Also not a car - but I recently got a gas fireplace insert that came with a remote control with a touch screen. It takes a few seconds for the remote to “boot up” every time I try to use it. Long enough for me to get frustrated and look away. But if I don’t stay focused the screen will turn off and I’ll have to start over. It’s frustrating enough that I’ve started research “dumb” remotes with real buttons
Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
101–110 of 218 posts
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#102IMO, much worse than touch screen buttons is touch screen glare.
Driving westward in the mornings, sunlight is reflected directly off my car's touch screen into my eyes.
Everything on the dash needs to be matte -- it's a safety issue.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know this makes me a clueless annoying boring techie nerd :), but I still cannot properly fathom how this is a minority opinion. NOBODY in my non-techie group of friends or family cares. Not.even.remotely. I watch them struggle with their touch screens, I even listen to them rant, but when asked about it afterwards, it's fine. Just fine. Sexy. Sleek. Desirable. Why do I have to go and ruin everything? Honestly, eve…
I agree with this, I've seen it repeatedly. There has got to be a term for people who aren't aware of how they are suffering yet still say everything is fine. The only term I can come up with is "complicit in their own oppression." :)
It's akin to people with low emotional intelligence, who aren't aware of their behaviour or moods and who spend no time at all reflecting on themselves.
I wonder if it's related
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#104> I wonder if Apple iPhone will meet with the same success, as its touchscreen offers no tactile feedback. Will people get tired of having to look down every time they dial a number?
I love this question because of the easy answer: No! But that’s because it’s only a tiny part of using a smartphone and other things are more important.
The challenge for designers is generally to strike the right balance between immediate accessibility and findability of less common stuff. Adjusting the speaker volume is obviously a common action that should be possible quickly and blindly.
But if I want to change something uncommon I’d rather look through a well labeled menu hierarchy than wildly placed buttons and knobs.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#105Someone needs to invent something new. More tactile than a touchscreen, and with a cost no worse than a bunch of knobs.
Disney has tried.[1]
[1] https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/the-future-of-ta...
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
100+ years of knobs and the argument is "we still can't get it right"? I don't believe that.
A 100 year old knob is not a 50 or 25 year old knob. They're as different as the wheels on a horse carriage and the wheels on a Model T. They're not working from the same 100 year old design with the same expectations. Ford likely expected the crank handle knob to take some abuse.
I don't understand the point of this comparison: I sounds like you're assuming I don't realize a knob from 50 years ago is different form one today. Are you aware how dismissive that tone is? The point is we've had 100 years to make the better, and the claims from automakers that they break too easily doesn't hold water.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know this makes me a clueless annoying boring techie nerd :), but I still cannot properly fathom how this is a minority opinion. NOBODY in my non-techie group of friends or family cares. Not.even.remotely. I watch them struggle with their touch screens, I even listen to them rant, but when asked about it afterwards, it's fine. Just fine. Sexy. Sleek. Desirable. Why do I have to go and ruin everything? Honestly, eve…
The problem you're describing (Auto AC) isn't that automatic ac doesn't work, but that it's working within a small, very confined space and those differences in temperature are felt immediately. From a personal perspective, I'd rather set it and forget it. It's why when I rarely use the car AC, one button is all it takes and it adjusts to something between 70 and 73, which is about the same it would be at home. When…
You don't find it annoying having to override the 'intelligent' system?
With manual control, I can immediately start or stop hot and cold air; with a climate system, I can merely propose some higher or lower temperature, and the system may or may not do what I want it to do. I temporarily drove a Buick that had such a system, and found myself constantly having to override what the 'intelligent' system thought I wanted.
I prefer manual control. If the vehicle is too cool, I can immediately halt the blower without having to change the desired temperature with the assumption that the 'intelligent' system will halt the blower for me.
I've come to the realization that many things are just better not being made 'intelligent', especially when it comes to cars.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
I know this makes me a clueless annoying boring techie nerd :), but I still cannot properly fathom how this is a minority opinion. NOBODY in my non-techie group of friends or family cares. Not.even.remotely. I watch them struggle with their touch screens, I even listen to them rant, but when asked about it afterwards, it's fine. Just fine. Sexy. Sleek. Desirable. Why do I have to go and ruin everything? Honestly, eve…
I agree with this, I've seen it repeatedly. There has got to be a term for people who aren't aware of how they are suffering yet still say everything is fine. The only term I can come up with is "complicit in their own oppression." :)
UX Stockholm Syndrome.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem you're describing (Auto AC) isn't that automatic ac doesn't work, but that it's working within a small, very confined space and those differences in temperature are felt immediately. From a personal perspective, I'd rather set it and forget it. It's why when I rarely use the car AC, one button is all it takes and it adjusts to something between 70 and 73, which is about the same it would be at home. When…
You don't find it annoying having to override the 'intelligent' system? With manual control, I can immediately start or stop hot and cold air; with a climate system, I can merely propose some higher or lower temperature, and the system may or may not do what I want it to do. I temporarily drove a Buick that had such a system, and found myself constantly having to override what the 'intelligent' system thought I wante…
Automated climate control always reminds me of that Bane quote from Dark Knight, “Do you feel like you are in control?”
The instant gratification of slamming an analog heater to full blast and knowing that hot air will immediately flow from the vents cannot be beat.
It’s not efficient, it’s not optimized, it’s not regulated to a steady state, but it what I want. And I’m the user.
Re: Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
#110I think Honda got this exactly right, at least in my 2018 car. There is a touchscreen that controls everything, but also physical knobs and buttons for the important stuff you'd want to control while keep your eyes on the road (radio volume, A/C, radio frequency, seat heaters, transmission gear, etc). If you want more detail and more options, you can go to the touchscreen, but if you just need the basics, you can do…
The 2018 Honda Pilot’s infotainment system was all touchscreen, they added a physical volume knob back in the 2019 model by demand.