What modern convenience should have never been invented?

[kevinkjb81]

Windows PCs. Macs are so mush easier and faster to use.

 

[Guest123_x1]

yah I'm way behind

[FONT="Microsoft Sans Serif, Helv"]1. Cell phones - yah I know everybody's gotta have one, but I am so sick of seeing people yak and yak on them when on the road, and in stores, and such. (they even do it when roaring right past people at 90mph on the freeway!)

2. SUVs - Why does everybody have to have 'em? No wonder we're "running out of oil"!

3. Digital Television - Even though by law we in US have to have all television broadcasts in digital only, I just can't really see how it's "so much better"-especially in rural areas where broadcast signals tend to be weak. When a signal for digital television is weak (either because of distance from the transmitter or terrain difficulties), the picture can "block up" (like digital video) and even freeze momentarily. I'd rather have a picture with a bunch of white "sparks" flying around and "twisters" and all that than have a constantly freezing and blocky picture.
Also the thing about "public safety" is a bunch of bunk. Aren't our public safety agencies already doing fine with existing specturm?

4. Digital Cinema - I don't really see how it's so much better than film. In fact, when I saw a movie in a digital cinema system, I just about had eye strain!

5. Corn-base Ethanol - Yah, I know it isn't really a convenience and we need to use much more alternative fuels, but how can something that takes just as much (or more) energy to make than it puts out, and distorts the food market by taking corn supplies and farmland away to use for ethanol really be that great? Just another bondoggle to benefit farming corporations and the politicians who back them.

...and all these other things like iPods, PDAs, and similar portable electronics, we can do fine without.
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[kevinkjb81]

Digital television. It could be phased out by the internet with its video sites and potential for making available downloads of every episode in any given series; and if you want to know the news or weather, newspapers have done that for a century if not longer. Oh, and video games? Computers do and have always done that better than any console.

But people with Dial-up internet cant watch TV unless the Cable Companys becom free and place some USB/Firewire plugs in the floor so you can connect the "TV" in to your computer.

 

[Scales]

Windows PCs. Macs are so mush easier and faster to use.

There is a long winding debate about Macintosh and Windows. They both offer different things for different people. I personally dislike Macintosh due to Safari (Worst browser ever) and its interface is far different from what I am accustomed to. Macs don't use the same hotkeys that Windows does. Like if I want to copy and paste something (Which is something I do on an hourly basis) I would normally highlight the text and press CTRL C. Then press CTRL V. But with Macintosh I need to manually press the control button and click on paste or copy.

I only use Macs during school when I do graphic work since Macs are built more for design use. My PC is more for recreational use since I use it for browsing the internet and playing games. I have done both things on both computers and I have to say that browsing and playing games was much easier to do on the PC

As with the Cell Phone and MP3 discussion. Cell phones are more for people who spend a lot of time away from the home and need to talk to people. I know people who need to use Cell Phones to make important calls every day. With MP3's I know we don't need them but I still like to use mine on a regular basis since it makes several boring situations fun.

 

[ShadowHoundoom]

The paper shredder. Little strips of paper, huh? They are easily glueable if you gave a crud, so I'd rather chainsaw it to a million pieces of indiscernible gibberish and half-letters/numbers. Piece that jigsaw together, identity thieves! *muahaha*

 

[sims796]

Me? Well, it's that God awful Bluetooth for the cell phones. Yeah, I understand, you have to use your hands for other things, but get a dang cord. Here I am, saying hi to a friend, and he calls me "baby". I say, WTF! "Oh no, I was talking to my girlfriend".

Well, you know what, there is a reason we hold a phone up to our ear. So others around you know not to bother talking to you until you are done. It looks like your talking to yourself. Know who does that? Crazy homeless. Then, strangers in the street looks like their talking to you. Are you talking to me, or not? They look straight in my face, rambling on about God know's what. Wait, I know. Because I'm listening, thinking they are talking to me. You don't look cool, you look like you're on your way to a comic book convention.

I understand if it's easier for, I don't know, doing laundry, or something that ties up both hands, but for God's sake, stop being lazy, using it every second! Walking down the street. Now your just being foolish. Like using a wheelcair because you are tired of walking. You know what? Even when you are busy, I still say they are useless. Maybe you should concentrate on your current activity, instead of this dang phone call. You just simply do a half assed job like that.

Busy driving? Well, with the Bluetooth, you can drive WHILE talking on a phone, with your undivided attention on the road! No, moron, just because your eyes are on the road, doesn't mean you have your attention on it. If anything, you are still as bad as those fools who speak with the phone to your ear.



Phew. Sorry for that rant, but that crap has always annoyed me.

 

[shea07]

Cars. Although I like not having to walk to school, I would prefer to not have all the pollution. Not only would people be healthier, cars reek. It would be difficult if there were a medicinal emergency, but they can use helicopters for that.

 

[Eos Aduro]

Im going to say the lawn mowers that you can drive around. I mean, they;re fine for like sports fields and stuff, but at least get off your butt and push one around if your yard is puny, you don;t need a vehicle for it.

Also, cheese in a can. This doesnt need explaining.

 

[XxZer0xX]

Definitely cheese-in-a-can.

