Technology you F'ng hate thread

[Ghost Train]

What technologies do you absolutely despise? Can be related to entertainment, transportation, communications, or just random crap that you wish were never invented.

1) 3D: It does nothing for me - I don't see stuff flying out of the screen (I assume this is the intended effect). I just leave the theater with a splitting headache and nausea - what a way to spend $20 . Could have gotten 2 six-packs of decent beer for that amount and achieve a headache and nausea. Perhaps I have some sort of cognition impairment that prevents me from enjoying this sort of crap. I seriously hope that in 10 years, 3D does not become the norm of movies/tv.

2) Smart phones: Yes, it's cool that I can get my email through it and do some ad-hoc internet research on the go... but it's really gone too far. People walking into cars, walls, manholes, etc, young people who can't communicate ideas verbally while maintaining eye contact, texting while driving, s*xting, etc....

Which is why Microsoft deserves props for this commercial (which coincidentally is for W7 smartphones):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHlN21ebeak

Let's not forget the intense microwave radiation your testicles (or ovaries) are absorbing while your phone sits near your midsection. Lucky for you, Microwave is non-ionizing. I swear though, even if phones emitted gamma radiations it would not really stop anyone.

3) TSA security scanners: Someone needs to research why a country that is constantly under attack has had 3+ decades of operating its national airlines without a hitch and without full body scanners.

4) Social Networking: For decades people have been complaining how the gahmen is taking away your rights, invading your privacy, etc. .... Guess F'ing what? You're doing it to yourself ! On 99.99% of issues I don't see eye to eye with Ayn Rand, but on this I agree 100%: Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

4b) Twitter: I'm seriously not interested in what you had for breakfast this morning. This leads us to a general observation about "user generated" internet content in general:

5) Form-fitting plastic containers for electronic devices: I absof'inglutely hate hate hate hate hate hate this crap. It took me 5 f'ing minutes to locate a pair of scissors, cut the freaking container to get my new USB storage out (which by the way is a tech I actually like), run to the first aid kit cuz the sharp plastic almost slid my finger in half.

....

/thread start

[Seto Kaiba]

Huh... that could be a looooooooong list.

To be honest, I can't say anything for or against the recent trend of 3D movies because I only rarely go to the cinema anymore. There's just too much flash and not nearly enough substance to warrant paying eight bucks, and I just don't see the appeal.

If there's one technology I can say I have nothing but loathing for, smart phones would definitely be it. I could maybe look the other way if they were a "power toy" for executives with more money than sense or business owners who actually need to be reachable at all times... but they're not. I've yet to see anyone actually using their smart phone for business purposes. The only smart phones users I see are the spoiled teenagers and twenty-somethings who suffer from a crippling addiction to whatever the social networking flavor of the week happens to be, and as a result think every insignificant detail of their lives is of vital importance to all of the 6+ billion people on Earth. After seeing the way my kid sister behaved with hers when she bought one for herself, I'm seriously convinced they're a cause or exacerbating factor in ADD.

Social networking sites and services like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and whatever the flavor of the week is are all equally useless in my opinion. Every time I hear about one of my friends having a facebook-induced squabble with someone, I wonder how the sheer amounts of unnecessary drama those services accumulate doesn't just collapse on itself and form a black hole.

The last annoying technology trend that really grinds me gears these days is the inexplicable popularity of the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC). Yes, it's free... but unless you have a super premium stereo in your house, the kind with a six-figure price tag, you won't hear any appreciable difference between FLAC audio and MP3 at 320kbps. The only appreciable difference is that the FLAC file is, on average, about three times the size of the MP3 for the same song. I realize that large HDDs are cheap these days, but there's no reason to waste space storing massive lossless audio files when they're utterly indistinguishable from last-generation lossy MP3 over computer speakers. It's a waste of time, bandwidth, and storage space.

