December 2006
December 30, 2006 12:03 AM
A reader named Marvin submits a picture taken in Los Angeles, California:
At the Sprint Store on 3rd and Broadway in downtown Los Angeles, they
have a kiosk in which you can pay your bills by inputing your account information and inserting
dollar bills (similar to a vending machine).
You can clearly see a keyboard and trackball, however the keyboard and trackball don't serve any purpose because all data is input via the touch screen
interface.
What is the point of having the keyboard there if you can't use it to input data or navigate the system?
That being said, I wish the keyboard was usable, because touch screens aren't as easy to use, and are more prone to input errors.
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 29, 2006 12:03 AM
Eric Hosmer writes:
If you have gotten the standard email from a Dell Service Tech, you
probably have noticed how it is clearly based on a template. This makes
sense, since it simplifies things for the technician.
However, in my most recent
call to Dell I got a second message from the same address
saying only, "Please select a template."
It seems somebody forgot to
select the correct template for my email before sending it to me!
Posted in Customer Service
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December 28, 2006 12:03 AM
Flickr user Pboy points out:
I saw this Emergency Exit door on Carnival Valor Cruise ship.
Where do the passengers exit in an emergency?
Posted in Misc
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December 27, 2006 12:03 AM
Meghan Elizabeth took a picture of a note she found in her New York City Apartment:
The boiler in my apartment building usually quits a couple of times each winter. I found a funny note in my apartment that someone posted:
Boiler
Out of Order
Waiting for Godot, The Mechanic
When will it work?
I did not add the Godot reference to the sign, but I am willing to befriend whoever did.
Posted in Just for Fun
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December 26, 2006 12:03 AM
Cheryl Smith points out:
Wake County in North Carolina only lists precincts with polling places in Excel format. Why couldn't the list be in html format so a voter could immediately view and print the polling places?
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 25, 2006 12:02 AM
Happy Holidays from This Is Broken!
May we suggest some Good Experience Games...
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December 23, 2006 12:03 AM
Jeff Grobaski writes in:
I ordered a TV from Zalmar.com and took advantage of the "gift wrapping" option.
Not only did they "gift wrap" an LCD TV purchased in the month of December in BABY WRAPPING PAPER, but they wrapped it on the outside of the box and simply slapped a UPS shipping label on the wrapping paper!
The result is that my now my wife knows what she is getting for Christmas and now she thinks we might be having a baby as well!
Posted in Misc
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December 22, 2006 12:03 AM
Evan E. points out:
In the sign in section of the Bank of America website, if you live in Guam, Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, you have to select "Alabama" as the state your account is in.
See also:
Broken: Bank of America jailing a customer
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 21, 2006 12:03 AM
Nic Price asks:
Which button do you press to turn the lights out?
If you guessed the black one, you are correct - however, I still think that the icons should be made more obvious.
Posted in Product Design
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Mickey Mellen writes:
This picture was taken at Wal-Mart. I have no problem with them closing the photo lab for 30 minutes, but there's one key piece of information missing - the time the sign was posted!
I don't know if the sign has been up there for 1 minute or 29 minutes. Without the posted time included, that sign is almost worthless.
Posted in Signs
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December 20, 2006 12:03 AM
Ronson Lamond writes:
Gateway computers come with software to remind you to buy ink cartridges
for your printer.
I received this low ink warning message for this printer called the Journal Note Writer - which only creates pdfs, which do not require the use of ink...I may have to run out and
buy some digital ink soon.
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 19, 2006 12:03 AM
Morgan Johnson submits a picture taken in San Francisco, California:
I saw this renter's sign with the url www.715page.com - with "street" written in as the last part of the url with a sharpie.
Really, what would be cheaper? Printing up new signs or just registering the mispelled url?
Posted in Signs
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December 18, 2006 12:03 AM
Joe Goldberg points out:
This gas pump in Seattle, Washington has two "yes" buttons. I stood there for awhile trying to figure out how not to buy a car wash.
If you look carefully, you'll barely see the word "no" etched into the bottom button.
Posted in Misc
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December 16, 2006 12:03 AM
A reader named Thales writes:
I received this error message "an unamed file was not found" in the Epson Smart Panel - the application that accompanies the Epson Perfection 2400 Photo scanner.
Also, what amazes me is the fact that they expect the software to be able to find a file without a name in the first place.
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 15, 2006 12:03 AM
Stefan Bucher submits a picture of a parking lot in Zurich, Switzerland:
How am I supposed to know which color marks the right borders for a parking space?
Blue, yellow, white or red?