 

[FourFourTwo]

The most useless invention would be the stupid floor in the airport that automatically moves for you. It doesn't make any sense at all, have we really got so lazy that we now can just stand somewhere and have the floor transport us from point A to point B.

I think this is a great invention. Being someone who travels a lot, its a big pain to carry all that luggage around, so using this is a big plus. Also, if you're running late, you simply walk while on one, and you get the same effect as running, only without losing your breath, or having the possibility of crashing into someone.

 

[Sammi]

Busy driving? Well, with the Bluetooth, you can drive WHILE talking on a phone, with your undivided attention on the road! No, moron, just because your eyes are on the road, doesn't mean you have your attention on it. If anything, you are still as bad as those fools who speak with the phone to your ear.

Are you suggesting that when people drive, we should be completely silent, because talking distracts us? Really, with the headset, how is it different than talking with the passenger next to you while you drive? Is that bad, too? If it's so bad, why does everyone I know talk while they drive? And why do so many cars have stereos in them, for that matter? Isn't that a distraction, too?

I can understand how useless headsets are if you're just on the street, but if someone has to be on a cell phone in a car, I want that headset around. At the very least, both hands are free.

I think out of all of the things I've seen in this thread, cheese in a can wins. It really is the most useless thing mentioned so far, unless you prefer the taste of it over sliced cheese. But still, we don't need it if we have real cheese. ._.;
Sadly, I can't think of anything else we can really live without. For now... >D

 

[sims796]

Are you suggesting that when people drive, we should be completely silent, because talking distracts us? Really, with the headset, how is it different than talking with the passenger next to you while you drive? Is that bad, too? If it's so bad, why does everyone I know talk while they drive? And why do so many cars have stereos in them, for that matter? Isn't that a distraction, too?

I can understand how useless headsets are if you're just on the street, but if someone has to be on a cell phone in a car, I want that headset around. At the very least, both hands are free.

It is much different than talking to a person next to you. For one thing, you have two people that can pay attention to the road. Second, it is far too easy to get wrapped up in a conversation with a person that you can't see. It is always dangerous to speak on the phone while in a car, since now, your attention is concentraiting on the person you cannot see. You should always say "sorry, I'm driving, call back later". There isn't much reason you need to be on the cell in the car, and if the call is that important, stop driving. Unless you're getting directions.

 

[Saryka]

It is much different than talking to a person next to you. For one thing, you have two people that can pay attention to the road. Second, it is far too easy to get wrapped up in a conversation with a person that you can't see. It is always dangerous to speak on the phone while in a car, since now, your attention is concentraiting on the person you cannot see. You should always say "sorry, I'm driving, call back later". There isn't much reason you need to be on the cell in the car, and if the call is that important, stop driving. Unless you're getting directions.

I disagree with this. Sometimes you can't control when you're going to get an emergency call, and I hardly think you're going to say "Sorry, I'm driving, call back later" when someone's calling because of an emergency, just because you're driving. :/

That said, I can't think of any sort of modern convenience that should have never been invented. Although cheese-in-a-can is definitely the biggest mistake in human history~ XD;

 

[sims796]

I disagree with this. Sometimes you can't control when you're going to get an emergency call, and I hardly think you're going to say "Sorry, I'm driving, call back later" when someone's calling because of an emergency, just because you're driving. :/

That said, I can't think of any sort of modern convenience that should have never been invented. Although cheese-in-a-can is definitely the biggest mistake in human history~ XD;

And that's an excuse for driving with a cell? There is no real reason, or even a real excuse. You can't tell the police as they are writing a ticket "Sorry, this is an emergency!". If it's that much of a emergency, find a place to stop.

And as for the music arguement, if you get too wrapped up in the music, maybe yeah, it SHOULD be turned off. As they say in New York's hand's free laws:

"Any task a driver performs while driving is a potential driving distraction.".

 

[Saryka]

And that's an excuse for driving with a cell? There is no real reason, or even a real excuse. You can't tell the police as they are writing a ticket "Sorry, this is an emergency!". If it's that much of a emergency, find a place to stop.

I'm not saying it's right to drive with a cell, I'm just saying that sometimes you can't control emergencies when they're going to happen.

 

[sims796]

True, and that's why you'd either find a place to stop, or make it as quick as possible.

 

[Hana~]

Good point! They take forever and you cant just run up one if you want to get to a store so fast because then those stupid people will be like OMG Stop it! and I hate that!
It's one of the reasons that I think America is so fat. But it's just one out of like fifteen.

Yes, I really hate the escalators! Whenever I ride it, I get a feeling in my stomach that the escalator will crash and stop moving between two floors.

 

[sims796]

At least you could continue to walk! I also dislike those airport "walking escalators". I know it makes travel easier, but at times, there are only strips of those walkers at a time, so it's like, what's the point? I mean, I'm too lazy to walk, but come on. It's so short, not even worth it. Fun to run on, though.

 

[Crystal Clair]

Windows PCs. Macs are so mush easier and faster to use.

They may be easy (for the person used to them) but they're gonna dumb down the population with their graphical, super easy to understand interface.
Although it's ok for old people to use them, but if you're young, learn how to use more complex systems. Besides the smooth graphics on macs make me dizzy/ nauseas.

 

[22sa]

None. Let's race to the end of the world with technology <3