The laws of shitty dashboards • Hacker News Board

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#121

Post by Someone1234 » Mon, Sep 15, 2014, 7:19 PM UTC

throwaway234 wrote: post #120

Someone1234 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I purchased a Bluetooth one from Amazon ($10.99) and an Android app (Torque Pro, $5). Great tool for $16 all in. Plus the ODB-II adapter can be used to configure some "quality of life" stuff in newer cars (e.g. the constant cabin backup beep sound on the 2014 Prius). You will need an Android phone already, but these days that is pretty common (particularly for technical people). Just get the error code and Google it,…

What tool do you use to change configurations? I know my 2007 Lexus has those programmable options like beep durations and such, but I have only found two solutions - paying the dealership $60 to change them, or buying a $15 android app that changes them. I could do it myself, but the codes (Lexus Personalized Settings) are secret. Did you find a free alternative to modify your Prius settings?

It is super easy on the Prius, this post goes through the steps:

http://priuschat.com/threads/geniii-prius-custom-pids-for-to...

But the short is someone else has done the hard work so you don't have to.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#122

Post by deathanatos » Tue, Sep 16, 2014, 12:42 AM UTC

aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

> This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it.

> If it was something simple, easily detectable and fixable it would have its own light, ie the door is open, you're running out of gas.

I've been in new vehicles with a single light for "low tire pressure". But it wouldn't tell you which tire. Sure, I can discover this by manually reading the pressure on all the tires, but the system has to already know this information. It's just incapable of displaying it.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#123

Post by nacs » Tue, Sep 16, 2014, 1:03 AM UTC

deathanatos wrote: post #122

aunty_helen wrote: post #19

>They also employ UX techniques that dates from a time where the only UI component you can use was a light bulb. If that red thing is critical, can’t you tell me right away what it means? This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. If it was somethi…

> This annoyed me a little bit. A check engine light is the perfect component for what it does. If it's on it means that something may be seriously wrong and that you're probably too stupid or ill-equipped to fix it. > If it was something simple, easily detectable and fixable it would have its own light, ie the door is open, you're running out of gas. I've been in new vehicles with a single light for "low tire pressu…

I wouldn't say 'incapable' because you can use an OBD device (less than $20 like http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LHVOVK/ ) to access that information. It's pretty much plug and play for those who care about that kind of thing.

The average consumer can just take it to a tire shop and let them figure out which tire has an issue.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#124

Post by zobzu » Tue, Sep 16, 2014, 3:44 AM UTC

vonmoltke wrote: post #119

zobzu wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The engine warning light is actually the shittiest thing on the dashboard. It can mean anywhere from 10 to 500 things, and nobody knows. Result? Manufacturer manuals ALL OF THEM will tell you: "Just keep on driving, if it doesn't go off after a few days/a few drives bring the car to a mechanic." Seriously, go get your manual and check what it says. I mean, what the fuck? How the hell is that good in ANY way, shape or…

Manuals instruct you to to wait for the light to appear on multiple driving cycles because the light can trip during a particular drive due to spurious sensor readings or malfunctions. That does not make the light useless.

actually.. thats exactly why it makes it useless.. its not reliable. so people ignore it.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#125

Post by jodrellblank » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 2:55 PM UTC

wyc wrote: post #18

"Take care dashboards for example. They use vast amount of real estate to display information that is useless 99% of the time. How often do you need to know the RPM on an automatic car? Can’t you just take that stupid dial out and put something useful instead?." Assuming the author meant car, this would be very dangerous (i.e. irreversible engine damage): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redline

We're talking about an automatic car - make the ECU take over so you can't redline it.

Re: The laws of shitty dashboards

#126

Post by dredmorbius » Wed, Sep 17, 2014, 4:52 PM UTC

Washuu wrote: post #86

vkjv wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, because we use New Relic extensively, and I was just thinking of it as the prime example of, "what the hell is the purpose of all these dashboards and what do they mean?"

Yep! As much as I love New Relic's logging I find that its interface is clunky, things never go to the places I believe they will take me, and there is an extensive amount of information clutter.

It is a one-size-fits-all interface. And I've definitely created my own tools to augment it. But as a first cut, I've found it a hugely useful tool.