Please make a dumb car • Hacker News Board

Re: Please make a dumb car

#191

Post by emptyparadise » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 4:19 PM UTC

colejohnson66 wrote: post #12

junon wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of their products appear to be "smart". Why can't they just make a TV that is... a TV?

Because society wants smart TVs. You and a lot of people here don’t, but collectively, people like the idea of having Netflix/Hulu/etc right on their TVs. The cat’s out of the bag now. If you/me want a dumb TV, don’t look at consumer TVs in BestBuy, but expect to be spending over $1000.

Does society really want that or does it not realize that it doesn't have to be this way?

Re: Please make a dumb car

#192

Post by the_biot » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

jve wrote: post #94

random_savv wrote: post #67

> For media, an aux input does it all. Doubles as a charging cable, and you could easily swap it out for different and new devices I thought aux only carries analog sound, is charging a new feature? Did I miss Aux-C? What does the author mean?

Some more: > Not to mention the privacy and security concerns. I was dubious the first time I saw a GPS in a car, my mom’s old RX300, about 20 years ago. “Yeah… that’s how they get you,” I thought Well, that reasoning was flawed 20 years ago - GPS means YOU know where you are, not the other way around. There has to be other communication channel for that data to "escape". If your car is data-enabled with SIM card, on…

Yup, and anyone with a heartbeat figured that out at some point in the last 20 years. Yet the article also says

> Not having GPS or data (or hidden microphones or cameras) also makes your vehicle feel more private, obviously.

I can't exclude the possibility that the author is a moron, but I suspect it's just outrage-bait. Like that whole article.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#193

Post by breakpointalpha » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 4:29 PM UTC

Bought a Mazda CX5 a few months ago.

Thank god Mazda currently has the "driver first" mentality.

NO Touchscreen!

Main input is through a comfortable knob in front of the arm rest, where your hand naturally lands when resting.

Gauge cluster is digital, but analog type dials for spedo, etc.

AC, Power Cool/heated seats, driver assists, auto-park, all controlled via BUTTONS!

It's a modern miracle and one of the big reasons I chose to buy it over a new Tesla Model 3.

"Horse and rider" is truly a wonderful concept... Go Mazda!

Re: Please make a dumb car

#194

Post by devchix » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 4:47 PM UTC

junon wrote: post #5

Same with TVs, please. I can't find a single OLED on the market that doesn't have Android or some shitty Samsung OS installed on it.

There was a previous HN thread where someone said they were attempting to make a dumb TV (a commercial endeavor) and others here said they were interested in working on that. I wonder where that effort is. Feels like there is a ready market for this product. I can't turn on my Vizio without it taking 10 minutes to check for updates, changing inputs take a minute. The Samsung keeps trying to update YouTube and some other apps which I've deleted hundreds of times before, there's probably 30MB of internal memory left. Nothing turns on instantly. More and more I feel like nothing I buy is ever the thing I really want, it's always a devil's bargain with the least-bad thing I can live with. Consumer-focused software, is that even a thing we make anymore.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#195

Post by giardini » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 4:56 PM UTC

EdwardDiego wrote: post #24

I would kill for Ye Olde Manually Wound windows. Electric windows struggle in temperature extremes, and seem to break down far more often than my old hand-cranked windows ever did. Also, I had more precise control with the hand-crank.

Knew a fellow whose car flipped into a shallow lake on a dark rainy night. The warning signs for a turn beside the lake had been removed. He was trapped in the car and drowned. Perhaps with hand-crank windows he'd have survived.

I buy only vehicles with hand-cranked windows.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#196

Post by infamia » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

herbst wrote: post #112

junon wrote: post #5

Same with TVs, please. I can't find a single OLED on the market that doesn't have Android or some shitty Samsung OS installed on it.

I am just looking for a low tech TV for my grandmum as those boxes we need to run older TVs with modern TV signal always break. The reality is, simple is only available in the luxury segment. I am prolly going with a 'OK' brand one. Even thought I hated their ugly OS it is the only I've found so far that somewhat acts as a 'classic' TV.

Try Sceptre. They make TVs without the "smart" features (i.e. it's just a simple TV).

Re: Please make a dumb car

#197

Post by incomplete » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 5:22 PM UTC

the answer is always miata.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#198

Post by xbryanx » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 5:28 PM UTC

khazhoux wrote: post #74

Our Volvo doesn't let you adjust the volume when you're in reverse. That means if you're backing out of the garage and the music is blaring -- you can't turn it off! The Volvo UI pops up an almost full-display warning when it can't connect to the phone over bluetooth on startup. This UI takes priority over the rear camera . So I guess it's better to hit Timmy and his puppy when I'm backing out, so long as I know my p…

I get why, but my Volvo (2017) WILL NOT let me lock the keys in the car. Which is annoying if I'm trying to safely warm it up on a -15 Minnesota day and have the spare keys in the house. There's lots of forums detailing tricks involving rolling the windows down or locking the car from the back seat. I love all the tech automation and safety features, but at times I find myself befuddled by the designers choices.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#199

Post by tobyjsullivan » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 5:29 PM UTC

breakpointalpha wrote: post #193

Bought a Mazda CX5 a few months ago. Thank god Mazda currently has the "driver first" mentality. NO Touchscreen! Main input is through a comfortable knob in front of the arm rest, where your hand naturally lands when resting. Gauge cluster is digital, but analog type dials for spedo, etc. AC, Power Cool/heated seats, driver assists, auto-park, all controlled via BUTTONS! It's a modern miracle and one of the big reaso…

Bought a 2016 mazda this year for exactly the same reason. Perfect combination of nice, big, well positioned LED display but no touch screen. (Maybe you can use touch screen when parked? Never tried.) It's a little slow and the media units can fail, but I'd say all the tradeoffs are very well balanced.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#200

Post by jdhn » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 5:29 PM UTC

One of the reasons that there's not really a "dumb" car anymore is that backup cameras are federally mandated. So you have a camera for backing up, and you need a way to display that. So auto manufacturers say "Hey, we have this screen, people are used to touchscreens due to their phone, and it makes manufacturing easier if we put everything on a screen as it means we can just put a flat piece of plastic where all the buttons used to be, so lets make it a touchscreen!"