5 Most Annoying Computing Things!

What most annoys you most in the world of computing? Here is a rant about my own current top five. :)

My original “Top 5 Annoying Computing Things” video is here:

More videos on computing and related topics can be found at:

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:47 Five
01:54 Four
03:58 Three
06:25 Two
09:01 One
12:31 Wrap

[JeffGeerling]

I used to think it was USB (just everything about it), but now I'm on the cookie consent train. It's infuriating that every website that implements cookie consent has a different UI with a button in a different place, and most have no option of 'no', just 'accept'.

[timi_ro]

The most annoying thing on the internet, that no one is mentioning is the disappearing trend of browsing through content by page number(something like "page 1, page 2, etc.)! Now everything is a "load more" which makes searching something more difficult and makes the web page load harder!

[rick]

1. Software subscription trend.
2. Flat design. (For example, Firefox's new proton design, in my opinion, is quite horrible.)
3. Software requires you to stay online to use even if they don't really need to. (For example, single player games, or some software with licensing mechanism)

[stephanhuebner]

I am highly annoyed by a trend that is in line with narrow scroll bars: Reducing the "visibility" (or maybe the "recognisability") of all kinds of GUI-elements. It used to be that things like dropdown-boxes, said scroll-bars and other interactive elements clearly messaged their purpose through their size, form or icon. But then came designers who put "less is more" above all else, and the end result is, that some buttons are far too small and unobtrusive to inform the user about their purpose, sometimes even hiding the fact that they are interactive. This is bs-design, ignoring decades of what a good GUI should be. Plus, it's ironic that Apple is one of the worst offenders in that regard, given that they were once so highly regarded when it came to intuititve GUIs.

[razielkayn]

I've worked in a E-waste recycling center & frankly seeing all the waste & just badly designed products ending up as endless piles of waste infuriates me to no end. Due to this I've started appreciating tech in a more industrial form factor, certainly means that the product was at least sold & advertised to last. 🤔

[kenm.]

As usual, Christopher nails it. Can’t disagree with anything on this list.

[edgarwalk]

Some of mine:
1. Reduced customisation in order to "simplify" things.
2. Ever noticed how much shorter cables are getting?
3. Three different user interfaces to manage 365 users with their antique user interfaces.
4. Having to create a freaking account for every piece of software.
5. The worst thing, CAPTCHA, especially blurry picture CAPTCHA with questions like: "Find all images with a cross walk".

[FarbrorDaniel]

Big +1 on the scrollbar rant, I can't even start to imagine why scrollbars come in the shape they do today. What makes it even worse is that nowadays many scrollbars disappear and just reappear when the mouse is near them. Complete crazyness...

[MichaelBeeny]

I agree 100% with everything said. 3 more to add. Number 1, software that keep flashing special offers every time you use it. Number 2 Windows updates that completely lock up the PC, when the joke is that Windows suggest you can continue working normally, you can't. Number 3. Windows adding crap you have previously removed only to find it reappear again, and some you cannot remove at all.

[IanMaddock]

One thing that annoys me, if you use an ad blocker (usually to stop annoying ads and to generally make browsing faster on things like news sites etc) when the box pops up demanding you disable your ad blocker because they won't let you view what you want to look at without having them spamming you to death first

[simonbeasley]

I think Micro HDMI wins for me as the most annoying. If it's on a phone or tablet it is essential to shrink the HDMI port, absolutely not on a desktop or laptop! I like that it's the same proper HDMI on my laptop, my TV, my monitor and my BluRay player.

[mmDJ]

The Windows 10 update rant while brandishing sharp tools was very powerful

[Artim]

As a webdev, I absolutely agree on heavy web pages. Nowadays it's somehow a norm to include a huge framework into a web page just to display a fancy fade effect.

[burdebc]

Top of the list for me has to be dynamically loading web pages that decide to move everything on the site around the precise moment you try to click on something.

[fattomandeibu]

My biggest annoyance has to be modern graphical UIs. I remember when buttons looked like buttons and there was no ambiguity. Now I can be sat there looking at a screen looking for the "Okay" or "Next" button, and it ends up that a green tick what looks just like a random piece of artwork is said button. There's no indication it's a button, no border, no embossed look, just a random piece of artwork. Such a basic thing anyone should realise is awful, yet since Apple started it, everyone seemed to follow.

[srsykes]

Watching your video reminded me that I am getting old. I find myself complaining more and more about the stupid things going on around me. It is as if people are no longer THINKING. All of your five are on my list certainly. I would love to get hold of the idiots at Microsoft who think they know more about what I want, than I do. I take the time to setup things they way I want them and then they come along and change things. Some of us don't want a new/better way of doing something. I want to keep doing it my "old/dumb" way and I think that should be my right. They are driving me away from their product.

[aaldrich]

You know the World really is going to heck when even ExplainingComputers needs to have a rant about life in general.

Christopher, I feel your pain. Just hold on.

[johnwright]

I find the most annoying thing about computers is when hardware no longer works because the software is now obsolete, even though the hardware is perfectly serviceable. Who would think that the software would wear-out before the hardware.

[manuels]

Automatic updates and automatic feature updates got to me so much that they pushed me into Linux full time. It is very annoying to have things move around on you constantly and to leave your workspace for a few hours to return to a rebooted computer. Then you have to wait until it finishes installing whatever mystery "goodies" that the manufacturer thinks you just can't do without.

[knghtbrd]

The regulators did not regulate "you must harass people with popups about tracking them". The regulators told them that tracking without consent was unacceptable. The WEBSITES decided they refused to stop doing an invasive, onerous, and unwelcome thing, so they decided to simply meet the letter of the regulations by harassing you.

And no, we don't "just turn off all cookies". BECAUSE THE WEBSITES BREAK IF YOU DO. They demand cookies. They won't work without cookies. Truly, you're forced to have them and accept them.

We just set up a private or temporary (firefox) window, the browser will take any stupid cookie the website wants to give us, and then we throw it away five minutes later, automatically, because we're tired of having Mark Zuckerberg knowing how long it took for that Taco Bell order we had for lunch to send us to the bathroom. (Because yes, they know that about most of us.)