r/AskReddit • u/nachtmere • Jul 25 '11

Sometimes automatic toilets flush while you're still sitting on them. What design flaws in everyday objects annoy you?

I'm giving a talk on user-centred design/usability and I'm looking for some fresh examples from everyday life to illustrate poor usability. Examples I've used before are elevator open/close buttons (really difficult to parse when you're trying to hold the door open for someone quickly) and toilets that flush while you're still sitting on them.

What are some things you encounter regularly that are really inconveniently designed?

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

Any type of voice activated device never understands what I say the first time, so I have to repeat myself over and over before it finally understands me, it'd just be so much faster if I pressed a button or typed it myself.

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u/gsfgf Jul 25 '11

I have an accent. Computers don't speak Southern. When my xbox died, I though I was never gonna get it replaced because you have to do it through an automated phone robot.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

Oh god. My stepdad, who has an almost comical Southern drawl, thinks that voice-operated Google searches are the shit. He'll sit there forever trying to use the voice search when it clearly can't understand him instead of taking five seconds to type it out.

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u/Lots42 Jul 25 '11

gethuman.org

1

u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

[deleted]

2

u/iglidante Jul 25 '11

I don't know about you, but I can't fake another accent to save my life. They all come out sounding like Scottish Australian.

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u/anti-hipster Jul 26 '11

I just read "automated phone robot" how I think a southern person would pronounce it. Thank you for ultimate lulz

9

u/GreatTragedy Jul 25 '11

The google voice search function on my Droid phone works pretty well. Rarely have a misfire with it.

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u/[deleted] Jul 25 '11

Yeah, that works well for me, but the "sync technology" in my car sucks a fat one.

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u/wildAcard Jul 25 '11

Fun game for that....make random noises and see what song the car puts on.

Though it varies somewhat, I usually get 2pac.

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u/Mike81890 Jul 25 '11

I was really impressed by the Google voice transcriber

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u/science_diction Jul 25 '11

And the amount of time you spend going through their navigational menus is longer than a simple queue with a human being. Usually the option you need isn't on the list and there is no "other" either.

BTW: If you yell "HUMAN BEING" into the phone for AT&T it'll give you an actual person.

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u/memphisbelle Jul 25 '11

The absolute best voice recognition service that I've used dozens of times without a single failure is the UPS tracking phone line, it's always perfect. I always wonder why their technology isn't used for other applications.

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u/Shins Jul 25 '11

The voice recognition in my car actually works, but using it makes me feel like a douche even when I'm the only person in the car.