Apple Archive

The 10 Greatest Computer Annoyances

- 2002.09.06

Everyone's got something that bugs them about computers. Since computers are machines, they can't be fully trusted to do everything perfectly every time. There's down time (such as when the Windows-based system went down in the local Stop & Shop, and they had to use calculators to add up prices), lazy programmers, lazy hardware developers - but when computers work, they usually work well, well enough for the user to find some other small little thing to complain about.

  1. Crashes. Largely eliminated with Mac OS X and Windows XP, you will occasionally get "this application has unexpectedly quit..." messages. Forget to save your ten page paper? Sorry, you're still out of luck.
  2. Menu items that aren't where you expect them to be. Applications for the Mac are usually designed to Apple's specifications, but some developers think they can design it better. Maybe they can, but people are used to Mac applications working pretty much the same - and when they can't find something in a certain place, they tend to get annoyed.
  3. Applications that don't work with your version of OS. This is incredibly annoying. As each OS version comes out, there are always some applications that aren't compatible. It's even more annoying when the developers decide not to upgrade them, like Apple did when it said it would not release Mac OS 8.5 drivers for the PC compatibility cards in older PCI Power Macs.
  4. Peripherals that don't work with your computer or OS version. Similar to the last one, this one is often more annoying since peripherals often cost more than software (there are a few exceptions, though). The main problem right now seems to be finding a scanner that works with Mac OS X.
  5. Poorly written software drivers. This can lead to a lot of frustration, installing and reinstalling drivers, calling the manufacturer, and even trying to get a replacement unit, but when the drivers are badly written, no amount of free telephone support will help.
  6. Intermittent hardware problems. This can drive anyone crazy. There isn't much worse than having a CD-ROM drive that reads CDs sometimes or a keyboard that usually works fine, but some days decides not to. An intermittent problem may have you wishing the device was completely dead.
  7. Software the refuses to install no matter what you do. This seems to happen with control panels (or system preference modules). You copy the file to the proper folder, rename it as instructed, and it simply will not load (or show up in system preferences).
  8. DVDs that won't play full screen. Yes, some DVDs seem to do this - the inexpensive ones, that is. They play perfectly when you make the window the size of the screen, but when you select the "play full screen" option, they refuse to continue playing.
  9. Popup windows when browsing the Internet. Maybe this one shouldn't be here - it's more of an Internet annoyance - but it's annoying enough. You've probably seen at least one popup window today.
  10. And lastly, lack of memory. While this problem is easily solved, many people just don't bother, and they let their computers run 12 or 13 applications at once with a minimal amount of RAM installed. Slow, frustrating, and most certainly annoying.

These are the things that annoy me the most. If you've got anything else to add, send me an email. I'll see about putting it up next week in another article.

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