# What does this do? Useless unused features on things that you own. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 30, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744 "2011-05-30T10:55:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/21 "2011-05-30T16:05:58Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > If you live in a mountainous area, you use them quite often on steep downgrades. > > When driving long distances at night, I like to keep the dashboard lights very low - or even off – to reduce distractions and eyestrain. Yup. I’ve also used the lower gears in my previous car (automatic) when driving on unplowed backroads. And a bright dashboard is great in the city when they are competing with a lot of headlights and other light sources, but when I’m on remote roads and there are no other cars for miles, it’s easier to see the road (illuminated by headlights only) and a lot easier on the eyes. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/22 "2011-05-30T16:47:20Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Why would I need a digital clock on my stove, coffee maker, fridge, DVD player, cell phone, TV, stereo, et all… It’s like we need to know, to the micro-scond, the exact time whichever way our eyes are turned. > > A couple of years ago I removed the 'caps lock" button from my keyboard, I was tired of hitting it accidentally, one of my supervisors questioned me about that, and the next day when I came to work, it was back on my keyboard! I know someone who took the caps lock key off, and super glued something under the spring thingy and popped the key back on on their laptop. I have been so tempted to do that. [it was a work laptop and they couldn’t go in and change the key mapping on it, no admin rights.] ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/23 "2011-05-30T16:57:17Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > I use “delete” all the time, I’ve never used “insert”. I must not e the only one who doesn’t use it, since “insert” isn’t even on this keyboard at all.\ As a secretarial-type, I use delete, backspace, and insert as required - if you’re in front of the word, use delete; if behind the word, use backspace, and change to insert if you want to insert without affecting what’s already there. I can see where most people who don’t type documents for a living wouldn’t get much out of it, though. 🙂 There are all kinds of things on my computer that I don’t use at all. I could make a movie, or write a song, or make a website, but I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/24 "2011-05-30T17:26:50Z")
Dash dimmer is a separate switch now? 😕 It’s always been part of the headlight switch in my vehicles. Pull out for headlights and turn to dim the dashboard. My new microwave has this Inverter Technology feature I never use. Nor do I use the idiotic program modes. After 25 years experience I know how long it takes to heat up a plate of food or cook popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/25 "2011-05-30T17:53:45Z")
Alt-SysReq is used for special purposes on Linux systems, so it’s best to have it. Scroll Lock, I don’t even know what it does. My keyboard has it on the F12 key. My laptop has a special bluetooth button, but no bluetooth. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/26 "2011-05-30T18:00:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Re: the dashboard dimmer. My Saturn had a feature where you could brighten the dash lights over and above the high setting. I thought this was odd until I was in bright sunlight one day, which washed out the digital display; flick the switch and it was bright and clear again. Yours went up to 11? ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/27 "2011-05-30T18:40:15Z")
My cable remote has about a hundred buttons which appear to have no function whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/28 "2011-05-30T18:47:20Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I propose that nobody sitting here reading this thread has ever had a purpose to use the “Scroll Lock”, “Pause/Break”, or “SysRq” functions on their keyboard, and few have found a situation where “Delete” was preferable to “Insert”. My dog broke my Scroll Lock key two years ago and I’ve never bothered replacing it, since I’ve never once needed it. On the other hand, my brother is so “thrifty” that when his L key broke, he remapped it to one of the Function keys rather than replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/29 "2011-05-30T19:05:47Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > As far as I can see, its a good way of getting dust, dirt and road noise into your car..plus it removes about 2" of headroom. > I have one-never open it. If you live in South Carolina and have no choice but to park in the sun, that sunroof is a godsend - anything you can to replace that 130-degree air faster is a big help. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/30 "2011-05-30T19:13:46Z")
