So Called 'Convenience Products' That Actually Make Life More Difficult

In today's technological world innovators are always trying to think up and mass produce the latest gadget to make our lives more convenient. Unfortunately many of these so called 'convenience' products are not so convenient all; rather the contrary many of these tech devices tend to bring nothing but additional headaches and hassles. These are the top five convenience products that actually make life more difficult.

Leaf Blowers: Number one on my list are leaf blowers. As I'm sure nearly anyone who has ever used a leaf blower would agree these convenient tools that save you the hassle of having to rake your leaves tend to make the task more of a hassle than it was with a rake. It seems that a fair quantity of leaves and yard debris always seem to be blown the wrong way and instead of one pass with a rake it will take two, or three or four, with a leaf blower to get the same job done in twice the time and with an exponential amount of frustration.

The Robotic Vacuum Cleaner: On a similar note the idea here is, I'm sure, well meaning but the practical application just never quite cut it. These so called wandering vacuum cleaners were designed as set and forget, the little robot would bounce off of furniture and eventually get your house vacuumed while you sit on the couch watching your soap operas; the only problem is that they really don't work. Not only do you have an annoying little robot swishing around your home all day for you to dodge and constantly get unstuck but, no matter how long you give them, they never seem to hit all of your floors. Thanks for the idea but I'll take half the cost of one of these and ten minutes a couple of times a week to vacuum my floors with the nicest vacuum cleaner money can back.

Kindle: I know I'll be upsetting a few here but just because it is cool does not make it practical! E-book readers, such as the Kindle, are more of a hassle than a tech gadget that makes life convenient. I, for one, take about a month to get through a book which I read at night. I have no use for paying an arm and a leg for a device to acquire and read books; I'll shell out the $5.99 once a month and then add them to my nice collection. I also do not need another electronic device to charge and eventually brake in my repertoire.

TiVo: TiVo has never been as convenient for me as the masses make it out to be. The theory is great, never miss your favorite TV show or program, the practicality of it is somewhat less remarkable. Not only did it take me quite a bit of trial and error to even get it going but with the rest of the family my shows tend to get deleted before I watch them anyways. Probably the biggest example of this was the Super Bowl two years ago. This "convenient" device neglected to point out that the Super Bowl would be aired, although back to back, in two separate parts. So, after the half-time show I was thrilled to learn that I had not told it to also record the second half of the game.

Super Advanced Remote Control: Don't get me wrong, I am sure not going to get up to change the channel at ever commercial break and I'm not talking about remote controls in general. What I'm talking about here is my new TV's remote with about one hundred buttons on it for all kinds of things I would never use; this almost guarantees I won't get my desired function in the dark. In addition no standard "universal" remote seems to do the trick requiring me to pay almost $50 to get a replacement when mine finally bit the dust. Thanks super advanced remote control for making my life more convenient!

Sure, there are plenty of things out there from cell phones and microwaves to GPS that truly make life much more convenient, I'm just saying not all tech gadgets designed to do so actually do.