Bug List

20 Bugs:

1. Yellow warning of street lights should last longer. This bug exists because vehicles slowly became the primary mode of transportation, so changing the timing of these street signs now would be far too time consuming and labor intensive. This problem may not affect everyone, though it might be a good idea to give drivers a second more to make the correct decision. If you have driven for at least four months, you realize that drivers see the yellow as an opportunity to catch the current light, as to not have to wait for the next one.

*Note: I am a transfer student from Miami, and as opposed to Gainesville, there are not flashing yellow lights before the light turns red (basically, this bug applies directly to Miami).*

2. Smart TV’s not having a universal mobile app to easily navigate through the TV and its applications/functions. This issue is rooted in companies trying to control their share of the market and not willing to potentially provide another competitor a benefit. For reference, I just bought a 4K Samsung Smart TV and it comes with a rather basic remote, where I have to scroll and input every letter just to search a song on Spotify (very annoying). Perhaps having an app that can function across all brands of TV’s may incentivize buyers?

3. Inconsistency with landlord and their services. Here at “The Retreat,” where I live about a mile away from campus, there has already been multiple inconveniences. Services such as the coffee machine that “opens every day at 6 AM” was shut down for an entire week; the amount of time and effort it took for them to visit my house to fix the dishwasher; and the surmounting garbage pile that was just recently picked up at the end of my street. I’m aware that I appear unthankful, though these are basic services that residents expect to work and pay large amounts of money for. All in all, the only reason this problem exists is because “The Retreat” is operating under-staffed to cut running costs.

4. Low Smart TV internet capability. While shopping at Best Buy, before I bought my Smart TV, the sales representative raged about these televisions having higher internet capability than laptops. Sadly, the TV cannot handle simple internet browsing such as viewing Twitch or browsing Reddit. For that, I would have to create a Samsung account and download a separate application. The bug exists because Samsung wants users to download applications over using the TV internet browser, although both should operate in the same capacity.

5. Having to pay for ProctorU. This problem exists primarily because the University of Florida will not pay for a service that does not cover the vast majority of students. Coming in this year as a transfer student, the only thing I ever paid for at Miami Dade College was paper scantrons (if they were not already provided by the teacher). Although the service has not charged me yet for my scheduled tests, this cost should be included within the price of tuition. With such an abundant student population, the increase in tuition could be compared to buying a cheap cup of coffee.

6. Zipper getting stuck when trying to close apparel. The anticipation to wearing a nice zip-up jacket before going out gets ruined by lousy designing and/or cheap materials. This bug exists either because the product is cheaply made and falls apart easily, or simply because we humans tend to open things with little regard for the actual product itself and get frustrated when our mistreatment comes back to bite us.

7. Incessant advertisements for a product you only searched for once out of curiosity. If I shop for sneakers once, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Facebook will team-up and run ads of shoes non-stop for three straight weeks. This bug stems from online cookies that the user allows when shopping through a products website. Yes, there is not much you can do when you willingly accept the outcome… but it would be nice to feel like someone is not breathing over your shoulder constantly.    

8. Waiting time at the Reitz Student Union during lunch time. Only twice have I passed by the Reitz looking to grab some food, but every line is backed up with at least twenty-five people. This problem exists due to the overflow of students trying to eat lunch around the same time, an elementary example where supply is much lower than demand. 

9. Small butane lighters not being able to light candles. Although there are longer butane lighters that are purposely designed to light candles, imagine owning just one lighter and never worrying about where your other two lighters are. This problem exists because of the lack of innovation to expand the functionality of lighters, a bug that most people will concede to by purchasing matches or a longer torch-like lighter.   

10. Roommates not collaborating to clean the house. This problem exists due to the opposing personalities, background, and lack of communication among my roommates. We do not live as slobs, though only three of the five us like to keep things relatively clean and organized, while the other two honestly do not contribute as much. It is a sensitive subject because you must realize that you are living with these people for an entire year, so constantly pushing them to clean may not preserve the positive relationships roommates desire.  

