Gallery: 12 Most Annoying Technologies as Chosen by Wired Commenters
0120121012-annoying-tech-2-036edit
*Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/about/#faq13) The commenters have spoken. After posting our [12 of the World’s Most Annoying Technologies](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/) article two weeks ago, I’ve returned to the harsh yet hilarious comments of the original post to mine for your most hated of all technologies. The crowdsourced list includes items I had overlooked or blocked from my mind because I was traumatized by the sheer annoyance of said technology. And now, against my better wishes, here are the pieces of technology that annoy Wired readers the most. __Above:__ Phone Voice Recognition ----------------------- [tianlung](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-647412993) *"How about voice recognition software? How many times have you called the electric company, the cable company, or customer service only to hear the prompt... 'please say why you're calling...'? This is one thing that infuriates me. Not to mention the dialogue that I know we've all had... 'representative. Representative..... REPRESENTATIVE!... Fuc\* this.' Click."* Using the voice prompts when you call a company is like direct-dialing into the seventh level of hell. Phone voice recognition systems never understand complex statements, and often even have trouble with simple words and numbers. Oh, hey, it turns out five and nine sound very similar to a computer. My advice is to just keep saying “operator” until an actual human being comes on the line.
02car-alarms
*Photo: [a\_sorense](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/a_sorense/3733842658/lightbox/)/Flickr* Car Alarms ---------- [metaskeptik](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-647067659) *“HOW DID THEY FORGET CAR ALARMS? YES I'M USING ALL CAPS BECAUSE THEY ARE LOUD AND ANNOYING. I HATE THEM!”* Caps make everything more urgent. Which is funny because the last time someone thought that a car alarm was an urgent matter was approximately in March of 1988. No one cares anymore. We’ve learned to ignore the plaintive wails of car alarms, no matter the time or place, which is pretty awesome for car thieves.
03ipad-cameras
*Photo: [Rhys Asplundh](http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/6716370173/lightbox/)/Flickr* iPad Camera ----------- [Dekon Reign](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-649340088) *“iPads as cameras. I wish they never put a back-facing camera on them.”* If you have an iPad, there’s a good chance that somewhere in your arsenal of tech lies a smartphone or a digital camera. So why not use the better camera on those smaller devices instead of looking ridiculous trying to take a photo with what essentially is a really fancy monitor.
04fax-machines
*Photo: [Nathan Rein](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/nbr/2707844343/lightbox/)/Flickr* Fax Machines ------------ [Jennifer Bohmbach](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-649420740) *“you forgot fax machines!”* Oh Jennifer, I wish I could forget fax machines. No matter how much we may want to banish the fax machine to the nether world of wind and ghosts, the medical, real estate, accounting, and all those other industries that still require hard copies of our signatures just won’t let it go. Now, whenever you need to fax something to a company that’s based on '90s technology it’s a mad search for a local business that still uses these over-the-phone copy machines.
05touchless-bathrooms
*Photo: [absentmindedprof](http://www.flickr.com/photos/absentmindedprof/16212550/lightbox/)/Flickr* Touchless bathrooms ------------------- [Tarchitectrunnerguy](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-653234445) *“The touchless water faucets. Only half work and here you are moving your hands all over the place looking for 'the beam' while everyone else is merrily washing their hands. And on the back end of this task is the hand 'dryers'. You stick your hands in the blowing air only to have to wipe them on your pants after the blowing stops.”* At some point everyone became concerned with cooties. Touchless faucets *do* reduce wasted water and air dryers reduce trash. But all this touchless technology keeps patrons in the bathroom longer. Which is bad news for guys and horrible news for ladies. Plus, has anyone ever gotten their hands completely dry with an air blower? Also, cooties are fake. Just scrub well. You’ll be fine.
