h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Buttons which only gradually appear when your mouse cursor goes over the precise area you don't yet know the buttons exist at

These are usually next arrows or drop-down menus. They are infuriating and un-user-friendly. Web developers. Please stop it now.

Yeah! ...also important buttons like login/logout cleverly concealed in some out of the way drop down lizt or other unlikely location, forcing one play 'button, button, where has that (safely anonymous) s**tware designer hid the freaking button this time?'

...that horrible little dust bunny of a cursor control button tha4 ie the only editing control available on tablet, constantly jumping all over the place when one attempts to use it... ...you'd think that at least in the interest of truth in advertising and giving fair warning they'd use a 'bunny' icon rather than that square with right angle on top device apparently everyone uses... ...if it needs to split, two bunnies, facing one another... ...I'd be happy though if it would simply stop jumping atound at randomvand stay where one parks it unless the position is overwritten or one moves it again...

...A dedicated keyboard layer for touchscreen keyboards dedicated exclusively to editing controls would be nice...

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daffy_Duck.png

ph: falling over nothing...
I dont know how I manage it but I do often painfully

I was just hanging washing out and as I was reaching up to put something on the line I felt something move underfoot and fell backwards into the wall/doorway

now my back hurts and I can't see what i could possibly have fallen over there was nothing!

That is irritating isnt it. I've been known to trip over flat bits of floor. Just walking.....

PP.

Websites where the Back button on the browser doesn't work - you just stay on the same page. The only way to go back is to use the history, and sometimes even that doesn't work.

Oh but unable to leave the site easily you'll just stay and buy something from your captors, wont you? it certainly wont annoy anyone and make them swear to never darken your digital door again, no, no .

I'd love to have been in the marketing meeting where this concept was originally proposed and heard their pitch. Developers really do sometimes live in a parallel universe from the rest of us.

Grr - PH. I've done it again. I've unsubscribed from a thread and I have no idea which one. Unsubscribe is so near to "x new posts" in goo.

Sometimes the 'back' key will take you to the pre-unsubscribe page.

Eco-water.

That stuff that comes out of specially designed taps (like the one here in this hotel).

It is half bubbles. Isn't wet enough by half, and it's too light!

PP.

Cold telephone (so called consumer surveys) calls.

I had one of those today. I just told them I wasn't interested in doing their survey. We're thinking of getting an answering machine so we can screen out unwanted calls.

I rarely even bother answering the phone, if I'm not expecting a call on the land line.

If I don't recognise the number calling my mobile, or if it's withheld, then I don't answer that either. If it's important they can leave a message and I'll call them back.

Normally I would agree, but if the 'cold call' comes when you are board they can be fun;

>>What kind of pet do you have at your house?

>An Aardvark

>>Where do you want to spend your next holiday?

>Siberia, I hear the climate is wonderful this time of year - particularly effective if the call is received in January through mid April.

>>Would you like to save $100.00 (or enter your own equivalent currency amount.)

>No!



F S

Unfortunately, family issues mean that we can't ignore the phone when it rings. That's why we need the ability to screen calls. I agree about ignoring mobile phone calls if I don't recognise the number or if the number is withheld. Mind you, a while ago I was on a clinical trial. When the hospital called me the number came up as 'Unknown', so it doesn't always work.

If it's an unknown or withheld number, they can leave a message if it's important. If it's not important enough to leave a message, it's not important enough for me to answer it

Same here - although I only listen to messages for my landline. I assume that anyone I know well enough to give my mobile number to, I'd have their numbers, so generally don't answer the mobile if I don't recognise the number. And I don't listen to voicemail on my phone as that costs me money.

<BB<

PH: weather forecasters placing value judgements on the weather.

This morning, apparently we will be 'unlucky' to get a shower in Southern England. Personally, I would feel extremely lucky to get rain, now that all 3 of my water butts are empty, and my vegetable plot is parched. At the end of the forecast, the presenter even admitted that we'd only had 7% of the average September rainfall, which makes this September the driest so far in 50 years; so why imbue the prospect of rain with such negativity?

'Learn more' or 'More information' links on websites that don't take you to more information, or to the information they say they'll take you to. For example, some branches of Morrisons stock Calor gas. There's a link that's supposed to take you to more information about what that branch stocks. Instead it takes you to a list of branches that stock Calor gas. There are more examples on the Morrisons website, but that's the only one I'm awake enough to remember.

Documentaries that claim to be interesting, but then take an hour to say exactly what was said in the first five minutes over and over again.

<BB<