Author Topic: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)  (Read 10174 times)

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« on: 25 October, 2018, 07:34:48 pm »
A thread for those minor annoyances that aren’t worth ranting about but are good examples of where the person who designed the tech didn’t think it through properly. Your starter for 10...

Started a new job this week. The office printers require you to log in, which you can do using the same pass you use to enter the building. First time you use it, you have to set it up with the same username and password you use to login to your computer.

Of course, my IT-assigned password contains the £ symbol, which isn’t available as a character on the transpondian printer’s user interface.

:facepalm:

Fortunately, I also have a code to login to the printer but it is slightly less convenient to have to enter that every time than just waving my pass at the damn thing.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #2 on: 25 October, 2018, 07:40:55 pm »
No forced password change at first log-on? That's the tech fail in my opinion.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #3 on: 25 October, 2018, 07:55:47 pm »
No forced password change at first log-on? That's the tech fail in my opinion.

Fair point. I suppose it’s because they don’t trust me to come up with something more secure than ‘password99’.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #4 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:00:09 pm »
I quite like the follow-me printing where you send the print job to the server and then pick it up at any printer in the company anywhere in the world by just swiping your card on the printer.

Means I dont have to set up dozens of printers on my laptop, and select the correct one for the office Im in, and risk sending  confidential stuff to a printer in another office by mistake.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #5 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:02:34 pm »
Ahem!

Yes, well. I never claimed it was an original thought. Also, I’m browsing on my phone which is shit for searching the archive.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #6 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:05:15 pm »
My last reply just reminded me how much I dislike typing on mobile devices.
Its missing much punctuation because you need to switch the on screen keyboard through several Symbol modes to get the punctuation required.
And I cba, and rely on people not  being too pedantic.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #7 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:05:28 pm »
I quite like the follow-me printing where you send the print job to the server and then pick it up at any printer in the company anywhere in the world by just swiping your card on the printer.

Means I dont have to set up dozens of printers on my laptop, and select the correct one for the office Im in, and risk sending  confidential stuff to a printer in another office by mistake.

I also quite like the fact that your job doesn’t actually print until you go to the printer, which would be handy if eg you need to put headed paper in the tray. Also means you don’t get to the printer to find someone else has cancelled your job* or thrown away the printout. 

Not sure how I feel about being told how much I’m costing the company every time I print a page though. And it keeps a running total - I’ve spent £2.37 on printing so far this week! Hope it isn’t deducted from my wages.

*Not that I would ever admit to having done this myself. Of course.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ian

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #8 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:35:28 pm »
My last Windows laptop was set up to print in Philadelphia and Singapore. So I sent them cryptic messages until they told me to stop wasting their paper.

One of the benefits of moving to a Mac is that the mothership's IT don't try to set anything up, they just throw it at you and say not-us-guv'nor you're on your own, which to be honest, is a lot better.

My remote command centre printer (ye of little toner) has developed a Bardotish need to be alone. It had a little wireless networky gubbin.. All was peachy other than the dire toner straits till the wireless AP in my office did the internal thunder-and-lightning thing and emitted its final gasp of ozone. I gave the new AP a different name to solve some other modern problem.

Things I can't remember.

The IP address of the wireless gubbin (because I changed it). Which is minor, because I have no clue at all how to configure it. I could dig out the device and model number and cruise the internet for instructions that I'm sure gave me a headache the first time around. Or I could do something more interesting and think of the all the paper I'm saving.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #9 on: 25 October, 2018, 08:57:31 pm »
Ahem!

