Oliver Grant

About the author

Oliver writes Contoh's opinion pieces on technology, business and modern life.

No, I Will Not Rate My Experience

Every purchase, delivery and phone call now ends with a request for stars. When everything asks for feedback, the feedback stops meaning anything.

Your Smart TV Should Ask Before It Watches What You Watch

Smart TVs routinely track what you watch unless you dig through the settings. Two TV makers have already agreed to ask first in one state. Everyone should get the same courtesy.

Stop Making Me Download an App to Park

Parking apps are handy, but making them the only way to pay trains drivers to scan whatever QR code they find. Every meter should still take a card.

Every Gadget Should Come With a Software Expiration Date on the Box

We get a nutrition label on cereal and an energy rating on a fridge, but no clear answer to the most important question about a smart device: how long will it keep working? That should change.

Bring Back the Paper Menu

QR code menus were supposed to be a temporary fix. Somehow they stuck around, and diners are the ones doing the extra work.

Password Rules Are Making Us Less Secure, and the Experts Already Said So

Forced resets, symbol requirements and no-paste fields go against federal password guidance. It’s time websites caught up.

Opinion: Stop Asking Whether AI Will Take Your Job. Ask Which Parts of It Should Go

“Will AI take my job?” is the wrong question. Most jobs are a bundle of tasks – and some of them deserve to disappear.

Stop Spinning the Tip Screen Around

Tipping for real service is fine. Being asked to tip for a bottle of water you fetched yourself is not, and surveys suggest the prompts are backfiring.

Give Me Back My Car’s Buttons

Touchscreens are fine for maps. They are a terrible way to turn on the defroster at 65 mph, and the evidence backs that up.

My Oven Does Not Need to Talk to My Phone

Connected features are fine as an extra. But an appliance that only works properly through an app is a worse appliance, and we should stop pretending otherwise.

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