My computer pet peeves

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Why do 99% of people who use Windows, when in an options box, insist on hitting Apply before hitting OK? I don't know how many people have "corrected" me by saying "You can't just hit OK, you have to hit Apply first!". Then I re-open the window and show them that the changes were indeed applied and they say something like "Ohh.. I never tried that" or they lie and say "Weird, that never works for me". Where do they learn this stuff? And why did they never once try getting really adventurous and going straight to OK to see if they can avoid the extra step?

Actually, just seeing most other people use computers in the first place drives me up the wall. I just want to smack them in the side of the head and say "HELLO?!?? You use this freaking thing every day, why does it still take you 10 seconds to locate the address bar in Internet Explorer?"

See this is why I use GNU/Linux. And the CLI, whenever possible.

The problem with windows (and WMs that run on linux) is the lack of consistency. Its quite possible that a lot of times pressing OK without hitting apply won't work.

In windows people make mistakes by hitting OK as OK doesn't really tell you much. On a macintosh, you know exactly what a button does without needing to read the dialog. This is very different from the windows approach which makes it a lot easier to make mistakes. For example, in windows something says "do you want to delete all the files." people will automatically just click OK even if they didn't want to delete all the files. In OS X, you'd get a "delete all" button, a "delete" button and a "don't delete" button, or something similar to that. Apple pays attention to details. That's how they're so successful.

I used to earn a hefty paycheck from fixing people's computers, so it was necessary for me to develop a tough "computer stupidity shell" to stay sane . I have to say, though, I get a bit miffed when someone has their monitor set to a resolution for which it wasn't designed. Like 1024x768 on a widescreen LCD... urgh.

That echos my thoughts entirely. It seems most people are determined to be as inefficient as possible and refuse to accept there is a better way to do anything.

People still look at me like I'm some kind of magician because I have keyboard shortcuts setup on the desktop for all my major apps.
They're like "wooo, how do you do that so fast", so I tell them how they can do it. Next time I see them operating their PC, I see them spending several weeks (or so it felt like) trying to find where Word or IE is on the Start menu.... aaaaarrgghh...
And then they try and open a file using a regular dialog box and I can feel my hair going grey in the time it takes to find and open a file I would have opened in an instant.

I'm sure I do three times the work of some people, just because I know how to make best use of my PC!

My biggest Computer Pet Peeve is when I'm googleing images to print, and I find something that I like, and the picture turns out to be too small, and when I increase the size, it looks like a bunch of sqaures, so than I have to look for similuar image.

On the Mac, the custom is to not have 'apply' and just have the settings apply *immediately* as they're selected. Or, if not feasible, they make the dialog box modal and have the settings apply on 'OK'.

You sound like I used to when I was younger.

"Ah, the impetuous of youth."

Patience is a virtue and all that...

Same here. You grow a second skin to deal with this kind of stupidity. It comes from experience being the same way on another topic. Mine is cars. The mechanic must look at me the same way. It is also socially awkward, I have noticed, to be male and not be an expert on cars. Even more socially awkward than being a male and an expert at computer programming.

Damnit, why is everything I'm interested in, good at, or bad at, have to be socially awkward? I even love Star Trek -- too much. It doesn't seem like it should be.

Ah well.

I used to do tech support for an Internet service. I know all about the second skin.. I was actually able to come off as being extraordinarily patient and friendly, to the point that quite a few customers went out of their way to contact my boss and compliment me.

But if they only knew what I was thinking.. or often, what I'd yell the instant I hung up. I developed a lot of pent-up anger from having to spend 8 hours a day being Mr. Happy Sociable Friendly Guy Who Loves Explaining Where The Start Button Is Five Times. I was not cut out for customer service!