December 18th, 2007
Ten things about tech I really hate-and maybe you do as well
I have been howling over TechAndNews.Net’s list of the 50 worst technologies, phenomenon, products, etc. If you ever were in a grouchy mood about tech, you should read this list. I have done so, multiple times. Here are the ten that speak to me, along with my opinion of each:
- The brats that work at the Big Box Stores- I say: Well, they vary in competence. Or incompetence. The thing is that the good ones become consultants, the mediocre ones stay and the bad ones wash out. But sometimes, it takes too long for the salesfarce members who don’t give a rip or know anything, to wash out.
- Foreign Tech Support- I say: Lest I be deemed a “nativist,” have to be careful here. In My Haughty Opinion the issue is not the language and comprehension issues so much as the concept that outsourcing companies outsource to save money and boost the stock price so that a bunch of institutional investors, private equity, etc., is even happier
- Closed WiFi- I say: I am not as upset about closed WiFi as I am about high daily access fees. No hotspot should charge more than $10 a day. Tops.
- Spam- Hmm, will I be able to blog from that beautiful Pacific Coast mansion I will purchase with cash once it gets here from that dead tycoon’s banker in Sierra Leone? Or was that Romania?
- Being overcharged for cell service and not being able to fight it- I say: Would only get worse if our next President is a fanatic who does not believe in consumer’s rights. Someone like (cough) Ron Paul.
- Being charged extra for internet in hotel rooms (do we pay extra for the sheets and pillows?)- I say: Well, they actually do. It’s factored into your bill. So should in-room Internet access, though.
- Disabled features on Cell Phones- I say:Yes, because the cell carriers are monopolies and with the exception of the unusual Apple iPhone- AT&T Mobility relationships, the carriers don’t want to enable anything on your cell that competes with their business offerings or those of their partners.
- Realizing we only have a few years left until it’s all over. Soon the Internet will be as closed and locked and one-way as tv. I say: That just could happen in a Ron Paul administration.
- Crap on MySpace. Macy’s Gift-cards, Spam, Hackers, MySpace Technical Errors, Captcha, Glitter Graphics, Shady People, Cyber-Bullies. And you thought the schoolyard was tough. I say: Well said. MySpace is a digital dumpster.
- Spyware- No, I do not want to take your dadburned “survey.”
Which of these items tick you off the most, and why?
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
