ikemi said:
slopes said:
BluRay discs or whatever they are called. Much better picture quality i was assured...not impressed.

4k TV's...see above
Really? The difference between SD and HD (or HD and 4K) is night and day. If you want the best from 4K, you will need a larger panel e.g. 50”+

Otherwise, Specsavers? hehe
Got a 52" screen and it is 4K apparently but there is minimal difference between this one and the previous one that was HD. Really not that impressed considering all the furore regarding them.
Are you watching a 4K source? For example, Sky Ultra HD or a UHD film on Prime/Netflix, or via an Xbox S/XBox X? If you run your devices through an AV Receiver, does the AV Receiver support 4K?

Best way to test is if your television has integrated YouTube/Prime/Netflix apps - Find a 4K video and play it. I think you’ll see the difference!

thebraketester

15,782 posts

168 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Anything to do with printers.

croyde

26,385 posts

260 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
thebraketester said:
Anything to do with printers.
Completely agree.

On my 5th or 6th printer. Never does what you want it to do and constantly wastes ink and paper.

Ransoman

884 posts

120 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
OpulentBob said:
Office-based IT.

In 20+ years of CAD, traffic modelling, photo insertion in Office docs, PDFs, super-duper printers and plotters etc, it still takes the same amount of time to produce something publishable.

Every step of the way there's a cloud-based this or profile-based that, or you need admin rights to use the USB, or the wifi has dropped out and won't let you back in as you didn't log out properly, or any number of tosspot things which just clog things up and causes delays.

The IT gimps can now "remote" in from offices far away, and when they invariably can't fix it, they ask you to take your laptop to them. In bloody Croydon or somewhere else st. Moan at them and they get all snowflake and say they won't deal with you if you're nasty to them. Tell them they're as helpful as a brain tumour and they really kick off. If anyone ever did an FOI request on how much IT downtime we have while waiting for them to finish testing something or compatibility issues with their over-complicated cloud-based printing system, it would make for interesting reading. I don't know if it's the technology that fails to impress me or the idiots administering it.

Oh, and "paperless office", my arse.
Your IT is crap, that's all.

Is it outsourced? Do you have a "Head of IT" who works for your company and is he actually an IT guy (not a CFO or similar innapropriate role). The more a company moves IT away at an arms length, the worse the service will get.

Dog Star

17,606 posts

198 months

Wednesday 6th March 2019
quotequote all
Those robot vacuum cleaners. What a load of cack.

Keyless go - what a total waste of time; I still need to carry the fob with me (with my house door key and gate remote) so I then need somewhere to put it in the car. A handy ignition key hole would be useful, eh? Solution to a problem that didn't exist.

Similarly I have a new car with an electric opening tailgate - what a load of crap! Why? It takes 5 times longer to open and close. It's just stupid, I bet it weighs a ton and when it goes wrong who knows what it will cost to fix. Great reason to lease a car and never own one out of warranty.