PCworld Top 20 Most annoying Tech products

[clevin]

1. AOL CDs
2. Windows Me
3. Apple iTunes, Microsoft Windows Media Player, Microsoft Zune, Napster
4. McAfee Internet Security, Symantec Norton Internet Security
5. Real Networks (Progressive Networks) RealPlayer
..
8. Microsoft Windows Vista
9. Microsoft Windows Update
10. Apple QuickTime for Windows

Apple G4 Cube and Pro mice are also mentioned outside top 10

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130638/article.html

 

[Eraserhead]

I agree with the list, iTunes is a little petty and should be further down the list, the Apple Pro Mouse is actually Apple's best mouse IMO, the hockey puck was way worse and the G4 cube is a little strange to be on the list <shrug>...

Also the comments about Vista are fair enough, it is pretty new.

Also AOL CD's aren't that annoying and should be a little further down too.

 

[zap2]

iTunes anywhere near Windows Me, and MS Zune..come on!

 

[solvs]

Unlike PC World's 25 Worst Products of All Time, irksome products aren't necessarily bad, buggy, or dangerous. But they all have one or two traits that make you want to wrap them in 200 pounds of steel cable and toss them off the side of a boat. From stupid features and rude behavior to brain-dead design and poor corporate policies, these 20 products have truly annoyed us over the years, and some continue to do so.

And as far as iTunes, it's the DRM they don't like. That's why they lumped it in with the others. Real got a spot all by itself for obvious reasons. QT is there because of the startup file it loads, as well as the taskbar icon (which I always disable), and the shortcuts it spreads everywhere (which I wind up deleting). They have some legitimate complaints about Flash and IMs too, as well as the Apple mice and the Cube issues.

Seems like a good list to me, having actually read the article.

As soon as I clicked the link to read a list on "the most annoying products," what should I see? A pop-up ad wanting me to subscribe to PC World. Physician, heal thyself....

Same thing I was thinking.

 

[Eraserhead]

And as far as iTunes, it's the DRM they don't like. That's why they lumped it in with the others.

I don't think DRM is *that* big a deal, there are other worse things, though it is annoying I suppose. I ran into it today with iTunes on my Macbook after a re-install, irritating, I'll certainly be paying the 20p/song to remove the DRM. So maybe I'm wrong, the whole list is a little petty TBH.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I'd put Microsoft Dave ahead of a Cube...

 

[gauchogolfer]

I didn't read the article, but if the paperclip 'helper' from MS didn't make it on the list, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Eraserhead]

The collapsable menus in Me/XP/Office and two toolbars on one row by default didn't make it, god they were annoying, whenever helping someone I always would turn them off, they don't make anyones like easier .

 

[FoxyKaye]

I can't say I disagree with anything on their top 20 list, with the exception of the Cube. I liked the Cubes I worked on, and it always seemed abundantly clear that nothing should be placed on top of them (just as you wouldn't cover the top of a CRT with a decorative scarf, pile of papers or a book). Never ran into the loose connector issue they mention, but maybe this is why I liked the Cubes.

Of course, whether or not the companies whose products are mentioned will read this and get some common sense remains to be seen.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Can we put this list on the list?

I vote for number one.

 

[nickster9224]

the aol discs made great frisbees

 

[solvs]

I don't think DRM is *that* big a deal

Nor do I, just pointing out why it was on the list.

 

[jholzner]

And as far as iTunes, it's the DRM they don't like. That's why they lumped it in with the others. .

If that's the case, they should have said the iTunes Store and not just iTunes. You can use iTunes 'till the cows come home and never encounter DRM until you purchase something from the store.

 

[mkrishnan]

If that's the case, they should have said the iTunes Store and not just iTunes.

What they did was list all the major music jukeboxing / file management programs that support a DRM'd store (both Windows and Mac) and describe in the issue that the specific thing they took issue with was the DRM. They even made it clear that they consider the WM DRM worse than Apple's. It was very balanced, and not at all anti-Apple:

Apple iTunes, Microsoft Windows Media Player, Microsoft Zune, Napster (2003 to present)

The media players themselves are mostly fine, but their incompatible digital rights management (DRM) schemes drive us nuts. Despite Apple's recent decision to sell some DRM-free songs, most iTunes tunes still play only on iPods, a couple of Motorola phones, or a computer with iTunes software on it. (And the DRM-free songs cost 30 cents more.)

Windows Media files are worse--now, two different, totally incompatible DRM file formats use the .wma file extension. So if you buy a WMA file from a service that uses Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM (most notably Napster), it won't work with the Zune (which uses Microsoft's Zune DRM). Can't we all just get along?

Microsoft has said it will "soon" sell DRM-free music for the Zune. We'll see.

 

[iBookG4user]

I don't run into any DRM issues with iTunes, that wouldn't have even crossed my mind to put on the list. Although Windows ME, I remember when my parents used that crap... I mostly agree with the list, the ones I wouldn't have put on there are iTunes, or the PS3 (My dad hasn't had any problems with it), Pro mouse, and definitely not the PowerMac G4 Cube.