Yes, well. I never claimed it was an original thought. Also, I’m browsing on my phone which is shit for searching the archive.
Let's be honest, everything is shit for searching the archive. It's probably another aspect of modern life being rubbish.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Ben T

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #10 on: 25 October, 2018, 09:05:30 pm »
At my office they have had the clever idea of saving money by making the default settings for the universal printer driver black and white, instead of colour (which everyone knows the printers are capable of), to save on coloured ink/toner.
So what do people do?
Print off a (coloured) docment, go and get it, fidn that 'oh bugger, it's printed in black and white', go back to their desk, change the settings, in order to print it again in colour.  :facepalm: ;D

Tim Hall

  • Victoria is my queen
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #11 on: 25 October, 2018, 09:06:14 pm »
That nice Douglas Adams had it about right:
Quote
We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works

Oh, and what Cudzo said about searching the archive. It is decidedly sub optimal.
There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can
"overhaul" it, or you can ride it.  (Jerome K Jerome)

Ben T

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #12 on: 25 October, 2018, 09:08:28 pm »
A thread for those minor annoyances that aren’t worth ranting about but are good examples of where the person who designed the tech didn’t think it through properly. Your starter for 10...

Started a new job this week. The office printers require you to log in, which you can do using the same pass you use to enter the building. First time you use it, you have to set it up with the same username and password you use to login to your computer.

Of course, my IT-assigned password contains the £ symbol, which isn’t available as a character on the transpondian printer’s user interface.

:facepalm:

Fortunately, I also have a code to login to the printer but it is slightly less convenient to have to enter that every time than just waving my pass at the damn thing.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/08/09/password-expert-says-he-wrong-numbers-capital-letters-and-symbols-useless/552013001/

WELL IT'S A BIT LATE NOW!  ;D

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #13 on: 25 October, 2018, 09:20:13 pm »
Ahem!

Yes, well. I never claimed it was an original thought. Also, I’m browsing on my phone which is shit for searching the archive.
Let's be honest, everything is shit for searching the archive. It's probably another aspect of modern life being rubbish.

+1

 ;)
It is simpler than it looks.

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #14 on: 25 October, 2018, 09:26:12 pm »
Ahem!

Yes, well. I never claimed it was an original thought. Also, I’m browsing on my phone which is shit for searching the archive.
Let's be honest, everything is shit for searching the archive. It's probably another aspect of modern life being rubbish.

+1

 ;)

Most forum search engines are crap.  Use google site search instead.  e.g.  "site:yacf.co.uk absolute black" used to look if anyone had tried using the absolute black oval chainrings.

ian

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #15 on: 25 October, 2018, 10:10:00 pm »
Everyone knows passwords like shg^uitr-&345k!≠-5k$ are shit (other than people who manage passwords). We had to invent computers just to remember their own passwords (and some others to crack them). It's a SkyNet thing. Don't worry chaps, no one will ever remember the password that launches all the nuclear missiles now we've stopped writing them on post-it notes. Ironically, computers couldn't read post-it notes. We would have been safe provided we'd not held them up in front of the webcam.

Inspired by this thread, I tried to set up my wireless printer gubbins. You can guess how well that worked. The default post-reset password is admin|admin apparently. I can confirm that it is not.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #16 on: 26 October, 2018, 08:11:19 am »
Also this week, I’ve been using the TFL hire bikes regularly for the first time in a few years. I’ve discovered that the official app has been much improved since I last used it - you can see in advance if there will be any bikes at the docking station rather than find it empty when you get there, and you can request an access code before you get there to save time faffing with the console (I still have a key but it doesn’t work for some reason and I haven’t got round to calling them to sort it).

One minor problem with the app - it has a route planner to guide you between docking stations. However, unless you enter the name of your destination dock precisely (including punctuation) it directs you to the BBC in White City. There’s no option to select your destination by browsing the map either.

The TFL journey planner app is much better in this respect - you start typing your destination and a list of suggested options pops up.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Mr Larrington

  • A bit ov a lyv wyr by slof standirds
  • Custard Wallah
    • Mr Larrington's Automatic Diary
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #17 on: 26 October, 2018, 09:50:28 am »
"Wasn't it Greta Garbo who wanted to be alone?" asked Mr No-Mates.
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative & Mayor of Mortagne-au-Perche
Satisfying the Bloodlust of the Masses in Peacetime

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #18 on: 26 October, 2018, 10:06:58 am »
...Fortunately, I also have a code to login to the printer but it is slightly less convenient to have to enter that every time than just waving my pass at the damn thing.

