Smarterware

The Software Buttons You Love Pushing

Spent several hours running around town doing tedious errands the other day in neighborhoods I don't know well, so I was thrilled to finally tap the "Navigate To->Home" button on my GPS when I was done. It got me wondering: what are the software buttons you just can't help but love to tap, click, or press? An informal poll on Twitter unearthed a bunch of good ones: your email's Out of Office "Enable" button, "End Call," "Mark All as Read," the power button, "Install Updates," The "OK" button next to "Deposit $xxxx?" ATM prompt, and "Done" on your to-do list. What else? The full list of replies I got are inside. 88 replies

Public replies to ginatrapani's post:

Question of the day: What's your favorite software button to push? [I'll start: Navigate to->Home on my GPS. And you?]

mezzoblue: probably the '1P' button in Safari to have 1Password auto-fill login forms / credit cards / etc.»2010.06.23, 7:06am

mikecarlucci: Right now: Play (words with friends)»2010.06.23, 7:03am

sippey: oh, that's easy. "End Call."»2010.06.23, 7:00am

carnellm: Did the old Oscar the Grouch trash can emptying on the classic Macs count as a software button? I loved that.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

0xabad1dea: And my mom says her favorite is pressing Bind to Domain on a Macintosh.»2010.06.23, 8:03am

0xabad1dea: I like pressing refresh in twitter hoping to see something cool from the tech people i follow :)»2010.06.23, 8:02am

singlepayer: delete, remove, off, and block»2010.06.23, 7:06am

mrgunn: "Send" is my favorite button to push.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

andrevr: The YES button on any "Are you sure you want to uninstall this Microsoft software product?" dialog box.»2010.06.23, 6:57am

andrevr: Mark all as read in Google Reader.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

andrevr: The install button on a new iPhone app :))»2010.06.23, 6:54am

achura: The one that fires up Fallout 3 when I get home»2010.06.23, 6:56am

ranti: Start --> Shutdown --> OK. #winxp»2010.06.23, 6:57am

rsisk101: My favorite button to push is the Submit button on my latest @thinkgeek order ;>»2010.06.23, 6:55am

mediamgl: iPhone sleep button to power on the screen -- my wallpaper is always a photo of my boys &/or wife.»2010.06.23, 7:37am

Ohthatflo: That's my favorite button, too. My GPS is teaching me the grid of SF. Yayyy.»2010.06.23, 7:00am

wangyip: I think I'd have to say the x close button; signals the end of the day and nothing like clearing my desktop (computer) to gtd»2010.06.23, 7:15am

therealriley: Obvious one for me "Update Now" on a #Android OTA System Update dialogue ;-)»2010.06.23, 6:56am

randi2kewl: my favorite button to push is F11 ... nothing like a fullscreen page view!»2010.06.23, 1:15pm

nut_k: The big wifi button in Wireless Tether for Android. It just looks cool.»2010.06.23, 7:04am

Heartagram: "Refesh Tweets" on my @palm Pre Plus :)»2010.06.23, 6:59am

milesosborne: "mark as spam" on gmail»2010.06.23, 6:55am

sylviavbruggen: the final click on the save button for something I have worked on for months»2010.06.23, 12:56pm

herrensam: The "Get Mail" button in Thunderbird when I'm waiting on a big sale to close.»2010.06.23, 6:58am

ProLibGeek: Power. (or Close.)»2010.06.23, 6:54am

patrickneville: i want it on woot.com»2010.06.23, 7:10am

djbender: off button.»2010.06.23, 7:11am

ftallah: Mine is the "slide sorter" button in PowerPoint. Allows me to step back and reassess what's worth leaving / deleting.»2010.06.23, 11:37pm

kr1shna: shutdown on my work windows laptop.»2010.06.23, 7:27am

pierrekhawand: the Refresh button!»2010.06.23, 6:57am

machorro: the X on my xbox controller»2010.06.23, 6:55am

nguarracino: "Install Update(s)" from the webOS app catalog. Only shows up when updates are available - I love getting new goodies!»2010.06.23, 8:40am

PHLAK: Firfox refresh (or F5). I'm a web developer.»2010.06.23, 7:20am

theMTA: The Play button on the TWiT apps!»2010.06.23, 7:04am

drnyc23: refresh Herron any Twitter client»2010.06.23, 7:07am

markdbennett: shutdown (cos it means I'm finished)!»2010.06.23, 7:02am

steveboland: "update podcasts" on my Rhythmbox player. Fresh TWiG on the way. Ahhhhh!»2010.06.23, 9:15pm

dougpayton: My wife's favorite software button for me to push is Start->Shutdown.»2010.06.23, 8:11am