[mikeszekely]

I agree enthusiastically with 1, 3, and 5. I personally don't care for Facebook, but its existence doesn't bother me. I like Twitter though, and use it to keep tabs on several of my friends. It's like low-maintenance social networking. As for blogging, while I'm sure there are a ton that are junk, I get more news from blogs like Kotaku than I ever did from print. Lastly, I love smartphones. Freaking LOVE them. I can't wait to replace my very dated HTC Touch Pro2 with a new phone... I'd have bought the Droid Incredible by now, if not for leaked info on the Droid Incredible HD.

Other tech I hate would be...

1.) DRM. A good idea in theory years ago, in practice it's made life a bitch for the paying customers and has done nothing to deter piracy. Yet content providers are hell bent on making us use it anyway.

2.) The "Cloud". Hard drives are cheap as all get out, my Comcast-provided internet seems to drop at least once a month, and providers are already whining about how they don't have enough bandwidth to serve all the Netflix we've been watching. I can't imagine why people would want to do on their computing in a cloud.

3.) Dashboard displays. Sure, it's nice to have a bunch of info at your fingertips, but my current car is way to patronizing. My old car had a light on the dash if the driver's seat belt was unbuckled (and I didn't feel it was necessary to buckle up just to drive trash from my apartment to the other side of the complex where the dumpster is). My new car beeps once if the passenger doesn't buckle up, and beeps continuously until the driver either buckles up or shuts off the car. My tire pressure is supposed to be 35psi. I like that it lets me know if it's low, but I don't like how it beeps every time you turn it on, with a "Low pressure" message on the display that won't go until you add air when one tire (can't tell me something useful like WHICH one) gets to around 30psi. The absolute worst is the beep and the "Roads may be icy" message that comes on not when the roads are actually wet or icy, but EVERY TIME you turn the car on and the temperature is below 35 degrees. At that point, it's not warning me that the roads seriously could be icy, it's pretty much telling me that ALL roads have a potential to be icy should the temperature be below freezing, and that the temperature is in fact below freezing. Really? I guess that explains all the freaking snow you're buried under, Mister Genius car!

4.) Motion-controlled gaming. Let's all be honest now, the Wii is pretty terrible. Once a year, a must-have game comes out for it that makes you wish the Wii had the power of the other consoles, and the rest of the year is fueled by gimmicky crap. But hey, that gimmicky crap sells! So now that crap has come to the PS3 and Xbox 360, too. Joy.

[buddhafabio]

cell phones period..... i hate people on em when they drive, in a eating establishment ordering, people at work texting when they should be working. kids that look more intent then what their family is doing.

[sketchley]

1) 3D

What's the point? If I want to see stuff in 3D, I stop looking at a TV or movie screen, and walk around outside. Reality rocks! (... and it goes without saying that truth is stranger than fiction.)

2) full body scanners & airport finger-printing

The former is not only a violation of privacy, but a health hazard, the later is a major disincentive to travel. I'll spend my vacation money in countries that don't automatically assume I'm a criminal, thank you.

3) DRM.

4) stupid names that the marketing execs at Apple come up with, coupled with the smug attitudes perpetuated by their CMs.

5) ... not really technology per se, but the entire advertising industry that perpetuates the myth that you won't be happy unless you have the latest piece of technology; when you don't need it at all. And especially as there's always another new thing or 100 waiting in the wings. You'll never be happy! (... of course one could add the sensationalist news media with story tag-lines like "what you don't know might kill you..." Ugh!)

