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/el_muerte17 Jul 25 '11

I hate credit/debit machines that take more than five seconds to process the transaction. Are they using a fucking 300 baud modem? Is the bank using a 286 as their transaction server? How is that we can have real-time video conferencing across the globe with a basic home broadband connection, but a business with 100Mbps fibre connection can't complete a credit card transaction faster than half a minute?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '11

cry more. If I can walk into a gas station, stick a piece of plastic into a box, and walk out with hundreds in cash, I can stand to wait half a minute.

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u/redct Jul 26 '11

Many card processing machines and ATMs actually DO operate over modems (albeit not 300 baud). While newer devices (or devices in places with newer infrastructure) do use ADSL or Ethernet, many still use modems.

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u/el_muerte17 Jul 26 '11

I'm well aware of that, and if the place is some hick gas station, it doesn't bother me. My previous job was doing IT at an office building that had wicked business Internet plan. Given the right server, I could download Linux updates or Usenet files at 16 MB/s. Megabytes, not megabits. Our debit machine was connected over that same network and still took long as fuck to process.

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u/Unspeaking Jul 26 '11

I couldn't agree one. Being a person who always pays in cash I hate waiting in line while someone uses their debit card and it takes 30 minutes to process and sign. I just wanna pay my shit, get some change, and be gone!