Cisco IP Phone: how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways 10 March, 2006
Today my IP phone is annoying me more than usual. Nevermind that every morning I have to log into it (and yes, it’s a different login to my computer’s), or that I have to actively select ‘Login’ even though it’s the only option available, or that I have to tab down from the ‘UserID’ field to enter my password, or that I have to enter yet another password to play my voicemail, or that I have to press ‘1′ every time I want to hear a message (what else would I want to do having just made the 5 key presses required to get into voice mail). No, what’s tipped me over the edge is accidentally clearing my call history.
Returning from lunch I noticed that I’d missed a couple of calls. I selected the ‘Directories’ button to gain access the ‘Directories’ screen, but instead of pressing the ‘Select’ softbutton to view the calls I accidentally brushed its neighbour ‘Clear’. Aaaarghh! Not just the missed calls, but the placed calls and the received calls all gone.
Clear is a destructive function and one that I suspect is used very rarely (except by the super-paranoid). It should be hidden away a few levels down rather than at the top level of the Directories screen. And if it must be shown at this level then it should be separated from the commonly accessed Select button to prevent accidental data loss.
The Missed Calls functionality is great, but the poor selection of commands and buttons pulls it into my consciousness and breaks my flow. It becomes an effort to avoid pressing the wrong button rather than effortlessly performing the right task.