10 Pieces Of Technology I Hate

In no particular order, here are a 10 pieces of technology that make me want to scream:

Software by Microsoft - The buggiest, bloated piece of crap ever, and I'm a Mac user so I don't have to endure their operating system. How this company ever got to be the behemoth it's become is beyond me. Every time I'm forced to use Word you can bet that I will curse Bill Gates about every 5 minutes or so.

Bluetooth anything - Does any of it really work? I especially hate those cellphone bluetooth headpieces not because I use one, but because everyone that calls me that's using one sounds so crappy (there's that word again).

Clam shell/blister packaging - Thief-proof and consumer proof all rolled into one. This isn't really a piece of technology, only a by-product of it gone wrong.

The new pop-ups - I thought we all had pop-up blockers on our browsers? Yet these pop-ups and pop-unders still torment me and everyone else.

Stupid as shit cable TV boxes - How can such a technologically advanced society as ours still tolerate cable set-top boxes that still have only the intelligence of Apollo 11? Broadcast television could be so much better if only the powers that be (which I suspect are the cable companies) would load their boxes up with 1990's technology. If you want a reason why television is loosing viewers to the Internet, this is a good one.

Blu-Ray - I need this......why? The only time I enjoy HD is watching sports, it's superfluous on anything else. So why do I need to buy another player and another format? All those extras? I didn't watch 'em on DVD, what makes you think I'll watch them on BD (and I used to produce DVD extras)? Now as a bit-bucket for backup, it's a different story and I love it.

Phones that sound like crap (that word again) - Why in this day and age do wired and cordless phones sound worse than that ones that AT&T leased us for 50 years?

Monster cable - I actually don't use this because I know better, but I'm always amazed that they can charge 5 times more for a product and make people think their audio quality is going to improve as a result.

Automated phone services - I can handle a couple of "Press 5 for .......", but please, let me speak to a real person when I want.

Social networking - Does the world really need another social network and do I really have to be on it (or have the time to be on it)?

Technology is wonderful and has brought us more connectivity, convenience, and downright fun than we could ever have hoped for. It's understandable that some things start out as a good idea only to devolve into something that's exasperating. But then, some of the above look as though they're been designed to frustrate us from the start.