My card never worked with our printers so the IS dept. gave me code. That's good because I can use the printers even if I've forgotten my card. I have to beg to borrow a card to get to the toilets thobut.

ian

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #19 on: 26 October, 2018, 10:08:55 am »
You know, I was thinking that when I wrote Bardot, but I couldn't be bothered to google. Garbolian would have been a bit easier.

Anyway, despite several resets, the stupid wireless printer gubbin refuses to acknowledge the username admin and password admin, despite the claims of the internet and the instructions that these are the keys to the door. I see a bin in your future, little gubbin. Apropos horrid instructions, the reset does demand you power up while holding the button for seven seconds until the LED flashes and then follow eight pages of instructions that involve things like ad hoc networking. We really need more women in technology. I'll take any accusations of blatant sexism if it saves me from those sorts of instructions.

And while we're at it – OneDrive. Would it really, really hurt to offer me a simple download option for a file? I swear it used to be there. Click the download option on the taskbar it says with an almost audible snigger, because there isn't.

Imagine if someone invented a widely known way to download a file by right-clicking and clicking download. That would be great, because then we could invent webapps that remove it and replace the feature with an invisible button.

SoreTween

  • Most of me survived the Pennine Bridleway.
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #20 on: 26 October, 2018, 10:29:03 am »
At my office they have had the clever idea of saving money by making the default settings for the universal printer driver black and white, instead of colour (which everyone knows the printers are capable of), to save on coloured ink/toner.
So what do people do?
Print off a (coloured) docment, go and get it, fidn that 'oh bugger, it's printed in black and white', go back to their desk, change the settings, in order to print it again in colour.  :facepalm: ;D
So enormously much of this.
The solution in our office came for me when I needed to go to a vendor site so my Neolithic desktop was replaced with a laptop. I insisted to my boss I be granted local admin rights as "IT are shit 5 days a week, I'll be working 7". Previously changing defaults for a printer only lasted until the next gpupdate (4 hours), now they are permanent.
2023 targets: Survive. Maybe.
There is only one infinite resource in this universe; human stupidity.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #21 on: 26 October, 2018, 11:54:52 am »
I've been with my company 11 years now, I still have no idea what my login code for the telephone system is.  I could have thousands of voicemails for all I know.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

ian

Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #22 on: 26 October, 2018, 12:16:28 pm »
Me neither. I usually switch voicemail off (certainly is for the remote command centre) on the grounds I'd rather not have decipher the long rambling requests thusly left. Write it down or call back when I'm in.

That said, I do have a phone on my inexplicable desk. Inexplicable because I go to the mothership about once every couple of weeks and I've told them several times that I neither want nor need a desk, yet it persists. I thought it would finally disappear in a recent floor move, but nope, there's still a desk with my name on it and a destined never-to-be-answered phone.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #23 on: 26 October, 2018, 12:23:02 pm »
I don't have a desk, I have to go online and book one by the morning or afternoon when I'm planning to be in the office.

As an actual plus, my access card gets me into both the London and Aberdeen offices, not quite sure how we managed to get something useful happening.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

barakta

  • Bastard lovechild of Yomiko Readman and Johnny 5
Re: Modern Life Is Rubbish (aka ‘Tech fails’)
« Reply #24 on: 26 October, 2018, 12:25:16 pm »
I quite like the follow-me printing where you send the print job to the server and then pick it up at any printer in the company anywhere in the world by just swiping your card on the printer.

Means I dont have to set up dozens of printers on my laptop, and select the correct one for the office Im in, and risk sending  confidential stuff to a printer in another office by mistake.

I like it the swipe to print system in theory.

In practice in newjob there are insufficient printer/scanner devices for staff (1 for 100+ staff) so always a queue and a nightmare when it breaks (repairs seem to take DAYS) AND it's in a stupid place. There's no where to put paper down while you handle it which I find really stressful and difficult. The other scanner on the floor won't recognise me cos I'm only agency employed.

Scanner mangles x% of scans so I have to carry sensitive data around with me until I can find a PC to check PDF via email on it - not easy when a temp member of staff so I have no secure paper storage, desk or PC...

I do a lot of pointless traipsing because of stupid centralised scanner/print systems which DON'T WORK properly... IT are shit which also doesn't help.