151–160 of 376 posts
Yay, more touch screen in cars. More ways to distract, frustrate and confuse users who are operating a big box of steel weighing 3 tons and going at speeds the human brain has never evolved to appropriately deal with. 1) Not only are touch screens a very poor interactor in the first place [0], but why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls? For operating complex vehicles/app…
Please stop doing this
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Do you seriously think we'll have widespread self-driving cars — and not just the bare bones technology, but ones that we can ride in without any control at all, even while intoxicated — within a timespan short enough for every other advancement in car technology to not matter? I am almost 100% certain that we won't see that kind of thing even within the next few decades, if ever. Self-driving cars have way too many…
> I mean, Europe hasn't even moved over to automatic transmission yet. Haha. 1) Driving automatic cars is so boring. 2) it makes your body unbalanced constantly since you use a single foot, therefore your back will ache over long periods of driving. 3) You cannot adjust your speed as fast with an automatic car, we are stuck with binary controls while manual cars provide all the flexibility you need in real, and criti…
As for the second point - in critical situations on the road, I would rather keep my eyes on the road and both hands firmly on the steering wheel - not manipulate gears and clutch.
And I also disagree with the notion that automatic cars don't give you control - with enough experience,you can force precisely the gear you want in an automatic by operating the throttle in a right way. They actually give you way more control - if I find myself at a need to suddenly accelerate, I just press the throttle all the way down and then the transmission just drops down two gears,or one, and does it in less than a second. I am pretty sure that 90% of drivers would not be able to do is as quickly/smoothly/efficiently in a manual, selecting the right gear, declutching and starting at the right rpm - automatic transmission does that for you.
I never had an automatic stall, they don't do jarring shifts between gears, and my left leg is not about to fall off from holding the clutch in a slowly moving traffic jam.
And "serious" cars like sport cars mostly come with an automatic transmission without the manual as an option. You know why Bugatti Veyron comes with an automatic? Because no human would be ever able to change gears as quickly as needed with that car.
And interestingly, the entire off-road market is moving towards automatics as well. You know why? Because you can't burn out a hydrokinetic clutch while starting uphill or in difficult conditions.
I've driven many many cars in my life, and while there are situations where I can see how the manual transmission is "enjoyable", automatics are just objectively better, with new ones offering lower fuel consumption, better acceleration, smoother gear changes and relative lack of maintenance in comparison to manual transmissions.
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This comment is a bit dismissive. Can you really claim that for iPod, iPhone and iPad? MP3 players were already pretty mainstream when the iPod came around and it didn't really add much. And the iPad was merely an iteration on the iPhone. But every rule has an exception. I'll grant that Apple definitely redefined what a smartphone was with the iPhone.
> MP3 players were already pretty mainstream when the iPod came around and it didn't really add much. That's like saying that cell phones with color screens were already pretty mainstream when the iPhone came around and it didn't really add much. I think you have forgotten just how different the iPod was. Let's add the Mac to this party. Do you think that the Mac was just reinventing earlier standards on the market?
> I think you have forgotten just how different the iPod was.
It wasn't very different. Jesus Apple fans talk a lot of shit. The first iPhone couldn't even install apps, stop this ridiculous rose tinted view.
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That is by choice. I live in the UK. Personally, I don't see the point in driving manual, but most drivers in the UK enjoy using stick shift. In the context of a self-driving car, that doesn't matter. The self-driving car technology is also very viable to use right now. I have seen Google self-driving cars on the freeways driving next to me. It would not surprise me if they were being sold within the next 5 years, co…
I personally just love driving a manual car. Its not for any practical reason, I just get a kick out of shifting perfectly, the feel of the engine and the control that I have. That said, if there's a self driving car, you bet Id rather use that.
Funny how I feel exactly same way when I drive an automatic.
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As I understand it current self driving car technology fails whenever the situation becomes sufficiently complex (eg. icy/wet roads, some other unexpected traffic situation) and require the driver to take control at this point. My inference from that was that the 'simple' problems have been solved, but to have technology that can safely drive an intoxicated person home would require solving another set of much harder…
Humans fail regularly even when the situation is not especially complex! e.g., not paying attention and rear-ending someone at lights on a straight, dry road during the day.
Yay, more touch screen in cars. More ways to distract, frustrate and confuse users who are operating a big box of steel weighing 3 tons and going at speeds the human brain has never evolved to appropriately deal with. 1) Not only are touch screens a very poor interactor in the first place [0], but why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls? For operating complex vehicles/app…
Wait, so this works with the iPhone 5, yet you have to plug in your phone to make it work? What is this, 2003? I get in my car, the radio syncs up to my WP8 phone via Bluetooth, and if I get a text message I can have the car read it to me. I can dictate the response, or choose to ignore it, or call back the person, all with my voice. It can play music from my phone, including internet radio. I can call up an address…
The point here is the touchscreen appears to be an extension of the phone.
Am I alone in thinking Apple should be worrying more about fixing iOS 7 rather than porting it to a lot of new devices? It is easily the buggiest version of iOS I've used (4 through 7.)
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I used to think automatics were horrible (I live in the UK, drove manual for 15 years) then I got one... In terms of fuel economy, isn't it just a matter of time before automatics become as economical (then probably more economical) than manuals? Even without anticipating future events? Driving efficiently feels like something a computer could optimise for and that a human has no natural advantage doing.
Without being able to determine future road conditions then automatics can't guarantee being in the "right" gear for the up coming section of road. Be that due to traffic, grading, weather, banking, sharpness of corner etc. My go to example is the insanity of junction 15 of the m8, that loop onto the west bound motorway is a 270 degree corkscrew rising 30 feet with a diameter of 55 yards onto a 5 lane motorway where…