06credit-card-machines
*Photo: [leff](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/leff/3874343/lightbox/)/Flickr* Credit Card Machines -------------------- [delahaya](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-650785665) *“Credit card swipe machines at grocery stores and drug stores. Somehow, every single one of them is totally different and requires twice as many key presses and screens as should be necessary.”* Sometimes the “Yes” button is next to the screen. Sometimes it’s on the number pad. Sometimes it’s on a touchscreen that can only be activated with a pen that’s fallen behind the pad and you have to haul up with the cable like a fisherman hauling up a net. The entire time the cashier is staring at you like you’ve never made a cashless transaction. Plus you’re probably also getting cooties from running your fingers all over that dirty machine.
07qr-codes
*Photo: [scott\_bl8ke](http://www.flickr.com/photos/scott_blake/5185388239/lightbox/)/Flickr* QR Codes -------- [Ashley Narayanen](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-647667244) *“QR codes not on here?”* Oh look, a QR code. Well, let me find the app on my phone that I use once every three months so I scan it and see what sort of exciting information it has for me. Oh, it’s a link to a website. QR codes are our era’s AOL keywords. But don’t worry, they’re also just as likely to disappear.
08snooze-buttons
*Photo: [purplemattfish](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/purplemattfish/4175881672/lightbox/)/Flickr* Alarm Clock Snooze Button ------------------------- [Sven](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-647838599) *“Too late to nominate the snooze alarm?”* Nope! Not at all. The snooze button is a horrible invention for anyone who has to be anywhere on time. As a regular snoozer, I can assure you that getting seven to 10 minutes of extra sleep is not really sleep. It’s sham sleep that leaves you more tired than if you had just gotten out of bed when the original alarm went off.
09subwoofers
*Photo: [BlaM4c](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/blam4c/2671444918/lightbox/)/Flickr* Subwoofers ---------- [Lucy Jane](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-653492887) *“The 13th most horrible piece of technology is the sub-woofer, combined with bass...come on--we can hear your stereo from the 12th floor with our windows closed!”* In the late '80s early '90s filling your hatchback with 12-inch woofers to drop the most bass on your block was all the rage. After realizing that artists used frequencies above 80 Hz for their songs, most people moved on to listening to to music with *all* the speakers available at Circuit City. If you’re still pumping the bass, you’re a bad person and you’re destroying the artistic integrity of music. Oh, and you’re hassling Lucy.
10captcha.jpg
*Photo: [Aram Bartholl](https://secure.flickr.com/photos/bartholl/4594633601/)/Flickr* Captcha ------- [Andrew Lee](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-646616944) *“Captcha. It does little to stop spam as a ton of services to bypass them, like decaptcher, exist for a very low cost.”* Andrew makes a good point. Captcha is good for exactly two things: stopping really stupid robots and getting frustrated humans to click on a refresh button to show a brand new Captcha that they still can’t read.
1120121012-annoying-tech-2-077edit
*Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/about/#faq13) Facebook -------- [Erik Levitsky](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-646621106) *“You forgot to add Facebook to the list.”* For many, Facebook has become a necessary evil. You want to keep up with your old buddies from high school, but why, oh why do you have to update your privacy setting every six months? Now Facebook has [Open Graph](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/business/2011/09/facebook-new-profile-apps/) apps that make you install the app to do something as simple as read an article your friend posted to Facebook. Thanks, Facebook, that's much better than a direct link to the site.
1220121012-annoying-tech-2-018edit
*Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired* [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/about/#faq13) Technology Writer Roberto Baldwin --------------------------------- [Mikeminzes](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/09/the-worlds-most-annoying-tech/#comment-647944692) *"Number 13: Annoying technology writers (i.e. ROBERTO BALDWIN)"* Tech writers are, perhaps, the most annoying thing about technology. Trust me, I work in a room full of them. And, real talk, if you think they are bad on the internet, you should meet one in person. The worst? It’s Roberto freaking Baldwin. I mean, I have it under good authority he didn't even use a computer until he was in his 20s. How can you trust someone without high-school computer-club cred? Plus, he looks nothing like Alec or Billy or Stephen or Daniel. What a letdown.
