Computers make life easier, right? Computers are fun, valuable tools, yeah? True, but they can also be such utterly infuriately pieces of tech that they seem to serve no purpose other than to raise our blood pressure and drive us mad.
I'm not talking about when Windows crashes, when an app hangs, or the internet slows to a crawl. I'm talking about those 'ARGH!' moments we've all experienced where there's no one to blame but ourselves. When things go wrong because of 'user error' it doesn't make them any less infuriating; in fact, the opposite is often the case. Here are ten of the most frustrating scenarios that just about every computer user has encountered at some point.
1. Trying to interact with a non-touchscreen monitor
We've all done it. It's easy to get used to working with your phone or tablet and not transition smoothly to your regular desktop or laptop. How many of us have jabbed pointless at an icon to try to open a file, or needlessly swiped a finger across the lock screen to access the password entry screen? You'd think we'd learn, but no...
2. Accidentally hitting a link in bookmarks bar
Filed under 'Almost, but not quite', we've all missed our intended target in a web browser. Positioning the bookmark toolbar beneath the Back and Refresh buttons was clearly asking for trouble, and it's all too easy to be whisked away from what you were looking at to some completely unrelated website. The distance of just a few pixels between the different hot-zones is clearly to blame, but it never gets any less infuriating.
3. Accidentally deleting files / emails
A close relative of 'accidentally hitting a link in bookmarks bar' is the accidentally deleted file or email. A poorly judged mouse click or key press is all it takes to send a missive or document into oblivion. Seriously, who at Google though that it was a good idea to put the Delete button smack in between Spam and Mark As Read? It's asking for trouble! The same goes for the Delete option in context menus -- one slip of the finger and that file is history. It's easy to feel that the Recycle Bin and email trash are just for idiots who can’t use computers properly, but we've all gone scurry there, shame-faced, looking to retrieve that important message or file.
4. Downloading files to the wrong folder and then not knowing where the f@$! they are
You might be one of those people who always download files to the Downloads folder, or maybe the desktop is your preferred destination. But even if you are regimented in your download location, there will always be the odd occasion when an alternative folder is used. Select folder, hit Save. Open folder... no file! Which damned folder did I just select? It sure as hell wasn't the one I intended to use! [Fires up a file search...]
5. Forgetting the volume is up über high
This YouTube video is a bit on the quiet side. I'll just crack up the volume.
Time passes. Forget about increased voume. Decide to put on some Nine Inch Nails
Argh! Jeezo!
Ears bleed
6. Trying to select a bunch of files, but moving them instead
If you're a fan of holding down the Shift key while selecting a series of files, you've probably never experienced the bewilderment that accidentally relocating documents. If, however, you like to draw a selection box around files, you've almost certainly flung the first file you were trying to select into a random folder. Obviously happens when you're in a rush... without fail!
7. Having pen selected instead of crop tool
Rightio... time to get to work on those holiday snaps; there are a few photos that would benefit from a little reframing courtesy of the crop tool. Well, you thought you had the crop tool selected -- but, no, it your image editor has default back to the pen so you've scrawled a diagonal line from one corner to another. Goddamit!
8. Accidentally opting to always open a certain file type with a particular app
Easily done on both a phone or a computer. You might have installed a new app and no have multiple apps that are capable of opening images or some other file type. Of course, you'll be presented with a list to choose from, as well as the option of always using a certain app. It goes without saying that you had the wrong app selected before okaying the change in defaults. Gnnnrrrr!
9. Having caps lock enabled when typing without looking
There's a danger in being able to touch type coupled with a habit of watching TV whilst working. It's something I'm guilty of, and it means I frequently type away without looking at either my keyboard or screen. When my attention is guided back to concentrating fully on what I'm doing, there have been numerous occasions when I find I've been typing away with Caps Lock on. Gah! If you're in Word, there's the handy keyboard shortcut Shift + F3 to change the case of selected text, but there are far too many applications (and, obviously, web sites) on which this doesn't work. Maddening.
10. Not being able to get the cursor into diagonal-double-headed-arrow mode to resize a window and trying to hit the target for hours on end
The title says it all, really. It's something that should take a second or less -- quickly resizing a window to a different size or shape. But can you get your mouse positioned over the corner pixel (and it does seem to be an area no bigger than a single pixel) to be able to resize horizontally and vertically at the same time? Can you flip! There it is... oh, missed it! There! No! Quick! Click and drag! Oh, forget it...
Anything you would add to the list? What makes you want to punch your monitor in inexpressible rage.
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