 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group What do I hate? Greg Eden |
- Floppy disk labels that come unstuck and stay behind in the drive. Floppy disk labels that stick so well they will never come off, making it impossible to change them.
Tip: Use Quik Stik self adhesive labels MR 44.65, about $5 for 150, at newsagents.
- Preformatted floppy disks with bad sectors that have not been locked out. I now format all disks before use as I have been caught too many times. What is the point of preformatting if it is not reliable?
Tip: Use FORMAT A: /U to override the existing format.
- Some computer salespeople. If you only want to buy one of something they never ring back.
Tip: What is the difference between a computer salesperson and a used car salesperson? The latter knows that he or she is lying!
- Windows programs that fill your hard drive with files on the assumption that you could not possibly ever want to delete them. I have megabytes of DLLs etc. that may or may not have any use.
Tip: Get a Windows cleaning program.
- Programs that only have online documentation. How do you read the manual in bed?
Tip: Get a notebook computer, although it still won't work if you roll on your side.
- Computer monitors that do not have a square picture (nearly all of them). The standard excuse is that we live in the southern hemisphere and the earth's magnetic field slopes the wrong way.
Tip: Get one of the newer digital control monitors, which will give you some control.
- Inkjet cartridges. These cost up to $50 and give you 10 ml of ink. Hey, I just want a few cents worth of ink, a new printer only costs $350.
Tip: Most can be reinked from a kit, but be careful as on some models this will void your warranty.
- RAM chips. How is it that an AMD DX2-80 CPU is only about $20 more than a 72pin 4 Mb SIMM?
Tip: Only use one megabyte and run only old DOS programs just to spite them.
- Computer Swap Meets. Come on, the last real swap meet was years ago. These events are Computer Markets, the only swapping is your money for their goods.
Tip: Go anyway, they are great fun.
- The rate of change. Nothing can stop progress, but I still hate that the hard drive that cost me $500 eight months ago now sells for $270 and a month after I bought my monitor they brought out a new model with Energy Star features and dropped the price $100.
Tip: Make a decision. No matter how great a bargain it seems, wait three months. (I bet you follow that advice!)
- Apple Macintosh. I don't know why I hate them, I just do!
Tip: Don't buy one.
- Computer CD-ROMs that are chock full of rubbish; at least they are generally cheap, so it's a case of getting what you pay for.
Tip: Buy them anyway. You used to pay $5-$10 for a shareware disk. If you only get three useful things from a $15 CD-ROM you are even.
- Computer CD-ROMs that fill your hard drive with files. I know the program will run faster, but it goes some way to defeating the purpose of the CD-ROM. Some CD-ROMs give you the option of running from hard disk or CD-ROM. This idea should be the general rule.
Tip: If it is an option, run from CD-ROM.
- Drag and Drop object style interfaces. Why is a docucentric approach more intuitive? I do not want a folder full of icons for every letter I ever wrote - what a mess! One icon for the word processor and a menu with file open is neater and perfectly logical for any but the most moronic. Catering to the lowest common denominator is reaching ridiculous heights (depths?).
Tip: Reconfigure your desktop to ignore the concept.
