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The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

uxdesign.cc

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Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#171

Post by gen3 »

grayclhn wrote: post #158
pkorzeniewski wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I despise touch controls in almost everything, from cars to home appliance, in my opinion the only reason they're replaced physical controls is because it's simply cheaper to make and people just got used to them because manufacturers convinced them through marketing "it's the future! be modern!". For example an induction hob at my wife's parents home - recently my mother-in-law couldn't turn it on because some crypt…

TBH, a “child protection mode” does seem like legitimately new functionality, even if it was unwelcome for your in-laws.

My parents electric stove with knobs also had a child lock on it. Like the rest of the controls, it’s also a dial. It’s just harder to turn

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#172

Post by tomc1985 »

30944836 wrote: post #139
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

>Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road. I understand this concern and opinion. I just wish that people who had this opinion realized that their car has a very modern voice interface that can reliably understand commands for temperature changes. I know, I know, it's not the buttons you…

As someone who has a physical condition that makes speaking sometimes very unpleasant, the last thing I want in my car is a voice-only interface.

Also, cue the skit about the thick scottish-accented guy trying to activate a voice-activated elevator...

Buttons, please. And only buttons.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#173

Post by d3sandoval »

arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

We have a PHEV from Chevy (the Volt) and it has the best dashboard ever. Knobs for the stuff you want (A/C, Volume, Skip, etc.) And touchscreen for the stuff you don't (GPS, Apple/Android Auto, etc.)

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#174

Post by akeck »

nkrisc wrote: post #22
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

The touch screens are the only thing keeping me on dino juice cars. I want to go electric, but they all have these awful touchscreens! I don’t want to navigate a menu to change the temperature or turn on a seat warmer. I’m just not buying an EV until there’s one that doesn’t rely on a giant touch screen for everything or I can’t buy an ICE vehicle anymore.

I believe Mazda has a policy of no touchscreens in their vehicles.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#175

Post by corrral »

ratww wrote: post #11
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

I really wonder if the possibility of updates alone can make software worse. Because you don't have to "get it right" on the first try. And the updates always contain something more than bug and security fixes, which often help keeping the quality of the experience low, despite fixed bugs. All the smart TVs I ever had lasted a long long time physically, but after a couple years they invariably started being noticeabl…

> I really wonder if the possibility of updates alone can make software worse.

Absolutely does. You see this in console video games. As soon as online updates became possible, game-breaking bugs at launch became practically the norm, instead of incredibly rare (minor bugs were common enough before ["I AM ERROR"], sure, but game-breaking ones, while not unheard of, were rare). Charging $60 for a late-alpha-quality product.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#176

Post by LocalH »

arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

This is where I think regulation works, to a degree. Most states in the US already ban using handheld devices in a non-hands free capacity (which excludes almost every usage except for navigation and voice-activated messaging and calling), and this should also apply to auto manufacturers with regards to touchscreens in cars. The liability would rest with the manufacturers, since they are the ones installing the touch screens and requiring drivers use them.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#177

Post by Miraste »

30944836 wrote: post #139
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

>Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road. I understand this concern and opinion. I just wish that people who had this opinion realized that their car has a very modern voice interface that can reliably understand commands for temperature changes. I know, I know, it's not the buttons you…

I haven't used Tesla's implementation, but I've suffered through Android Auto's voice controls. I've never had to retry a physical button four times because it needs a hearing aid.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#178

Post by gentleman11 »

30944836 wrote: post #139
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

>Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road. I understand this concern and opinion. I just wish that people who had this opinion realized that their car has a very modern voice interface that can reliably understand commands for temperature changes. I know, I know, it's not the buttons you…

I’ve never used a voice recognition app that can tell what I’m saying and I’m a native English speaker. I’m not about to start speaking differently to make an app happy

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#179

Post by tpmx »

LaputanMachine wrote: post #121
ridgered4 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a poor safety feature to have it also turn on when you're cleaning. I've never seen one of these soft touch control designs on a cooktop but I did hear they existed and at least one cat had turned one on by standing on it resulting in a house fire. The only dumber idea I can think of is a touch screen, which I'm sure they're hard at work integrated right now.

> Seems like a poor safety feature to have it also turn on when you're cleaning. Right, that's bad design. The cooktop I'm familiar with always turns off and beeps if something (metal pots or a liquid) covers a part of the button area. To turn it on, you have to press two different buttons within a certain time limit, with a pot standing on the appropriate cooking zone. Most cats probably won't manage to do that. > T…

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20211230000501

Cats responsible for 107 house fires in Seoul in past 3 yrs ... According to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters, cats are believed to have started the blaze by turning on the electric stove in the kitchen with their paws. ... Electric induction cookers often come with touch-sensitive buttons, which can be switched on by the paw of an animal.

Re: The benefits of “low tech” user interfaces

#180

Post by corrral »

gompertz wrote: post #151
arky527 wrote: post #5

Modern cars seem to be moving towards all controls on a touch screen somewhere. I suppose this allows for more frequent updates, but in my experience it just leads to more bugs and more painful factory updates. Not to mention using a touchscreen to adjust the temperature while driving is incredibly dangerous compared to a dial you can feel for without taking your eyes off the road.

Cadillac driver here (2021 model). I believe it's one of the very few new vehicles that have a physical button for every feature. Granted there is a lot of buttons, it's very nice you don't even have to use the touchscreen ever if you don't want. I theorize this could be due to the age demographic of majority of their buyers, that they have retained all physical buttons.

IMO the UI preferences of people (yeah, often older people) who are bad with technology are often the best for most folks—the rest of us have just learned to work through the pain of other interfaces, rather than demanding better. Most of the stuff they don't like slows down or confuses me, too, it's just not a show-stopper because I know how to get past it.
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