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Capacitive buttons are a plague, man. Even the cheap new stoves have them now. Monitors and TVs have had them for a while. Cars are going for touch displays. Th
by Nition 9y ago
Capacitive buttons are a plague, man. Even the cheap new stoves have them now. Monitors and TVs have had them for a while. Cars are going for touch displays. There's a delay, they don't work every time, and you can't feel them out.
Are they cheaper? I don't understand the point of them in the cases where they're literally just replacing a real button. The worst is when they don't even indicate clearly where the buttons actually are.
- shakna 9y ago> Are they cheaper? Not generally, by neither are they more expensive generally. However, there's a large section of consumers that see that sort of thing and somehow assume it means the product is of higher quality, or that's what comes up in the marketing meetings I've had to sit through whilst advocating for mechanical switches.
- Nition 9y agoIt definitely looks more sort of futuristic, I have to concede that. Too bad we have to actually use these devices instead of just admiring them in the shop. Thank you for advocating mechanical buttons.
- stickfigure 9y agoIn the 70s my family bought a microwave oven. It had one knob with a dial, which you would turn clockwise to the number of minutes. The microwave would immediately start (if closed, of course) and count down. The gradations had a logarithmic scale. If you wanted to stop early, you turned the knob counterclockwise to zero. That interface was genius. These days I sob and cry every time I have to figure out how to use an unfamiliar microwave.
- mc32 9y agoThey still make dial microwaves, I got one, I think it's a Pana --but unlike the previous one I had (don't recall the make) once set, you can't readjust time. Either terrible design, or maybe a patent preventing the adding of time while the microwaving continues. For example, if It think that instead of 30 secs, I want to readjust it to 40 when it's down to 20 to make a total of 50, I have to wait till it winds all the way down (or stop and set a new clock) -bummer
- ccozan 9y agoI don't think is a patent ( maybe it was ). I have a relatively new one, german made, that works exactly like that: two knobs, one for setting the power and one for setting the time. Both are on the fly adjustable, both power and time. I find it really good design.
- mc32 9y agoThat's good to hear. I miss my on-the-fly adjustable one. When it broke down, I looked but could not find a small one (<=.9fcu), so I went with a Pana that had a dial since I rather dislike the touchpad ones.
- semi-extrinsic 9y agoThose are still easy to come by. I was buying one for an 83-year-old relative last christmas, and there was plenty of choice even. We ended up with a Whirlpool model that even dings a physical bell once when it finishes. As for regular oven tops, we spent some time finding an induction model with physical buttons. It's wonderful and I enjoy using it every day. It's very tactile. Throw a kettle on and slam it to "P" in 30 milliseconds, aah I love it.
- zorpner 9y agoIf you're ever looking for a toaster, check out Dualit (the classic, not whatever cheap plastic one they peddle to price-segment). I use mine every day and interface-wise, it's pretty much the most satisfying moment of every day.
- endless1234 9y agoThose are still readily available. I dislike the knob only design (with no time display) since it makes having something in for 15 seconds or w/e harder, but that might just be me.
- learc83 9y agoThey are definitely cheaper most of the time. They are often just a trace on a PCB. Product designers hate mechanical switches because they are almost always the first thing to wear out. Including a switch robust enough to last as long as the rest of the product is generally too expensive for consumer electronics. Capacitive buttons can be made much better with some kind of instant feedback to replace the tactile feedback of physical buttons. The problem is that adding that kind of feedback costs money. Even if it's just a few pennies per device, most manufacturers won't do it for consumer devices. That kind of penny pinching is the reason I avoid consumer grade products if at all feasible.
- gh02t 9y agoYeah, a lot of microcontrollers have integrated capacitive sensing (Atmel calls it QTouch, other manufacturers have similar). In that case a capacitive button is very near free, as you only need an extra trace that is reliable to fabricate and requires minimal extra soldering. Capacitive buttons have some distinct advantages too, primarily being waterproof and nearly infinite durability. A lot of UI issues like OPs stove are likely poor software, there is no real reason why a capacitive button would need a 700 ms pause between actions. Now, the lack of tactile feedback is a more fundamental problem sometimes, but capacitive buttons can be great when implemented well.
- shakna 9y agoCapacitive also has some drawbacks. Like with this oven... They tend to be temperature sensitive, depending on shielding. Delays with QTouch aren't unusual above 120F.
- learc83 9y agoI'm pretty confident the problems with the oven are software related and nothing to do with the inherent limitations of capacitive inputs. The problem described occurs before the oven even has time to heat up at all much less heat the input panel to 120F.
- shakna 9y ago
- krastanov 9y agoThey certainly must be cheaper - no mechanical components, just a single wire (instead of two) connecting the pad to the micro-controller. And they are "fancy"/"futuristic". My lab placed fancy touch-screens in the place of the light switches. Now turning the lights on or off takes at least 15 seconds but we get to pretend to be luxurious :(
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- ballenf 9y agoDo they work with gloves? Why not just a motion sensor with a manual override?
- blackguardx 9y agoSwitches are usually connected to digital inputs with one wire as well. The other wire is connected to either power or ground. The wire to the microcontroller is either pulled up or down with a resistor to power or ground, respecively.
- krastanov 9y agoYes, but capsense does not require that power/ground wire.
- vikascoder 9y agomy whole Bosch line of washing machines and dryer have these buttons where i have to press my fingers awkwardly, sometimes slide it side to side for it to register a simple thing as "Start". Cool looking? i dont know but hey, put some LEDs on normal plastic buttons man.
- mirkules 9y agoMy Bosch dishwasher has pretty cool mechanical buttons. My wife says it looks like a cassette deck from the '80s. I love the buttons. Too bad the dishwasher is unreliable.
- ballenf 9y agoMy Bosch dishwasher's buttons drive me nuts. They need a firm press for a second or more and then beep half a second after I lift my finger. I won't know whether the touch registered until after I let go. Don't even think about the next button you need to press until you're sure the last one took or you'll be holding the reset buttons for an eternity and starting over. They don't work any better or worse with wet hands, so I have to figure they kind of sacrificed overall usability in exchange for capacitive touch working with wet fingers.
- tfha 9y agoThey are smooth. Seductive. Subtle. Slow and intimate, you like to touch them and they like it back. A soft sexy red glow that fades in and fades out as you massage your commands into it's willing display. You don't make sales based on how much people like using it, you make sales based on how attractive it appears while on display.
- Nition 9y agoWell, I'm hoping that effect dwindles after one generation of products once everyone's learnt their lesson.
- gruturo 9y agoI find them extremely practical on my induction stove: it's a single perfectly smooth glass surface, which makes it a joy to clean. Physical buttons (or any 3-D feature really) and food preparation make cleaning a hassle.
- tomkinstinch 9y agoI prefer physical buttons, or better yet knobs I can remove and soak to clean. My range has capacitive buttons for its oven controls, and every time I wipe it down with a damp sponge every button is triggered along with a cacophony of beeps. It could disregard inputs when multiple are registered in quick succession, but then each button would have to have a delay before action to see if it was pressed individually, and of course rapid legitimate use would pose a problem (as in the iOS calculator issue).
- TorKlingberg 9y agoThey seems to break less than (low quality) mechanical buttons.