Working in technology I always have my eye out for the good, the bad and the downright ugly in technology, this rant is about the latter and the failure of many technology developers to get it right.

So an example, this happens many times but I will use the most recent one as there was no alternative to using the technology such as a manual option.

What I am ranting about is what is installed in the “Toilets” at Fiumicino airport in Rome, these fancy hand washing stations with soap, water and dryer, here is how it is supposed to go.

1. Run hand under soap get small dollop of soap
2. Run hand under water to get fresh water to mix with soap to wash hands
3. Run hand under dryer for a short time to dry hands

This is actually the reality, tested at two stations;

1. Run hand under soap… run hand under soap again… run hand one more time… pull hand out… splotch of blue soap comes out into sink. Try again, try again, try one more… splotch, blue soap number 2 into sunk. Three try, worked.
2. Run hand under water,…. run hand under water for the second time… water starts and then stops… run hand under water… nothing…. try again… “bit lip” as kid nearby…. run hand under water and water starts but is cold and more of a trickle… water stops with soap still on hands… run hand under water… run hand under water again… nothing… run hands under water and water trickles out… rub hands under water frantically before it stops…it stops, ach of well.
3. Run hand under dryer… run hand under dryer again, a cool breeze is emitted that slow build to a slightly warmer breeze… rub hand under of or 1 minute… remove wet hands and look for paper towel… no paper towel!! Not even one of those auto dispensing ones that you can wave your hand frantically in front of the sensor to get a small piece of paper that is big enough to blow your nose, if you are lucky.

So there it goes, simple task of washing hands has turned into a frustrating pain in the a$$.

How far we have come, as I sit here looking at plane after plane take off with all the technology yet we are unable to make a reliable system that allows one to wash ones hands.

Remember how it used to be in the old days.

1. Pick up soap and rub soap on hands
2. Turn on tap and wash hands turn off tap
3. Grab a paper towel and dry hands

As I mentioned I work in technology for a school district and I see this kind of fail all the time, and to me it is a total lack of testing, nobody has really done real world testing in a real environment with real people.

Software is the same, simple fails due to sloppy coding and no testing, and it does not seem to matter if the company is a huge one, such as Microsoft, or a smaller startup, the lack of quality control is apparent.

Just glad I don’t have to rely on this kind of tech to clean my a$$