Felger Sounds Off on Internet Insanity

The problem with this strategy is that not every keyboard is laid out the same, especially when you're getting into extraneous punctuation buttons. The problem is worsened if you find yourself trying to use a public computer where the programmed keyboard layout (as opposed to the physical shape) is different too.My biggest gripe with passwords is why we need so many of them. There's a website I use for live football scores, primarily because it shows me which games are on TV in this country (including foreign channels you can pick up through an aerial in some parts of the country). I have an account so I can change the default layout. My account contains no information about me, and there is no money involved (the site being paid for by extensive advertising for gambling websites). If someone else accessed my account the only danger is that they could, for example, add the MLS to my favourite leagues or list today's fixtures by competition rather than chronologically. Why am I required to password protect this?

Exactly, which is why I question the wisdom of making me use a password for an account which contains nothing I would require to be password-protected.

I can't post anything. There's no interaction - it's not social media. My account accomplishes nothing that could not be acheived through the use of cookies, except the ability to see the same layout on different devices. I don't even have a username - I can only assume the requirement to sign up for an account is to sell my email address.

Much as I've mocked Percy's Ludditism in the past, I do agree with these complaints to an extent. One thing I hate about modern technology firms is the desire to bring everything together under one system (and then be incapable of successfully delivering the services involved).I just bought a new e-reader, and chose the cheapest on the local market. This isn't just because I'm tight, but because it was actually the one I liked the most. Partly this was because I did not want a touchscreen, but also because I chose a device from a Ukrainian company (Pocketbook) that only makes e-readers. That's their business, and that is their only business. They produce devices onto which I can upload pdfs, epubs and similar files and display them on an e-ink background. They are not trying to sell me proprietary formats or connect my e-reading experience to my internet browsing or social media use, and I couldn't be happier with the device (it replaces one I broke from the same brand).By contrast, consider Skype. I appear to be no longer able to login to Skype on any device except one tablet where I happen to be still logged in. This is because I've forgotten my password (as I regularly do for every password I have). When I inform Skype of this, however, it redirects me to a site from which I can reset my 'Microsoft' password - because now all is one and all my accounts are linked. Except they aren't. All I've succeeded in doing is resetting the password to my hotmail (sorry - 'Outlook.com') account, which is not linked to Skype since both date from the days before either was owned by Microsoft. If there's a way back in to my Skype, I can't find it.I don't want one account for everything. I don't want one company to own everything. I want a bunch of different devices and programmes produced by companies specialising in doing one thing well - like Pocketbook with their e-readers.