Posted in Misc
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December 14, 2006 12:03 AM
Kevin Cawley writes:
The inside of this American Spirit cigarette ad fold out lists all the additives & chemicals which are in other cigarettes, yet not in American Spirits. The point of this being "Do you know what you're smoking?" That is, you should smoke a healthier cigarette, one without all these added chemicals. Right?
Wrong.
In addition to the standard Surgeon General's warning, the ad also contains a second warning:
"No additives in our tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette."
Does anyone want to explain what the point of the ad is?
(Inspired by Seth Godin and This is Broken)
Posted in Advertising
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December 13, 2006 12:03 AM
Anca Mosoiu writes:
I rented a PT cruiser, and every time I went to open the door, the trunk, or turn on the ignition, I would hit the panic button on the PT Cruiser key.
I panicked every time I tried to start the car!
Posted in Product Design
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December 12, 2006 12:03 AM
Flickr user Triborough points out a sign from Long Island City in New York:
This picture was taken at Queensboro Plaza in Queens.
The store owner should probably redo the "donuts" sign text if they want to try and convince customers to buy their "fresh donuts!"
Posted in Signs
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December 11, 2006 12:03 AM
Alex Protsenko writes in:
Loaded with nearly 20 kg of luggage, I descended several flights of stairs and followed the arrow to enter this toilet at London's Waterloo train station.
When I got to the restroom at bottom of the stairs, I discovered a sign informing me that there is a stairless toilet elsewhere.
It would make a lot more sense to put this sign above at the top of the stairs, along with directions to the "accessible toilet."
To add to the inconvenience of it all, there was a 20 pence charge to use the bathroom!
Posted in Place
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December 9, 2006 12:03 AM
Doug Rinckes writes in:
There is a language learning application called "Before You Know It" that unfortunately looks strange with the Hide and Quit options in the menu. "Quit before you know it!"
Posted in Just for Fun
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December 8, 2006 10:17 AM
Home Depot Investigated For Scammy Remodelling Services - Consumerist. I've experienced some of the same problems with Home Depot myself.
Home Depot claims you won't have to deal with subcontractors, but they do use subcontractors. When something goes wrong, and consumers complain, Home Depot avoids or ignores their repeated phone calls and letters.
Posted in Customer Service
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Here are two links to broken home "improvement" projects:
(Thanks to boingboing.net for the pointer)
From http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tohnews/gallery/0,25895,1548031-1,00.html: "Wasn’t there a screen saver like this? This is a picture of some amateur plumbing work for the drain system of a home."
And from http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tohnews/gallery/0,25895,1548031,00.html
This bathroom outlet is not a GFCI. Thank providence, this homeowner had the presence of mind to leave all of the tags on, advising of potential shock hazard, should one carelessly remove the tags.
From http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tohnews/gallery/0,25895,1220600,00.html
Posted in Misc
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December 7, 2006 12:03 AM
A reader points out:
I found this Walgreen's coupon for Softsoap liquid soap. The coupon is advertising to "stock up" on Softsoap liquid soap, however your are limited to buying only 2!
Posted in Advertising
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December 6, 2006 12:03 AM
A reader submits a picture taken in Livermore, California.
Posted in Misc
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December 5, 2006 12:03 AM
Mari Clements sends in a picture of a sign taken in San Francisco, California:
I saw this sign by The Hard Rock Cafe on Pier 41 in San Francisco.
Besides the spelling/grammar mistakes it is hilarious!
Posted in Just for Fun
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December 4, 2006 12:03 AM
Marsha Glassner points out:
When you submit a bug report form to Adobe online, they ask that you write them how to reproduce the problem.
Once you have taken the trouble to write up a detailed explanation of how you encountered the bug, and you are ready to submit your report, the form tells you *after* you have completed the description, that you are limited to a description of 2000 characters!
Also, just to add insult to injury, they end their admonition to any customer who isn't concise enough with an exclamation mark!
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 2, 2006 12:03 AM
David Newton points out:
A few months ago when I was applying for jobs on monster.com, I had to go through the process of putting together and editing a cover letter for submission with my resume.
In the picture above in the red box is the window you get once you've chosen to create a new letter (the option for uploading one directly is, sadly, missing).
Unfortunately, I had to edit my cover letter down in Word, because I couldn't really do it in the generous postage-stamp sized window that they're provided me with.
Posted in Web/Tech
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December 1, 2006 12:03 AM
Bob Sifniades sends in a page from a US Virgin Islands paper:
My local paper, the St. Croix Avis, ran this headline - "Leisure hedline goes here" on October 13, 2006
for their weekly leisure column.
Oops!
Posted in Misc
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