81–90 of 458 posts
Tactile is better. That's also the lesson electronic musicians found out over time. You can still use MIDI/VST/synthesizers/DAWs and so on -- but having tactile control over them is better (faster and more expressive) than a tiny, or even a large, screen. And of course, you can combine both methods (but not when you're just given a screen).
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You know, when you take your drivers test in the US, you have to demonstrate your ability to know where all those functions are before you even pull away to start your test.
This depends on the state/region. There's no universal standard in the US, and some states definitely don't require the operation of all of these controls before the test.
Do you freak out when it gets dark because there are 4 touchscreen buttons to press to turn your lights on? So why when it rains? If you wanna make excuses for "I got myself into a dangerous situation because I wasn't prepared" go ahead but when it endangers other drivers I have to be critical.
> and that many were fatigued, with an average of 4.9 hours of sleep between the 14 crew members present. I suspect this played more of a role than any of the controls or procedures did. I had a friend in the Navy and he once explained the shifts he did to me and how utterly insane they were. I suspect leadership doesn't want to (or cant) fix the root cause (fatigue) and is happy to spend tax dollars to replace the s…
We have an example of how navy shifts work on HN by 'genkimind: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19101464
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I feel like you're making some very false choices between smarts/voice compatibility and physical controls. Physical buttons and dials for users to interact with that still can be changed by the system are wholly possible. For instance, a rocker switch that sits in the middle can be used to issue on and off commands, while being separate from say, a status light that lets you know whether the device is on or off. Whi…
> Physical buttons and dials for users to interact with that still can be changed by the system are wholly possible. Sure, but irrational. One of the largest benefits of physical controls is physical feedback, like being about to feel if you've reached the max cold/hot ceilings or the state of the switches. To make them voice compatible you have to remove that physical association (e.g. infinite spinners, or blind sw…
This is so true. I absolutely hate the AC knob in my car. Apparantely, they thought it was good engineering to make it infinite.
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You know, when you take your drivers test in the US, you have to demonstrate your ability to know where all those functions are before you even pull away to start your test.
This was not my experience in New York. You don’t have to demonstrate anything other than knowledge of where the turn signal, ignition, brake and gas pedal are.
I'm having trouble visualizing exactly how this works from the text, but it sounds like a total nightmare. Some sort of complicated list of steps for transferring control screens between different stations on the ship, and it's not clear why or when you do this at all. I'm guessing the Navy doesn't spend a lot of time on UI/UX, which is ironic since these long, high-stress shifts with lives on the line is exactly whe…
In my own experience, any software developed under government contract has horrendous UI/UX. Probably because it's hard to specify "don't suck and be pleasant to use" in terms of formal system requirements.
At the same time, the public sector doesn’t operate like the tech sector. We may have 2500 employees who spend 37 hours a week behind a screen, using various pieces of software to do their daily grind on the bureaucracy, but we have maybe 10 technicians to build/maintain/operate those 300 IT systems for the total of 7000 employees at 200 different locations on a network we also operate. With 10 people on staff, and political management looking to make it 9, no one can be specialised in UI/UX because you can build things without a great UI/UX. Even when you buy the development from a company who does have some UI/UX guy, the decision goes back to the compromise and messy decision making of all those different stakeholders.
I think we have gotten better at it over time though, but it’s probably never going to compete with the private sector where you need great UI/UX if your competitors have it.
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> Physical buttons and dials for users to interact with that still can be changed by the system are wholly possible. Sure, but irrational. One of the largest benefits of physical controls is physical feedback, like being about to feel if you've reached the max cold/hot ceilings or the state of the switches. To make them voice compatible you have to remove that physical association (e.g. infinite spinners, or blind sw…
> Physical controls that have no physical state are the worst of both worlds. This is so true. I absolutely hate the AC knob in my car. Apparantely, they thought it was good engineering to make it infinite.
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Well user familiarity is important but not paramount. The Navy uses Xbox controllers in submarines and found that the learning curve for 19-year-old men is much better that way
This is different. The issue here wasn’t the use of a general-purpose device itself but that the device they used (a touchscreen) wasn’t the best fit for the task at hand. Even worse, multiple screens were able to control the ship at the same time which to me seems to be the root cause of the accident. A single touchscreen still wouldn’t have been ideal, but it would’ve still prevented the accident IMO. In the case o…
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Yesterday I was driving back from Scotland to England, doing 70ish, when we ran into a really heavy thunderstorm. Went from good visibility to almost zero in seconds, and the only thing I could properly see was the crash barrier alongside the lane. I found myself desperately trying to see where the road was, simultaneously trying not to get rear-ended as I slowed up, switch on the rear fog lamps and hazards, max wipe…
You know, when you take your drivers test in the US, you have to demonstrate your ability to know where all those functions are before you even pull away to start your test.