Things that are meant to be better but are not better

for which you might need to get a door lock fitted or insurance is too expensive...

Keyless cars.

My husband has bought a headphone jack adapter that fits into the charging port. Works a treat

What problem were they trying to solve with this nonsense?

I don't know if it's the actual/only reason, but I strongly believe that a lot of it is to do with nothing more than creating more space for cupholders - which can't be on the dash column between the two front seats anymore, because there has to be room for a screen there!

My car has a regular fault, whereby the engine cuts out if you stop for a second. It's supposed to spring back into life as soon as you release the brake, but it often doesn't; and it sometimes tells you to re-start the engine manually, which means you have to remember to take it out of Drive and put it into Neutral first, then Drive again, whilst people in the queue behind honk at you and make rude gestures.

I was amazed to discover that this fault was actually designed to do that. There's a helpful button you can press to stop the fault from occurring, but it's another thing to have to remember every time you start the engine. Progress, I guess...

Meanwhile, every single car I've ever driven - even the 1988 Metro - has had a functioning ignition key which can be used if you, the driver, know that you are going to be waiting for a while, and so wish to turn the engine off in the meantime.

Same here - I just end up with sore ears or the buds fall out and I lose them.

YY to the parking apps! I went to a local train station to pick up my DB in the summer and they'd switched from a machine where you put money in a slot to cover you for the length of time you needed to park, to an app. I arrived five minutes before the train was due and wanted to leave the car, so I found the app, started setting it up then it wanted my email address, four different passwords, the number I first thought of and the name of my childhood pet (or that's what it felt like). I decided to chance it because paying the parking fine would be a lot less complicated.

In the end I didn't get a fine, but the station did lose out on 50p worth of parking. What the hell is wrong with parking machines that you either put cash or your card into? We don't all have a degree in Remembering The Answer You First Thought Of, and there isn't even any such thing as a universal parking app.

Smart anything. My phone feels like a necessary evil but I want everything else as dumb as possible. I can't be arsed with having to download apps and connect things via blue tooth just to be able to operate them.

I use the 'earbuds' with the over ear loop because I've got tiny ear holes too.

The relentlessness of The News has done me a favour.
I got so sick of it that I now watch none of it.
It's very liberating and calming

I agree OP. Technology seems to have made life easier/cheaper for the tech providers, but not necessarily for us users.

I miss the 9pm news. I can barely stay awake for the 10pm so I nod off on the sofa & then struggle to sleep when I do go to bed.

These new toys that come with a rechargeable battery and a bloody charger for it. Too many chargers which end up getting lost or the connection gets broken and the toy is no good. I was perfectly happy with good old batteries thank you 🤣🤣

I've never got over headphone jacks going. Those idiots.

Yanbu

"Customer service" lines where they leave you waiting for ages and every 5 minutes an annoyingly chirpy voice tells you to use the app instead. If the bloody app was helping I wouldn't be wasting hours of my time waiting to speak to an actual human!

The ever-increasing size of mobile phones these days makes me think they are more suitable for women than men; (there's a novelty, eh?) they are so big now you really need a bag to carry them around in, getting too big for a pocket, certainly a jeans pocket.

Well, it is an O2 mast! South East?

I’m still using an IPhone 5 for this reason. Remember when one of the virtues on mobile phones was that they were small? If I want to watch videos I have an iPad for that

Things like smart switches, voice activated music/tv, auto closing curtains/blinds are an amazing invention for people with all sorts of disabilities, giving independence where there was none.

I also like ordering food at the table. Perfect if you are on your own, as there’s no need to ‘save’ your seat by leaving your coat or shopping to indicate the table is taken.

I love my ear buds, my Alexa speakers, my ability to turn on my garage lights from my car using my Alexa enabled dash cam as I approach my driveway, and open my garage door by pressing a button. I can then reverse into the garage without needing to stop.

I love my smart switches, enabling me to turn lamps on and off (or on timed sessions) when I am not at home. A real boon for security when on holiday anywhere in the world, as long as one has WiFi.

I’m in my mid 70’s, and I love this life enhancing technology.

Same reason why I can't use deaf aids. They leap out of my ears

Art frame TVs that switch themselves on and off randomly and won’t let me subscribe to the art membership pack.

Subscriptions are a bloody ripoff. Subscribe to MS 365? Absolutely ridiculous.

Totally agree about "barista" coffee. Utter nonsense.
I remember getting 2 choices of coffee - black or white and we managed fine on those.
We were at a fancy hotel for a wedding - no kettle in the room, just some fancy contraption. It didn't have instructions so had to ask at reception . The guy looked at us like we had 5 heads.

All that faffing about to pay and then waiting 39 mins(only half jesting) for the coffee to be put in the little metal thing, wipe the stick, froth the milk, skimmed, semi, oat, soya , almond, sweetened , unsweetened ? ad infinitum
Bring back filter coffee , pour and go.