Photos: Annoying hardware, a rogues' gallery

By Rupert Goodwins on 11 June 2008

Image 6 - Photos: Annoying hardware, a rogues' gallery

Stylus/touch systems
One particular class of input device deserves a circle of hell all to itself. With some honourable exceptions â€" and even those are flawed, as iPhone text maniacs know â€" anything that requires you to prod the screen is a one-way ticket to digital frustration. Active touch screens? You've lost the stylus: you're toast. Passive? Brush the wrong bit with your pinkie, and heaven knows what'll happen. Recalibration. Contamination. Fat fingers and tiny controls. Fuzzy displays. These things are sins against humanity.

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User comments
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Woo
12/06/2008 06:13 PM

Haha funny article, but sadly true. I loved the bit about the6 fingered mutants and them silly printers always trying to sell you ink!

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me
11/07/2008 12:06 PM

Re: AC adapters - also - those 4-point and 6-point pwer boards you buy (to change one power socket into more) never have enough space between them to fit two AC adapters side by side.

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callum
12/07/2008 10:06 PM

:) nice article, however I love my wireless mouse! lol at the 33in1 card reader, that is defiantly ridiculous

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pendragon74
05/08/2008 11:00 AM

The N-different power adapters is one that really kills me. I'm looking at a table full of different adapters for phones (mobile and landline), printers, routers, screens, laptops. All right already! We surrender! Just give us all a 5V 500 mA power supply, or auto-switching supply, that does everything.

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