Edited December 6, 2010 by sketchley

[Million Star]

I hate ipods. Seriously why do you need 1000s of songs in poor quality on you at all times? Didn`t anyone ever tell you that it should be about quality not quantity? And those that like to shuffle their entire collection, ever heard of a producer? they`re people who spend a lot of time and effort to put an album together in the way they and the artist think it should be heard. To me, thats as important as the individual songs. There is no better sonic experience than a well produced and mastered CD, much better than scratchy LPs and can be just as `warm` if well produced imo. and they are portable. When I go out I pack a discman and 3-4 albums, why would I need anymore? I do like making themed mixes so I have a Sony Hi MD walkman for that that packs an excellent DA converter. People have lost the ability to fully appreciate pieces of art and culture by having instant access to too much. Also buying CDs makes you a better curator, critic and editor than you ever will be if you download everything for free. I actually hated music for a year after I jumped on the bandwagon and got an ipod. even in high bitrates the ipod hardware was so sonically retarded and when I went back to my old `90s Sony discman I loved music again. Also, having a collection of CDs on my shelf makes me happy.

This rant also fits into a general issue I have with everyone assuming that new is always better. Its often worse, take first edition PS3s and a lot of first edition technology, always better built and with more features, as the price drops the quality also usually drops.

[eugimon]

Awesome, I used to talk to my grandparents to listen to old people talking about newfangledstuff they didn't like. But sadly they passed on, thanks for filling the void guys!

[anime52k8]

1)Television: 9000 channels and it's all crap. go read a book, or go out and play sports/kill a wild animal like a real man.

2)Telephones: What ever happened to just going up to a person and talking. And if the person was too far away to speak with in person you wrote them a letter. That's right, god damn words on paper and it took weeks to get where it's going; whatever you needed to say had better be important.

3)Internal combustion engines: seriously, all these god damn kids with there cars and trucks and flying machines, what has it done for us?!? Noise, traffic and global warming; that's what.

4)Antibiotics: We've got an immune system for a reason. Grow a pair and tough it out when your sick.

5)Electricity: Why do we need this? Everything that runs on it is redundant or crap. If your house is dark or cold, light a fire. And if it's dark, go to sleep, that's how you know it's time to go to bed.

6)Indoor plumbing: How lazy are you people that you cant be arsed to walk to the nearest stream and get a bucket of water. You wouldn't need all that water if you quit wasting it on crap like washing dishes and bathing.

7)Movable type printing: Seriously, reading is for pussies.

8)Agriculture: If you want food, go kill a wild animal like a real man.

9)Metallurgy: In my day we had nothing but sticks and rocks, and we liked it.

10)The wheel: do I really need to explain this one?

:edit:

also, synthetic polymers, vulcanized rubber, standardized units of measure, interchangeable parts and hydraulic cement. f*ck all that poo too.

Edited December 6, 2010 by anime52k8

[eugimon]

1)Television: 9000 channels and it's all crap. go read a book, or go out and play sports/kill a wild animal like a real man.

2)Telephones: What ever happened to just going up to a person and talking. And if the person was too far away to speak with in person you wrote them a letter. That's right, god damn words on paper and it took weeks to get where it's going; whatever you needed to say had better be important.

3)Internal combustion engines: seriously, all these god damn kids with there cars and trucks and flying machines, what has it done for us?!? Noise, traffic and global warming; that's what.

4)Antibiotics: We've got an immune system for a reason. Grow a pair and tough it out when your sick.

5)Electricity: Why do we need this? Everything that runs on it is redundant or crap. If your house is dark or cold, light a fire. And if it's dark, go to sleep, that's how you know it's time to go to bed.

6)Indoor plumbing: How lazy are you people that you cant be arsed to walk to the nearest stream and get a bucket of water. You wouldn't need all that water if you quit wasting it on crap like washing dishes and bathing.

7)Movable type printing: Seriously, reading is for pussies.

8)Agriculture: If you want food, go kill a wild animal like a real man.

9)Metallurgy: In my day we had nothing but sticks and rocks, and we liked it.

10)The wheel: do I really need to explain this one?

it all went down hill with the opposable thumb, didn't it?

[areaseven]

Automatic parking systems. It seems that nowadays, people want cars, but don't want to learn how to drive.

[mikeszekely]

Awesome, I used to talk to my grandparents to listen to old people talking about newfangledstuff they didn't like. But sadly they passed on, thanks for filling the void guys!

