(Aside: favicons are the images next to the url for some websites.)

Sometimes the favicons will change randomly. Example, I use delicious.com to manage my bookmarks and on Windows XP the bookmark for delicious seems to ‘pickup’ whatever link I clicked last from delicious.

Not a huge deal, but come on, this isn’t rocket surgery here.

Most modern offices have a security card reader to unlock doors. Our office has a proximity readers at hip level, when you swipe the card near the reader, it beeps, a green light flashes and the magnetic door lock releases.

Now what happens if the card is bad or the reader misreads? It beeps, a red light flashes and the door stays locked.

After the first week everyone knows where the readers are and no one looks to check the light anymore. So when (not if, when) there is a misread, you end up smashing face first into the locked door. Nice job dumbass.

“But it beeps right?”

Sure does. And here is my Bitch. The beeps are the same.

How to fix it? Make it a different beep, different tone, heck make it beep twice.

Until then I will continue to smash my face into the door as I rush to a meeting. Beep.

Can you use your phone without looking? I used to be able to set the timer on my Sony-Ericsson T-616 without looking.

How often do you look at your remote control? Probably not very often, you know the feel and location of the channel up and down buttons and I’ll bet the volume controls too.

The layout, the shape and the feel of these object help us to use the device without looking or if we are really good, without thinking.

Which brings me to todays Bitch, the iPod shuffle, specifically the second generation. Let me say I use mine all the time, great battery life, cheap (so I dont’ worry if I loose it) and the clip is a nice touch. However, the buttons are completely smooth, the only feature that lets you know the device’s orientation is the shape and maybe the way it is clipped on.

Now the apologists might say, ‘Well if you clip it on then you know the orientation dumbass.’ Sure. But sometimes it isn’t clipped on. Now what?

One option, like your keyboard, put a bump on the volume up button. In fact a drop of glue might do it.

Apple, specifically Jonathan Ive normally does some very beautiful work, but this oversight is irritating.