11. Scooter mirrors not staying in place. Within the first two days of driving my scooter, the left mirror had lost all its tension, spinning in circles (did not fall off) as I drove down 13^th Street. This bug was more of an inconvenience, yet the dealer had told me everything was operating perfectly. Moreover, this bug exists because the mechanics probably skipped a step in the process of checking the scooter. Luckily, I was able to fix it back into the place with a wrench – but for someone who is not accustomed to working with cars, I can see their frustration of having to drive back to the dealer and pay for such an aggravating repair

12. Having an inconvenient cable to charge my computer. Sometimes I get frustrated with having to carry a clunky charging cable for my laptop because I know wireless charging is essentially mainstream with new phones today. This problem exists because laptops contain larger batteries and carry more surface area than the much smaller phones. Hence, it becomes an issue of innovation to create a device that will charge the laptop at (or above) the same rate of a cable charger.

13. Closed-toed shoes not being waterproof. In such a developed society, I think we should be at the point where our toes and socks do not get soaked every time they are exposed to water. This problem exists primarily because the cost for shoe manufacturers to create an entire research and design department for waterproof shoes is not worth the gamble, especially when their customers are not exactly demanding it.

14. Waiting time and inconvenience to pick up ordered food. If a restaurant supports takeout, there should a specialized window or automatic pickup system in place – to the point where restaurant staff do not need to go out of their way and attend to your order. This bug exists because most businesses will avoid the extra costs, unless absolutely necessary, to update their takeout system when customers can easily walk into the restaurant and pick up their food. 

15. Waiting for someone to get off your desired equipment at the gym. When working out, it gets annoying having to wait several minutes before the person – who at times just passively sits there not utilizing the equipment – hops off the said equipment. This problem exists due to the overflow of people trying to work out at the same time with not enough machines to support the amount of traffic in the gym.

16. Snapchat displaying subscriptions to people/accounts that I never want to see. Since the update last year, Snapchat has been bothering practically all users with an app design that is just bothersome to use. Specifically, Snapchat dedicates a whole page to subscriptions that they think a person of my age wants to see, when really, I try to delete as many of those stupid accounts that I can. This problem exists because Snapchat is trying to serve the bulk of consumers who are attracted to those accounts, hence keeping those social media accounts relevant.

17. Constant music at the pool outside my house (weekends). Where I live, we have a massive resort-style pool with very, very loud music. Although this is a great place to be, it’s not so much a great place to study. The problem truly stems from me finding housing so late but also with the residents having the right to use the facilities they pay for. This would be a tough one to solve, though it would benefit so many houses that are nearby the pool.

18. Lost luggage at an airport. This bug is quite extensive considering the sheer amount of people who fly every day, but what a wonderful place it would be if no one ever lost their bags? This problem is rooted in both airports and airlines being accountable for the seemingly endless streams of bags, without having a third-party service assist them in the process of assorting luggage.

*Note: Airlines may be using third-party sources for this bug, though I have not seen any specific examples of this.*

19. Airplane does not have enough space for your carry-on. Regardless of whether you pay to bring a carry-on aboard the flight, the customer expects to place his/her bag in an overhead bin. At times, there is no space for your bag (especially if you are the last group to board the plane), leaving the flight attendants to check-in your bag. This problem exists because airlines have purposely designed the plane to sit as many passengers as possible, with convenience not being a factor if they can fit an extra three people.

20. Horrible battery life. In hot situations like being at the beach or tanning, most people will opt to listening to music – only to realize their phone dropped forty percent in battery and is hot to the touch. This problem exists because the technology for internal cooling within devices is far from that level of functionality, thus leaving an enormous opportunity for innovation.

Reflection:

            Overall, this assignment was as challenging as mentioned in the description. Prior to making this list, I would either overlook a bug as not my problem or not care enough to do something about it. After about the first seven bugs, it became difficult to identify new bugs because I was not accustomed to view everyday things as potential opportunities. For example, for #17 I got stuck trying to discover a new bug until I glanced out my window and paused to listen to the exceedingly loud music – something that was right in front of me the entire time, yet I only noticed this annoyance at of the end of writing this list. In retrospect, it was refreshing to think about my surroundings in a different perspective and have recognition of bugs that I would normally brush off.