What? Newfangledstuff? Hate it. Too many buttons. What's with all the buttons? Back in my day, we only had one button! It was a volume up button. There was no volume down button, so you had to be damn sure you wanted to turn the volume up. That's the problem with you kids today, you don't think! You just say whatever garbage that pops into your head on that Tweeter nonsense. You know how we sent messages during the war? Why, I had to get on my bicycle and ride five miles to old Thompson's drug store. Only telephone in town back in those days. Then I'd call up my best girl... still remember her telephone number: 8. Course, telephone numbers were a lot shorter back in those days. We didn't have no fancy flim-flams like "area codes" back then. Didn't need 'em! Life was a lot simpler then. We worked hard, we telephoned infrequently, and we listened to the radio loud! And to be able to afford that radio, I had to work 14 hours a day at the mill. Payed 3 cents an hour, and I was glad for it! Kid's today, you just don't know the value of a nickle! You toss them into the fountains at the mall you're always hanging around at. Didn't have time for loitering back in my day, no sir. Kids today. Too much time. You don't know what real work is. Ah, where's my pills? Is Matlock on? Where's the volume up button?

[troyness]

deliberately vague privacy laws v,s tech is my main gripe.

Did my local bank ask my permission to" face + fingerprint" me while withdrawing money from the ATM?..No but they did it anyway{ I suffered I.D fraud from this,which wouldn,t have happened if that software wasn,t in the ATM}

Did department stores like:"David Jones + Myer" ask my permission to use "face recog" tech on me as I enter their store even if I,m NOT acting like a criminal?.No but they did it anyway

I,m not a criminal,but when I leave my country interpol has an intimate or vague knowledge of my wherabout, they dictated that to me too.

Whether I,m a cheating husband or not, does anyone have the right to track my movements from my mobile phone?{or turn my mobile into a microphone}

Does retinal scans reveal alot about your inner health{that you wouldn,t even be aware of}?You bet it does,and it all gets stored somewhere.

Do I enjoy answering my own questions?.....yes it,s lovely!

[Arthurius]

1) I first want to comment the 3D in movies. Well, seing a 3D movie in a normal theatre, not really that much different than the 2d counterversion, some movies are better than others with the quality, but all in all, not ground breacking....however, 3D in a Imax theatre does make a huge difference (then again i think even 2D movies are much better in a imax - excluding chick flicks). For example, the movie Avatar, you really felt like you were part of the movie, like the grass was right next to you, and often, i would extend my hands as if to touch them. I highly recommend you go see a good movie that is well done in 3D at an imax 3d, it is not like the movies you have probably seen in a regular small theatre. I very rarely go see any movies at a theatre, maybe 2 (max 3) times a year, but when i do, a giant screen and good quality 3D is really fun.

2) As for smart phones, i dont own any, but i do agree many pll on it are chatting all the time or looking at the screen all of a sudden when you are talking to them, and quite annoying. The only time i find them usefull is when they are being used as gps or internet to find a restaurant or whats cool around, otherwise, i dislike how pll are using them.

3) My personal technology i fear is TV. Yep, we dont have any, cause when we did, i would sit in front of it like a mindless zombie, unable to do anything else. Also, i feel like it is a mind control device, with all the controled "news" in the world. Now that we dont have it, everyone asks us why, how come, how is it possible, whats wrong with us, and etc... almost as if we commited a crime or something. Well, not having, i can actually listen to my wife when having supper, and spend more time togheter.

[Ghost Train]

1)Television: 9000 channels and it's all crap. go read a book, or go out and play sports/kill a wild animal like a real man.

2)Telephones: What ever happened to just going up to a person and talking. And if the person was too far away to speak with in person you wrote them a letter. That's right, god damn words on paper and it took weeks to get where it's going; whatever you needed to say had better be important.

3)Internal combustion engines: seriously, all these god damn kids with there cars and trucks and flying machines, what has it done for us?!? Noise, traffic and global warming; that's what.

