A Pain in the Whatchamacallit
By Tiny Ruisch
Way back in October 2009, I wrote an article about things I hate about technology. I’m not going to regurgitate the whole thing, but I will say that I still hate: 1) having to use several different types of USB cords and connectors; 2) End User License Agreements; 3) SPAM and forwarded e‑mails; and 4) buying a water filter for my refrigerator.
In fact, buying a water filter is what caused this months rant. I recently went to a popular home store to buy a new filter for my Whirlpool refrigerator. This is the same one I owned back in 2009. After that experience, I learned to keep a file in my Evernote account listing serial numbers, product codes, manufacturer information, and most importantly, replacement part numbers. The only problem, none of the numbers on the filters in the store matched the one I needed. It turned out that the filter manufacturer had changed the numbering system. The employee told me I should have brought the old filter in to the store. I asked why since I had the number. They were polite, looked up the new number on their fancy computer and promptly sold me the wrong filter. After another trip the next day, I got the correct filter. I have noticed this problem on many other items in the past. I wonder if manufacturers think that people will buy the wrong part and just lose their money?
Maybe hate is to strong of a word, but I’ve always disliked how companies almost always have to use a proprietary document format. The perfect example is word processing. Why must each program have a different extension? Is it good for business to make consumers remember “.doc”. “.odf’, “.wps”, “.docx”, “.odt”, “.txt”, “.rtf”, “.abw”, “.abi” and hundreds of others? Almost all word processing software has a save as feature to convert files to other formats. They can’t be that much different. Why isn’t there a standard where all programs save in a standard format? After all, this idea seems to work pretty well for HTML internet files.
Have you ever heard how technology brings the world closer together? Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and many other social networks supposedly are the main reason. Personally, I dislike how technology does the opposite. Have you ever been in a conversation and the other person is busy fiddling with an electronic device? Did you ever notice that many younger people don’t have simple skills like making change, telling time, following a map, etc. These and many more are because they rely on technology too much. I would suggest that we are moving farther apart.
I guess that I’ve done enough complaining for this month.
Thanks for reading.