Microwaves - anything other than time, defrost, start and stop. I never use less than 100% power and my cooking life is seemingly unaffected. My iPhone has a gazillion features I never look at. Clocks on things that aren’t clocks. I hate setting the time on my coffee maker, but I hate seeing 12:00 blinking all the time even more. I have maybe a dozen digital clocks in my house that I never consult, but have to set everytime we have a power outage - stove, microwave, coffee maker, etc. I don’t even know what most of the options on my dishwasher mean. Regular wash? Sure. Maybe 6 times a year I’ll run a ‘delicate’ load after using the fancy glasses, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/31 "2011-05-30T20:39:41Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > My cable remote has about a hundred buttons which appear to have no function whatsoever. And the ones you use 99% of the time are tiny and in difficult to find locations. Goddamn it, give me a remote with huge Volume, Channel and Mute buttons and relegate the rest of that shit to the tiny out of the way buttons. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/32 "2011-05-30T20:44:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And the ones you use 99% of the time are tiny and in difficult to find locations. > > Goddamn it, give me a remote with huge Volume, Channel and Mute buttons and relegate the rest of that shit to the tiny out of the way buttons. Add a “Last” button to that list (so you can flip between two channels), and I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/33 "2011-05-30T20:48:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I propose that nobody sitting here reading this thread has ever had a purpose to use the “Scroll Lock”, “Pause/Break”, or “SysRq” functions on their keyboard, and few have found a situation where “Delete” was preferable to “Insert”. i use the “Scroll Lock” key dozens of times every day. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/34 "2011-05-30T20:54:17Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Why would I need a digital clock on my stove, coffee maker, fridge, DVD player, cell phone, TV, stereo, et all… It’s like we need to know, to the micro-scond, the exact time whichever way our eyes are turned. On a coffee maker, at least, there is a purpose for having a clock, even if you don’t use this feature. It’s so you can set it to automatically brew coffee at a set time so it’s waiting for you fresh and hot when you wake up. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/35 "2011-05-30T20:56:04Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > In the closet of the master bedroom in my apartment, there is an electrical timer built into the wall, with a three-way switch for ON/OFF/TIMER and a timing dial. I only recently discovered that this controls the exhaust fan in the bathroom, just in case you want to override the switch that’s you know… _in the bathroom_, and instead have the fan turn on and off at pre-determined times and schedule your showering and pooping accordingly. 😕 that is for when the spouse/SO is stinking up the place while on the toilet, you can already smell it and they aren’t about to get up and turn the fan on. you can ventilate from a safe distance. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/36 "2011-05-30T21:02:28Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > Clocks on things that aren’t clocks. I hate setting the time on my coffee maker, but I hate seeing 12:00 blinking all the time even more. I have maybe a dozen digital clocks in my house that I never consult, but have to set everytime we have a power outage - stove, microwave, coffee maker, etc. use black electrical tape ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/37 "2011-05-30T21:13:26Z")
On the “pause” key, either Ubuntu or Wine (I’m not sure which) doesn’t recognize it, and I really wish it did. There’s an old game I play (Dark Reign) where the pause key pauses the game, and there’s no way to remap it to a different key. One of the nice features of that game was the ability to pause it to give orders to your units, which they would carry out when you unpaused (to let you keep up with the AIs that could do everything at once), but that’s just not possible now with my setup. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/38 "2011-05-31T00:28:20Z")
Aren’t all of those things with clocks also things that have timers? My coffee maker, stove, microwave and DVD players all have timers and thus need clocks. I suppose the gripe might be that they have clocks that are always on, not just functional when they are being used as timers. I have an issue with my cell phone. When I want to send someone a text message I have to choose the person, choose the “message” icon then choose whether I want to send them a text, voice or picture message. SRSLY!? There are three other ways to do the latter two why can’t there be a quick way to just send a text? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/39 "2011-05-31T00:32:24Z")
I’m painting a lot right now and I’m reminded again how much I dislike the ArtBin holding my paint. It has numerous removable smaller containers that are just too small to hold anything I use, and they just take up space inside where I need it. I’d buy a new one but I’d rather buy more paint (or a giant easel). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744/40 "2011-05-31T00:36:16Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Add a “Last” button to that list (so you can flip between two channels), and I’m there. No, I really need that stupid “Input” button they’re always hiding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-do-useless-unused-features-on-things-that-you-own/583744.md?page=3)