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We need physical audio kill switches

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Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#131

Post by paulcole »

rytis wrote: post #114
paulcole wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nobody knew what the hell all the icons meant, and nobody cleaned the milk siphon so it went moldy and was thrown out after two weeks. What’s the takeaway here? A group of spoiled adults couldn’t be bothered to read an instruction manual or clean something?

I guess the takeaway is that everyday utility instruments should not require time invested in studying manuals to operate them. Imagine that every screwdriver you buy requires you to read 20 page document that tells you how to operate it. As a user all I want is "a cup of coffee". Why do I need to read that manual? What if I'm just a visitor, and was told that "the coffee machine is over there". Do I really want to r…

Somebody buys you a $5,000 screwdriver. Do you just use it wrong, not take care of it, and ruin it to make a point about how all you wanted was to turn a screw?

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#132

Post by icelancer »

liability wrote: post #117
tetris11 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every microwave I have ever owned have been under $30, purely because I didn't want to go digital. Analogue egg-timer knob - good enough accuracy, and instantly pliable

At least microwaves with digital controls actually have full numpads. Every digital-control oven I've ever had the misfortune of using only has increment/decrement buttons. Want to set the oven to 450F? Have fun pressing the increment button twenty times for five degree increments starting at 350F. It's an abomination.

This is such a weird thing that we accept as normal. Completely agree it's absurd that on the microwave we have a numpad and on an oven we have up/down arrows with an arbitrary starting point (mine is 350 degF).

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#133

Post by skohan »

systemvoltage wrote: post #72
brandon272 wrote: post #29

I let my spouse, who likes the novelty of a touchscreen, talk me into a Whirlpool oven a couple years ago that is controlled by touchscreen. I had no idea it was possible to hate an oven so much. The only saving grace is that the stovetop elements are still controlled by knobs.

I don't understand why people find novelty of touchscreens appealing. We've got to do a better job of educating consumers. The marketing behind touchscreens is so powerful that it is unanimously considered as a feature, something you must have. I get angry just thinking about the amount of marketing bullshit around touchscreens. Just go to Garmin Aviation website and now a lot of operation in airplane cockpits is off…

Touch controls are only warranted when you need to support a large number of varied interactions which can't be supported by physical controls, or if you have to support arbitrary gesture-based input (like a drawing tablet for example). If that's not the case, physical controls are always better. If you're operating a vehicle, or can't look at the display for any reason, tactile controls are leagues better.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#134

Post by paulcole »

chronolitus wrote: post #116
paulcole wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nobody knew what the hell all the icons meant, and nobody cleaned the milk siphon so it went moldy and was thrown out after two weeks. What’s the takeaway here? A group of spoiled adults couldn’t be bothered to read an instruction manual or clean something?

This kind of argument always ticks me off, because it's technically correct, assuming your brain can care and focus on infinitely many things. But I know that I can't: I can care very effectively about one thing really well (typically oscillating between my job and family). Then there's space left in my brain to be sort-of effective at caring for three or four other things (social life, hobbies, sports, learning, per…

I think what’s striking me as being spoiled is using the thing, intentionally not taking care of it, and ruining it.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#135

Post by Natales »

benttoothpaste wrote: post #62
brandon272 wrote: post #29

I let my spouse, who likes the novelty of a touchscreen, talk me into a Whirlpool oven a couple years ago that is controlled by touchscreen. I had no idea it was possible to hate an oven so much. The only saving grace is that the stovetop elements are still controlled by knobs.

My mom’s oven requires regular power cycle because it’s touch UI locks up so often.

I think we can't underestimate that one of the biggest problems with all this is the poor quality of the software.

This is particularly shameful in devices that are so simple. Basically finite-state machines, something that everyone in CS should learn in 101 classes.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#136

Post by skohan »

puranjay wrote: post #45
brandon272 wrote: post #29

I let my spouse, who likes the novelty of a touchscreen, talk me into a Whirlpool oven a couple years ago that is controlled by touchscreen. I had no idea it was possible to hate an oven so much. The only saving grace is that the stovetop elements are still controlled by knobs.

My office (well, former office) used to have a touchscreen coffee maker. Why does a coffee maker even need a touchscreen? There are literally three options!

Didn't you hear? These millenials spend all day on their phones! They must love touchscreens.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#137

Post by threatofrain »

appleiigs wrote: post #107
threatofrain wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t trust anyone except Apple to do touch screen experiences well.

Go buy a fancy Apple Watch and jump in a pool. You won't be able to start or stop the timer with wet fingers.

Now imagine that another company designs that experience.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#138

Post by _jal »

tetris11 wrote: post #27
onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

Every microwave I have ever owned have been under $30, purely because I didn't want to go digital. Analogue egg-timer knob - good enough accuracy, and instantly pliable

I have a cheapo digital that suits my needs well enough. It is ancient and keeps working, which is all I ask of it.

But the UI is utterly absurd. The default presentation is to select timer or cook. Who uses a timer anywhere nearly as much as the cook function? It is like a car always first asking if you'd rather drive or pop the hood.

One more button press has never been enough to annoy me anywhere nearly enough to replace it. But I wonder how many times I've pressed it.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#139

Post by mrkwse »

JD557 wrote: post #90

Since the user is complaining about the way Mac OS handles the audio buttons, I'm surprised that he doesn't mention the problems with HDMI. I don't understand why the OS disables the audio controls of HDMI outputs. If I press the volume down button, I want the volume to go down. Instead, I get a "I can't let you do that" warning! This is particularly bad if I have my headphones connected to the display (I have both m…

macOS disables the audio control of HDMI outputs because that is what the HDMI specification expects/defines.

If you think of all the devices that output via HDMI, Windows PCs are the outlier (afaik, not sure how Linux handles it) in allowing separate volume controls beyond those on the output device.

Satellite set top boxes, media streaming devices (e.g. Apple TV - I realise NVidia Shield and some Chromecast apps do have some software volume control), games consoles, and Blu-Ray players will all output a fixed audio signal, expecting the TV/AV amplifier to handle volume.

Re: We need physical audio kill switches

#140

Post by vaccinator »

onion-soup wrote: post #11

Nothing will ever come close to convenience of analogue volume knobs. They give both immediate action and infinite granular control. Same goes for kitchen stoves. All the modern touch controls with step-based control is the absolute nightmare in terms of UI.

digital is not all bad... if I could type 3 numbers to get a temperature on my stove, I would be happy... but they went a different route where you need to push a button 20 times to get the temperature that you want or you need to hold it for x seconds...
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