Boot soffits... in fact, soffits generally! Hate the fekin' things (can you tell what I'm detailing at the moment?) they're just ugly and pointless!
Both of my recent phones have had that, HTC One X and Sony Z2. The Sony hides it under a waterproof cover which is a bit of a pain but acceptable.
It's because the Z2 is a dust/waterproof phone. My M2 offers direct access to it. Speaking of the M2, the buttons are cleverly placed. Speaking of bad design, I can't stand the shortcuts in the Windows7/8 task bar. Compared to XP, you have to right-click --> select something if you want to open more than 1 instance of the said software.
Yup, hence the acceptable bit. I love the fact that the Z2 is waterproof as it made putting the screen covers on incredibly easy, drop of water and they slid on perfectly.
Thanks for the information. Sadly, it doesn't work with all shortcuts. For example it doesn't work with notepad++.
What about overhead headphones that fold in half. Ever found that you kept pulling your hair out whenever you take them off as they act like tweezers.
Oh, headphones, that's another one. Easily affordable ear/headphones (by that I mean up to about £30) all seem to be 'bass driven' by design. Is it really too much to ask that a pair of earphones simply play what you put into them without 'enhancing the bass' or 'isolating the treble'? If I want any of that $£*% then I'll adjust the signal that I feed them.
With you on that. I have a couple of pairs of Sonys in a box somewhere that do that. Haven't used them in years. Note to self: Gwen, do you really need to keep hold of what by now must be 30+ pairs of headphones... some of those in storage are two decades old and have never been used!
Not product design as such, but the one design that I really, really hate is the packaging that SD cards, thumbsticks etc. come in. There must be better ways of packaging a product like that - there is no easy way to get to the device inside without completely mangling the package. I hate them. Actually, come to think of it, add any product that comes in plastic clamshell packaging - the kind where you need a sturdy pair of scissors to get into and end up cutting yourself on the sharp plastic. No product is good enough that you need to bleed for it. </rant>
I've seen somewhere that a can opener works for the clamshell packaging - but usually by the time I remember that I've usually already opened it using scissors and am laying on the floor bleeding out
Scalpel blade. Makes simple work of that packaging. Had to buy a left handed bow and modify it by way of rasp, files, and a package of epoxy putty so I can shoot a bow Asian style. There are literally no products out there like the one I now own.
Chairs, Desks. I'm 6 foot 5, the economics of furniture designed for the 90% of people just plain don't work for me and its killing my back and knees (torsion).
Computer mice- specifically, gaming mice. Ever notice that your thumb rests nicely on the little rest/shelf, but the 2 ( or more ) side buttons ( forward/back ) sit directly above your thumb, meaning you have to raise or roll your thumb awkwardly to press them, causing you to change your grip and have less control of the mouse. For some I imagine it's a non-issue and not something they've ever noticed or considered, but for me it gets annoying sometimes- why can't the side buttons be where I need them, under/beside my thumb so I can press them without having to move my thumb? I've seen a few designs that have the side buttons where the thumb-tip would be, so you can press them without having to shift your thumb ( in theory ), but the mouse design itself is usually nasty or cheap. Don't get me started on sniper buttons that are too far forward to even reach- I need to mod my Func MS-3....
That thought did cross my mind, depends how sensitive the buttons are vs how twitchy ones fingers are. I'd love to see a manufacturer try it all the same, just as something new and different...