StuartKeeble: Out of Office "Enable" #favebutton»2010.06.23, 7:29am

xandertigerclaw: Pull-down-to-refresh in @Twitter iPhone; the only thing in the app I wish @Twitterrific had.»2010.06.23, 7:08am

stevegibson: the "guide" button on my satellite remote.»2010.06.23, 9:08am

SPOSpartan104: Ctrl+Alt+T custom shortcut for terminal :)»2010.06.25, 2:23am

jordibunster: For me it's @appzapper's "Zap!", no question about it.»2010.06.23, 6:57am

jamie3d: "Record All New Episodes" on my "Beyond TV" HTPC.»2010.06.23, 8:04am

stefcom: Alt-F4»2010.06.23, 7:11am

maeglin73: The big, red one. Seriously, though... on my Droid, it's a tie between Menu and Home.»2010.06.25, 2:19am

nicolasmagand: volume up on my car radio»2010.06.23, 7:03am

daviddando: : Google Search!»2010.06.23, 6:55am

arrowgunz: Firefox shortcut on my Windows 7 taskbar»2010.06.23, 9:00am

hendersonsk: refresh on anything that updates»2010.06.23, 6:56am

lucasrichter: My favourite is really a CLI command: "hg commit"»2010.06.23, 1:10pm

adamstegman: Menu on Android. I always know I'll find what I'm looking for.»2010.06.23, 7:36am

Dibb: Favourite software button [ Start | Shutdown ] then go outside for fresh air and to spend time with loved ones ;-)»2010.06.23, 2:08pm

DavidTouchette: "This will erase all the data on your hard drive, are you sure?" YES»2010.06.23, 7:24am

justinisaacs001: The home button on my iPhone.»2010.06.23, 7:42am

georgetsiolis: Compass mode on Google Maps while on Street View»2010.06.23, 7:34am

AHaefner: I really love Unread, the RSS reader I use on my BlackBerry. Syncs with Google Reader and is a fantastic app. Does that count?»2010.06.23, 7:55am

steveherskovits: mine is "deposit $xxxx - OK?"»2010.06.23, 7:07am

miguelmanalo: I love hitting the snooze button on my IPhone alarm in the morning.»2010.06.23, 7:01am

takewhat: The snooze button on my phone when it wakes up me :)»2010.06.23, 7:54am

tvilling: new tab in Chrome»2010.06.25, 5:49am

antimeria: gmail's archive and delete are pretty satisfying.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

iJenQ: favorite button is skype-ing my kids and playing silly skype games»2010.06.23, 7:45am

thegeekiestmark: Delete->Message, followed closely by Task->Completed (Navigate to->Home is pretty sweet too :) )»2010.06.23, 6:57am

mshuler: I get all excited to press <Enter> after my daily 'apt-get update ; apt-get dist-upgrade' - I track @debian testing/unstable»2010.06.25, 2:38am

ryantiffany: smart dj on my zune»2010.06.23, 7:50am

funkaster: search on gmail!»2010.06.23, 6:55am

bobdownsinfo: Fav software button to push = TweetDeck =)»2010.06.23, 7:21am

johnrh: : I like the way you explicitly added 'software' to your tweet :p»2010.06.23, 9:33am

mteichrob: Favourite software button to push is 'Archive' in Gmail.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

trialmaster: I'd say: the record button in GarageBand or, better, the start a new wave button in google wave...»2010.06.23, 2:55pm

Robbthebob: Have you read the 'terms and conditions' ? Yes.»2010.06.25, 3:07am

petemolina: slingbox since yesterday. Google Listen before that.»2010.06.23, 7:06am

zhespelt: Android market update button. Updates are like unbirthday presents.»2010.06.25, 2:48am

Heldmanteam: I like clicking on the iPhoto icon....that brings up all 10,000 of my favorite family pictures.»2010.06.23, 10:11am

ericpatat: "I'm Feeling Lucky" (that's what she said) :-)»2010.06.25, 2:55am

Jipstyle: The 'Lock' button because it means I'm either going home or to lunch .. either way, I'm away from my desk for a while.»2010.06.23, 6:54am

1smartbuy: the roboform(login)buttons(app)»2010.06.23, 7:55am

EricWVergne: Start -> Shutdown»2010.06.23, 12:14pm

fberjon: start -> shutdown.»2010.06.23, 6:55am

jasonfortun: the Mixview button in the Zune desktop client.»2010.06.23, 7:04am

d5150: the "log off" button at work»2010.06.25, 3:08pm

thetechfreek: , I like pushing the button that launches the nugget of gaming awesomeness that is Angry Birds on my home screen.»2010.06.23, 7:48am

maxasq: (win)+D 2 fastly go 2 desktop in all win OS»2010.06.23, 4:51pm

CalenJones: Mark all as read in Google Reader»2010.06.24, 8:12am

CuteAssistant: Hi Checkout www.cuteassistant.com-cute s\w to take notes, manage tasks, describe your fav pics, securely store passwords&more!»2010.06.23, 7:03am

vijayprakashpj: I click on Applications -> Accessories - > Terminal in my linux»2010.06.25, 2:56am

onepaulrobinson: I am rather partial to the "Podcast" button on my iPod touch. Everyone at TWIT, TWIG, etc. make my day enjoyable!»2010.06.23, 10:35am