I was debating whether to I should post this in the BBQ pit but since it’s closer to irritating than infuriating I chose to post it here.
Auto-flush toilets - Is this something we really need? Actually I wouldn’t mind so much if it worked the way it was supposed to and flush after I’m done with my business but NO. It has to flush EVERY TIME I lean forward or move in the slightest. It definitely has to flush when I lean forward to wipe [TMI] and splash poopie water all over my nether regions [/TMI].
I’ve learned to drape a piece of TP over the sensor so that I can shit in peace but HOLY HELL I hate those fuckers.
Anyone else hate those things? Have other examples of technology that really don’t need to be there or actually make the product less pleasant to use?
I don’t have a problem with the detectors on the toilets, probably because I’m fat enough to block the sensor no matter how much I move. But I fucking hate the ones on the sinks. I always end up standing there for five minutes, waving my hands around like I’m some kind of wizard, trying to get it to activate.
I’ve noticed that the auto-flushing toilets in Terminal 5 at JFK Airport are really sensitive, so that they will flush at the slightest movement. In the span of the three or four minutes that I’m sitting there, it will flush five times. It’s not that it makes it unpleasant to use, but that has to be a tremendous waste of water.
I think the idea of auto-flush toilets, urinals, and sinks in public and semi-public bathrooms is to promote better hygiene – because you don’t actually have to touch the knobs or levers.
Note that there are also auto-dispense paper towel dispensers too, that you just wave your drippy hands in front of. ETA: Some places don’t even have paper towels any more, just the hot air blowers, and even some of those are motion-activated too.
This all seems consistent with the wave of public hygiene consciousness that has become popular in recent years. Like those pre-moistened sort-of-soapy hand wipes at the entrances to many supermarkets now also.
ETA: If they’re flushing out from under you in mid-poop, maybe they aren’t adjusted right. Some of them appear to have delay timers, because they flush about 30 seconds after you leave.
Okay, other annoying technology besides toilets: Photocopy machines that auto-sense what size paper your original is, and choose the correct size tray to feed the blank paper from. These fail when you try to copy odd-size originals, often choosing the wrong paper size to copy onto, or feeding paper from the landscape tray when they should take a sheet from the portrait tray.
For copying small items (like pay stubs, e.g.) I’ve learned to put a full-size blank sheet onto the glass plate covering the small item, so it will choose the right size paper to feed.
ETA: And there was some bad press a few weeks back (I think there was even a thread here about it) that some copy machines, due to their data compression schemes, actually change the text of the copy! Hang tight, I’ll look for a link . . .
I think blue LEDs count. There was a time when LEDs were only available in red, yellow, amber and green - and we all longed for blue ones - then they were invented and everyone overreacted by putting them on everything, even to the detriment of utility (for example, a blindingly bright blue LED on the front panel of a TV)
Touchscreens in cars. I’ll grudgingly accept them on cars with satnav, but on cars where the touchscreen only controls stuff that would normally be controlled with knobs and buttons? Completely frivolous.
Touchscreens in cars aren’t just frivolous; they can be dangerous. I can’t imagine how the designers could have come up with a system that encourages or requires the driver to take his/her eyes off the road.
I think it’s an offshoot of “glass cockpit” technology in aviation. basically the purpose is to make driving (or flying in the case of aircraft) safer by simplifying the controls and displays. But I guess the downside is that you actually have to look at the controls instead of “feel” for the volume knob. Although most modern cars seem to put the radio controls on the steering wheel now anyway so you don’t have to look down at the dash.
I am old enough to remember when blue LEDs were nonexistent, then experimental, then commercially available but very, very expensive… and so I deeply resent then being used as the universal power-on and status indicator on every $5 POS.
@Mangetout: I wrote this before noticing your post. I can’t remember what it was, but I got a sour laugh from some widget that came standard with blue LED lighting or status lights… but was available in ***RED!!! ***for an extra charge…
Yeah, it also doesn’t help that the blue ones are naturally very very bright in comparison to the previous LED technologies.
I had a computer mouse that contained a blue LED illuminating the scroll wheel, but even out of the corner of my eye, it was unbearably bright, so I opened it up and put some black electrical tape around the LED.
A month or so later, I noticed the light gradually appearing again - so I opened it up again, expecting to see that the tape had come adrift - but no - the light (presumably the UV component) from the LED had burned a patch of the tape into crumbly powder.
It can’t be good to have that sort of thing shining in your eyes all day long. I cut the LED off the board with wire snips (half expecting it to kill the device)
Auto-flush toilets are bad. I can’t believe that with our level of technology, we can’t make a toilet that flushes correctly. Even worse, I saw a public toilet with ONLY auto-flush. If they want to leave toilet cleanliness to auto-flush, that’s up to them.
Those auto-faucet sinks drive me nuts. You have a nice, deep sink to wash your hands in so you don’t splash water all over yourself, but the sensor is up high on the faucet so that when your hands are down in the sink, the water shuts off. And you can’t control the water temp, either.
Delta has a commercial for its faucets with what it calls “Touch2o” technology. Briefly touch the faucet to turn it on. The commercial shows its usefulness when your hands are covered in gunk or mud. But in those cases, I’ve found that my elbow can move the single lever of the faucet enough to start the water, so what does this technology gain me? Not much in my opinion.