4)Antibiotics: We've got an immune system for a reason. Grow a pair and tough it out when your sick.

5)Electricity: Why do we need this? Everything that runs on it is redundant or crap. If your house is dark or cold, light a fire. And if it's dark, go to sleep, that's how you know it's time to go to bed.

6)Indoor plumbing: How lazy are you people that you cant be arsed to walk to the nearest stream and get a bucket of water. You wouldn't need all that water if you quit wasting it on crap like washing dishes and bathing.

7)Movable type printing: Seriously, reading is for pussies.

8)Agriculture: If you want food, go kill a wild animal like a real man.

9)Metallurgy: In my day we had nothing but sticks and rocks, and we liked it.

10)The wheel: do I really need to explain this one?

Your post is hilarious and well taken. However, the topic is not so much that I hate all technology but (being the hypocrite that I am) just some of them.

The general tech development of our species ever since some wise guy decided to smash two stones together has generally been positive, as evidenced by the fact that at least in the developed world, 30 is no longer considered "old age." My point is that our intellectual and financial capital is invested in areas that produce very little value to society.

In 1969, NASA put boots on the moon, this, despite the fact that the processing power on my PC is in the order of thousands of times more powerful than that of the Apollo module's flight computer. Yet today, we have lost the ability to return to the moon and won't be able to regain this until at least a decade.

In a more down-to-earth example, take a look at the transportation infrastructure around you. The US transportation infrastructure is essentially stuck in 1950, with interstates and bridges in need of serious repair. Across the Pacific China is laying down high speed rail supporting trains with cruising speeds of 300+ km/hr.

Over here, all of our talent pool is being poured into developing more powerful forms of Viagra, social networking so we can take up bandwidth communicating our worthless sh!t, and sending kids to get top-tiered MBA's so they can develop new and ingenious ways of generating wealth from nothing!

[baronv]

Texting. It's now takes 15 minutes of going back and forth to get a message across when it could be accomplished in seconds if you just call the person directly and speak to them. Texting to me is like the telegraph, it was supposed to have been replaced by voice communication. Until we are able to communicate by mind control, calling someone directly is more efficient than texting.

p.s. Finally watched 3D blu-ray on a 3D tv at a relatives house, very underwhelming to all who tried on the glasses.

[sabretooth]

all apple products and the smug douchebag vibe they give off.

[Vile]

Elevators that talk to you. In three different languages. If you're only going one or two floors, the voice makes you wait before letting you out so it can finish talking.

[kaiotheforsaken]

3D is probably my most disliked tech in recent memory. Most of the other stuff on this list I don't mind as long as it isn't all consuming. For example, I love my smart phone, but it has a time and a place to be used (like when I'm not driving).

But back to 3D, I really dislike the concept as it is now. First off the overall quality of the picture is lacking. Even Avatar, the film that got Hollywood on 3Ds nuts, looked very washed out compared to its 2D version. Furthermore it costs more to see said 3D films and the glasses really don't seem to take into account people like me, who wear glasses already to you know....see normally.

Give me better picture in movie theaters (Roger Ebert wrote about a film format that is essentially double the resolution or w/e of current film tech) bring stuff like that into the movies and leave the 3D stuff back in the 80s...with Captain Eo.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

I hate ipods. Seriously why do you need 1000s of songs in poor quality on you at all times? Didn`t anyone ever tell you that it should be about quality not quantity? And those that like to shuffle their entire collection, ever heard of a producer? they`re people who spend a lot of time and effort to put an album together in the way they and the artist think it should be heard. To me, thats as important as the individual songs. There is no better sonic experience than a well produced and mastered CD, much better than scratchy LPs and can be just as `warm` if well produced imo. and they are portable. When I go out I pack a discman and 3-4 albums, why would I need anymore? I do like making themed mixes so I have a Sony Hi MD walkman for that that packs an excellent DA converter. People have lost the ability to fully appreciate pieces of art and culture by having instant access to too much. Also buying CDs makes you a better curator, critic and editor than you ever will be if you download everything for free. I actually hated music for a year after I jumped on the bandwagon and got an ipod. even in high bitrates the ipod hardware was so sonically retarded and when I went back to my old `90s Sony discman I loved music again. Also, having a collection of CDs on my shelf makes me happy.

