941–950 of 1001 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> im pretty sure nearly every single person in existence wants a tv that connects to the internet dude I'm guessing you've missed every thread here about Smart TVs. ref: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=smart+tv
that must explain why 99.99% of tvs sold are dumb tv's because there is such a clamoring demand for them... oh wait.
I wouldn't mind touchscreens as long as these imbecile developers would strictly limit UI response time to under 16ms. In no world where you're barrelling 3,000+ lbs of mass at tens of miles an hour should you be distracted by some moronic app or subsystem failing to respond in time because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." Any software running as a part of a motor vehicle should be federally…
> because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." I used to be an infotainment software engineer for an Auto maker. There’s this idea in the software industry that because the software behaves poorly on your car’s system, it must’ve been written poorly by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. In my experience it was almost always a matter of the hardware being stretched way past its limits.…
I wouldn't mind touchscreens as long as these imbecile developers would strictly limit UI response time to under 16ms. In no world where you're barrelling 3,000+ lbs of mass at tens of miles an hour should you be distracted by some moronic app or subsystem failing to respond in time because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." Any software running as a part of a motor vehicle should be federally…
> because it was written by under-experienced software "engineers." I used to be an infotainment software engineer for an Auto maker. There’s this idea in the software industry that because the software behaves poorly on your car’s system, it must’ve been written poorly by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. In my experience it was almost always a matter of the hardware being stretched way past its limits.…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I guess that's what we get when a rotary encoder is much much less expensive than a 4-6 gang potentiometer. Also a rotary encoder doesn't age in the same way as a potentiometer. A potentiometer can wear out the area being used most heavily while simultaneously developing oxidation on the areas not being used. Eventually this leads to crackling, dead areas on the dial, and other misbehavior. A rotary encoder on the…
Relative rotary encoders are much cheaper than absolute rotary encoders, and I expect that's the problem here. If the encoders were absolute, one could make them work just like a potentiometer (because potentiometers are absolute). Relative encoders cannot remember where they were last set because they only sense dp/dt, rather than position itself. So it's up to the software to remember the last position, and everybo…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compounding this on a touchscreen is slippage. Cars can be bumpy. If you slip and hit the wrong control it can take an unacceptably large amount of concentration (given what you are meant to be actually concentrating on when driving) to work out where you are now, how to get back to where you are, and try to do the original thing again. A few seconds of confusion and distraction is more than enough to kill. Tactile b…
Indeed, a big beef for me is trying to get to a "Input Source" menu in my Honda. I just want to change from Bluetooth (Spotify to FM radio). Tiny field, not an obvious button, hard to hit while moving. Takes way too much time or effort. Meanwhile trying to do it in my wife's Mazda 3? Just press the big FM button, can't miss it, and can feel for it. Repeat ad infinitum for other functions. The touchscreen is great for…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep.. and oddly the stake holder who want more features are the customer. I want a radio, a cd player and AC. I don't even use the Bluetooth, because I don't talk on the phone when I drive. The features on these new cars do IMHO too much.
I adapted the very old FM/AM, cassette, and external CD changer in my very old Range Rover to have Bluetooth because it doesn't have an aux input and my phone doesn't have a headphone jack anyway, and I want to listen to music or audiobooks off it when I'm driving. I looked into reversing the protocol between the CD jukebox and the stereo, and using an Arduino to inject the appropriate commands - maybe even get the "…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> So what? You've got physical buttons? Big whoop. That physical button that takes 500ms to respond is still as dangerous. No, that's wrong. Problem with touchscreens is that (1) you need to look at them and (2) there is no tactile feedback of whether you pressed it or not and (3) you need to hover your arm in a moving car at just the right spot. Physical buttons cleanly resolve all of these major problems. If the ac…
The fact that these cars pass safety certification, makes me question certifiers. It's illegal to look at your phone while driving, for good reason, but it's legal to fiddle with a damn computer screen, because it's part of the car. I predict it's a matter of time before we'll see a correlation between number of crashes, and cars with touchscreens.
https://www.themanual.com/auto/touchscreen-in-car-less-safe-...
https://actslaw.com/dashboard-touch-screens-safety-hazard/
https://www.ala.co.uk/connect/in-car-touchscreens-more-dange...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You can put duct tape over your federally mandated backup camera display if you really believe they're so distracting that they cause you to run over more people in reverse. But maybe you should just stay off the road instead, so you have less blood on your own hands.
>You can put duct tape over your federally mandated backup camera display if you really believe they're so distracting that they cause you to run over more people in reverse. >But maybe you should just stay off the road instead, so you have less blood on your own hands. Tape won't undo all the other changes to cars that OEMs engaged in once they were required to have a screen. Congratulations. Your pet regulatory cha…
Your sputtering anger and rage makes you an even less safe driver.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I guess that's what we get when a rotary encoder is much much less expensive than a 4-6 gang potentiometer. And I also feel your pain with the car "booting up" phenomenon. I don't even have a particularly tech-heavy vehicle and upon starting the car the entire infotainment system feels like booting up a packard bell in 1996.
The problem is not a rotary encoder, but how the software handles the signals. That's what interrupts are for, the command should make it into the software queue basically instantly, ensuring commands aren't lost.
Good old reliable polling. That's where it's at. 2 second response for a volume knob should be quick enough for anyone!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Our Subaru has a physical volume knob. Its position is only a "gentle suggestion" to the software to move volume up or down. At times, especially when starting the vehicle, there is major latency in the software processing the knob movement.. Also, if the knob is moved too fast, the sw gets the wrong reading. This results in volume being way too high for serveral seconds as well as many other frustrating, dangerous s…
You sort of hit the nail on the head there. That's not a physical button. It's a physical button tied to terrible software. The software is the problem, and if the button either changed the volume in an analogue way (ideal), or Subaru had engineers who were writing better software (both less ideal and much less likely to happen), there would be no issue.
I'd much rather that than an analogue potentiometer that is guaranteed to be scratchy in a couple of years. Also you won't get steering wheel controls to work with a true analogue knob.