This rant also fits into a general issue I have with everyone assuming that new is always better. Its often worse, take first edition PS3s and a lot of first edition technology, always better built and with more features, as the price drops the quality also usually drops.

I generally agree with this. I can't stand the iPod (or most othe Apple poducts but thats anothe thead). It took me awhile to move from a CD based Mp3 player to a disk based one. The Sansa Fuze is much better for quality minded people since it supports FLAC.

That said, I hate CDs. They scratch too easily, aren't as potable as tapes, and the instant access capability basically started the whole "songs over albums bit". Though I know it was also being forced into buying them. Not to mention the whole "loudness war". There's really no such thing as a well mastered CD anymore.

) 3D: It does nothing for me - I don't see stuff flying out of the screen (I assume this is the intended effect). I just leave the theater with a splitting headache and nausea - what a way to spend $20 . Could have gotten 2 six-packs of decent beer for that amount and achieve a headache and nausea. Perhaps I have some sort of cognition impairment that prevents me from enjoying this sort of crap. I seriously hope that in 10 years, 3D does not become the norm of movies/tv.

My top peeve this year. Worse is how it's lamely digitizing our theatres with crappy 2k systems and driving ticket prices up. I wanted to see Ton with a friend, IMAX 3D tix wee 18 bucks. 18 BUCKS! I can see it for 5 at a normal theatre. Dozens of new concepts have been developed to save cinema like higher framerates, yet they pick the stupidest one.

2) Smart phones: Yes, it's cool that I can get my email through it and do some ad-hoc internet research on the go... but it's really gone too far. People walking into cars, walls, manholes, etc, young people who can't communicate ideas verbally while maintaining eye contact, texting while driving, s*xting, etc....

As much as I want one, I definitely have a friend that drives me nuts with his. We'd be at an event, and he'd be checking contacts on flickr. How about interact with the people actually there?

all apple products and the smug douchebag vibe they give off.

This. Most alternatives are cheaper without the "you an idiot if you don't realize how much better our stuff is" bit. I actually played with a Mac the other day, and while it has improved, I just can't get that bad taste out of my mouth.

I'm also not fond of digital photography. Though that one's hard to explain to people since digital's so much more "convenient". I like the restraint film gives me, and the overall look. It's also sort of nice to see how the pics came out at a latter date (the screen lies all the time anyway). It's just cheapens things for me how you can just take and take and take until you get what you want. No skill required. Then there's the whole "fix it in post" mindset. Digital has it's uses sure, and I've found that I've taken more shots with my phone than my cameras, but I just prefer film when I actually get a chance to shoot it. Did I mention my friend's a Flickr whore?

Twitter. Won't touch it with a ten foot pole. Facebook is pretty much my limit.

[frothymug]

Goddamn, you guys covered a lot of what I've spent hours bitching at random people about as I go on about my daily business.

Social networking sites: How can people think that anyone cares that they had enchiladas for lunch? Honestly, I'd be more interested in what color it was on the way OUT. Yet, people still put this crap on their page AND THEN their friends "like" their post! Who f'ing cares?!?

Smartphones: I have the same complaints as you guys do... I am so sick of people keeping their faces buried in their phones than paying attention to WTF is going on around them. My little brother, who is almost 21, is constantly on his phone texting his friends. It's so annoying when I invite him over to play some Smash Bros. or something and he's texting in between matches. F that S, put your phone away. THEN, I have to put up with asstard classmates who can't keep their phones in their pockets for at least 80 freaking minutes. They do whatever it takes to hide their phones from the professors' views and then when they get caught, they get upset that the teacher is trying to maintain a semblance of order and respect in the classroom. If you can't use it responsibly, GTFO and STFU. Seto, I totally agree with you on the ADD thing.

iPods: Same complaints here... why the hell do you need 6000 hours of continuous non-repeated playback on your iPod? You just wanted the 16 gig version so you could show off to your friends how much pirated music you have available to you. There's nothing wrong with having ecclectic tastes in music, but I really don't give a rat's ass how much music you have. Your batteries won't last long enough to get through all the songs you have saved on your iPod. Is it really that hard to just dock it when you need to change up some songs?

NASA: Ghost Train, I share the same sentiments on the Moon thing. As a matter of fact, I was complaining about this to my little brother earlier today. NASA has become a bloated and bureaucratic money sink that doesn't get anything done nowadays. All we do is put sattelites into orbit and screw around with the ISS. It irks me to no end when I hear about a shuttle mission getting scrubbed because there's a goddamn CLOUD in the sky! Just push the button and launch the damn thing. They get paid regardless of how quickly they get their missions completed. If they'd constructed the shuttle better, they wouldn't have to treat it like it's a fragile flower.

...and finally,

Cars: areaseven's comment was also right on. ...but I'd like to add my two cents... ->Push to "start" buttons on cars.<- Every time I see this, I think of the Simpsons episode when Sideshow Bob steals a nuclear weapon and holds the city for ransom, demanding that TV be abolished. When he jumps into a waiting Harrier jet, he looks at the console that has two buttons: "start" and "stop". To which, he remarks, "God bless the idiot-proof Air Force". We already have too many morons piloting these two-ton bullets down the road. Making driving easier is just going to make things worse for those of us who actually spend a lot of time negotiating with asshat drivers for a living.

[areaseven]

Yes, iPod is The Devil. That's why I swear by SanDisk Sansa (proud owner of a 4GB e260 and an 8GB Fuze).

[Graham]

Hate 3D in cinemas (pointless).

Hate DRM for obvious reasons. DRM is especially troublesome for expats like mysely that live outside our home country/region.

I love Smartphones (except iPhones). I love being able to surf the web and keep up with Macrossworld and other news/comedy sites while mobile. I commute to work by bus or train, so have a fair bit of time to kill. These days with a kid, I don’t get much time to use the computer at home. By the time my son goes to bed, I’m usually so tired, I just want to crash in bed myself. Most of my time online is on my phone while travelling.

Hate anything from Apple and can’t stand Steve Jobs.

I actually like Facebook and spend quite a bit of time on it. Living 6,000 miles away from my family and a lot of old friends, Facebook is a great way to stay in touch and share photos information etc with them.

Graham

[atomicscissors]

F*ing magnets, how do they work?!

[frothymug]

I guess after reading Graham's response on some of the issues, there should be a disclaimer added to some of our complaints. When used in a "proper" manner, many of these things (such as social networks and smartphones) do serve a great purpose. However, the term "proper" is up in the air for a subjective definition... It's too bad that these innovative products have to be tainted by our commonly-perceived abuses.

[jenius]

I don't hate anything in particular but I do hate the fact there isn't some miraculous remote control for everything yet. Someone needs to make ONE remote that does all of the following:

A remote control that I can switch to phone mode and call people

A remote control that I can turn sideways and play video games on

A remote control that controls all my components... even the funky crap that is seemingly owned by no one but me

A remote when, on a table, is a mouse

A remote that, when I take it out to the car with me and press a button, unlocks my car.

A remote that, when in my car, I place in the face plate area of my car stereo and voila... it is my car stereo's face plate

I will stop short of insisting that I should also be able to use this remote as my electric razor, a laser pointer, or anything else. If they could get it to be a RID key and be swipeable as a credit card that would be a plus.

[Gaijin]

Anything can be bad or good/useful. It's all perspective and context. Facebook, smartphones, iPods, texting, etc. . They all have their place and are useful.

[eugimon]

Steel strings for stringed instruments. All the classics were written when cat guts were the standard. Bach wrote with cat guts in his ears and we should listen the way he intended!

[taksraven]

Generally I have no problem with technology itself, the hardware at least, but software....

The iphone/ipod/iwhatever is a good example. Nothing wrong with the hardware, but Apple has always made the WORST software to run its machines, the music players especially. You never feel like you are truly in charge of the hardware, the software always behaves like it knows better than you. Unfortunately, Microsoft is now heading down that path.

A few months ago I purchased a new MP3/FLAC music player. Did not want to get any Apple stuff, and the girl at the checkout asks me why anybody would NOT want to buy an Apple.

I said "Three simple words, drag and drop"

The Itunes interface software is truly horrible and un-user-friendly.

The other thing that annoys me is not just the technology, but people's attitude towards the technology. The way people suck up to Apple and Jobs........

[myk]

Off the top of my head, smart phones. Maybe it's because I'm a simpleton who doesn't nut in his pants for the latest 'tech, but I don't "personally" see the need for a phone that has to be able to run 'apps that rival computers, watch movies, listen to music, have a keyboard, play games, control the Hubble telescope, fly a Predator drone, etc. If I want cool 'apps I'll boot up my PC. If I want to watch movies I'll sit in front of my goddamn 57" t.v. If I want to listen to music or play games, well I hate music but if I felt the need I could power up my home theater. I hate texting so I don't need a brick of a phone that accomodates a keyboard. Does anyone even talk on phones anymore? Maybe I'm the last one. In any event that's all I need in a phone, something I can talk on. Everywhere you go it's people stumbling around with their faces buried in the palms of their hands, doing whatever it is they do on these smart phones...

[anime52k8]

Steel strings for stringed instruments. All the classics were written when cat guts were the standard. Bach wrote with cat guts in his ears and we should listen the way he intended!

I know. And what's the deal with this "recorded media" nonsense? Music is meant to be heard in person. All you damn kids and your newfangled CD's and LP and magnetic tape. In my day if you wanted to here some music you went to a concert and so it LIVE! If you wanted to here music in your home or on the road you either payed someone to come and play for you or you learned to play an instrument.

[sketchley]

Got another one:

JPEG

Why did it get chosen as a standard format? Now I have two digital cameras, 8.1 and 5.0 (I believe) megapixels, yet when they save, a huge chunk of that resolution is lost because of the format. Alternative saving formats, you ask? Why that's not an option provided by the manufacturer, because us consumers aren't smart enough to figure out how to convert images to internet friendly formats or something.

[reddsun1]

"Lifelike" robots: especially female "lifelike" robots. A technology that's particularly useless to the betterment of mankind on the whole. And godda*n creepy, to boot.

Makes one wanna just glare at the inventor(s) kinda sideways--you know, like that look you get from your cranky old aunt/uncle/grandparent/relative when you say or do something awkward or stupid at a family gathering--and just ask them: "the FU*K were you thinking?!"

[buddhafabio]

the black boxes they put in a car that nark on you when you get into a wreck.

[Gubaba]

That said, I hate CDs. They scratch too easily, aren't as potable as tapes, and the instant access capability basically started the whole "songs over albums bit".

Bah...so now it's just like the mid-'60s and before, where most people bought the singles, and only the hard-core fans would shell out money for entire albums (that were mostly filler anyway). Damn the Beatles and Bob Dylan for making ENTIRE ALBUMS that people would want to buy! Take me back to the good ol' days when 45s ruled (and 78s were still being made...sometimes)!

[Nicaragua]

I find it a bit odd that half the people saying they hate facebook check back to this website for their own form of nerd/anime/toy social networking and discussion on a daily basis, but yet seem to have a dislike for people catching up with people on facebook/myspace/twitter.

Whether its Macrossworld or Facebook its all just internet communities. Some people talk about cartoons and some people talk about what they are having for dinner. All communication is good in my books.