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Touchscreens are for UI that needs to reconfigure constantly -- i.e., for multiple-purpose devices. Smartphones are great examples. One minute it's a restaurant

Touchscreens are for UI that needs to reconfigure constantly -- i.e., for multiple-purpose devices. Smartphones are great examples. One minute it's a restaurant review guide, then it's a messaging device, then it's a compass, then it's a camera. When you need more buttons, they appear, when you need fewer buttons, they disappear. A car is largely a single purpose device. You always have the same few set of things you want to do in the car. Climate, Radio, Maps, etc. A touchscreen is a boneheaded interface for this device. Imagine if your on-off lightswitches were touchscreens. If your stovetop interface was a touchscreen. If your refrigerator ice dispenser was a touchscreen (I've seen this). Completely moronic, every single one of them.

IshKebab 8y ago
Some cookers do have.. well not touchscreens but they use capacitative buttons. They are even worse than you imagine.
- egil 8y ago
  Stovetops with capacitive buttons are much nicer than the cheaper resistive buttons. Never had any problems with the two inductive stovetops I have owned, but vacation homes with cheaper electric stovetops with resistive buttons is more hassle. The flat surface of both variants makes them easy to keep clean and child lock.
- janlaureys 8y ago
  Both my parents and my in-laws have ceramic electric stoves with capacitative buttons (or resistive, not sure) that stop working when your fingers are wet or greasy or the stovetop is too hot. It's horrible.
gear54rus 8y ago
Well touchscreens will show you new, better organized or painted buttons (with the power of FOSS of course). Surely you don't wanna swap half of your dash every time someone comes up with something better?
- ggg9990 8y ago
  How much is my car UI really going to improve over 10 years? Without some kind of revenue model, the manufacturer wants you to upgrade, and there isn't really anything that's actually useful that can ship post-build without installed hardware (eg blindspot warning, rearview camera)
  - gear54rus 8y ago
    For those who don't believe in improving UI, there still exists a possibility of tweaking the stock to suit one's needs.
- WalterBright 8y ago
  Car UIs get worse over time, not better. On my dodge, if I want AC, I just roll down the window. It never goes on the fritz.
  - gear54rus 8y ago
    > Car UIs get worse over time, not better. Unsubstantiated claim of the year. "Everything there was to be discovered is already discovered".
    - WalterBright 8y ago
      I don't need a 150 page manual to operate the older ones. The new ones all have these stupid icons that I have no idea what they mean. If only there was a method for putting text, like "defroster", on buttons!
- pjc50 8y ago
  "Better" for whom? This is how we got Windows putting adverts in the start menu. Someone's going to start putting unskippable adverts in car AC controls next.
  - gear54rus 8y ago
elygre 8y ago
Ah, my oven uses a touch screen. It’s a mess for some things, but it does allow for very sophistication menu systems, with creating custom programs and whatnot.
- ggg9990 8y ago
  Unless the touchscreen is fully redundant, I cannot imagine it being worth the loss of physical buttons for the 99% of times you are warming up a pizza slice for 5 minutes.
  - elygre 8y ago
    Well, yes. Mostly true, and it has brought much annoyance :-) Of course, The pizza setting is two pushes away: first “my programs”, then “Single pizza slice”, and it remembers to run hot air all the time and then the grill for the last minute.
    - ggg9990 8y ago
      What’s the model?
      - elygre 8y ago
        I actually have two... One is a Miele H 6860 BP, while the other is a H 6800 BP. (Entirely unrelated: Does anybody know how to check the software version on these ovens?)
        ggg9990 8y ago
        OK, if you cook enough to use two ovens maybe the programmable oven is suitable for you.
PetitPrince 8y ago
>If your stovetop interface was a touchscreen Mine have capacitive (or IR ?) buttons (similar to [1]). Easier to clean, inconvenient to use. I miss the knobs in my old place. [1] https://www.pulsat.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/8/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/0/1000067544_PIJ_611_BB_1_E_a.jpg https://www.pulsat.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/8/image/9d...
- masklinn 8y ago
  I think that's mostly an issue of haptics (and the lack thereof). My stovetop also uses capacitive buttons but the buttons themselves don't change, the biggest issue is the lack of feedback and eyes-free operation.
  - cardinalfang 8y ago
    Many have some irritating multi-step process: select the zone, then select the power or use up/down buttons instead of direct power level selection.
    - masklinn 8y ago
      Those I've used had 2~3 buttons (3 if they support a timer) for each zone, so a 4-zone stovetop would have 4 pairs of buttons. The non-timer buttons would still just be +/- though, no direct power selection/

IshKebab 8y ago

Some cookers do have.. well not touchscreens but they use capacitative buttons. They are even worse than you imagine.

egil 8y ago
Stovetops with capacitive buttons are much nicer than the cheaper resistive buttons. Never had any problems with the two inductive stovetops I have owned, but vacation homes with cheaper electric stovetops with resistive buttons is more hassle. The flat surface of both variants makes them easy to keep clean and child lock.
janlaureys 8y ago
Both my parents and my in-laws have ceramic electric stoves with capacitative buttons (or resistive, not sure) that stop working when your fingers are wet or greasy or the stovetop is too hot. It's horrible.

gear54rus 8y ago

Well touchscreens will show you new, better organized or painted buttons (with the power of FOSS of course). Surely you don't wanna swap half of your dash every time someone comes up with something better?

ggg9990 8y ago
How much is my car UI really going to improve over 10 years? Without some kind of revenue model, the manufacturer wants you to upgrade, and there isn't really anything that's actually useful that can ship post-build without installed hardware (eg blindspot warning, rearview camera)
- gear54rus 8y ago
  For those who don't believe in improving UI, there still exists a possibility of tweaking the stock to suit one's needs.
WalterBright 8y ago
Car UIs get worse over time, not better. On my dodge, if I want AC, I just roll down the window. It never goes on the fritz.
- gear54rus 8y ago
  > Car UIs get worse over time, not better. Unsubstantiated claim of the year. "Everything there was to be discovered is already discovered".
  - WalterBright 8y ago
    I don't need a 150 page manual to operate the older ones. The new ones all have these stupid icons that I have no idea what they mean. If only there was a method for putting text, like "defroster", on buttons!
pjc50 8y ago
"Better" for whom? This is how we got Windows putting adverts in the start menu. Someone's going to start putting unskippable adverts in car AC controls next.
- gear54rus 8y ago

elygre 8y ago

Ah, my oven uses a touch screen. It’s a mess for some things, but it does allow for very sophistication menu systems, with creating custom programs and whatnot.

ggg9990 8y ago
Unless the touchscreen is fully redundant, I cannot imagine it being worth the loss of physical buttons for the 99% of times you are warming up a pizza slice for 5 minutes.
- elygre 8y ago
  Well, yes. Mostly true, and it has brought much annoyance :-) Of course, The pizza setting is two pushes away: first “my programs”, then “Single pizza slice”, and it remembers to run hot air all the time and then the grill for the last minute.
  - ggg9990 8y ago
    What’s the model?
    - elygre 8y ago
      I actually have two... One is a Miele H 6860 BP, while the other is a H 6800 BP. (Entirely unrelated: Does anybody know how to check the software version on these ovens?)
      - ggg9990 8y ago
        OK, if you cook enough to use two ovens maybe the programmable oven is suitable for you.

PetitPrince 8y ago

>If your stovetop interface was a touchscreen Mine have capacitive (or IR ?) buttons (similar to [1]). Easier to clean, inconvenient to use. I miss the knobs in my old place. [1] https://www.pulsat.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/8/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/1/0/1000067544_PIJ_611_BB_1_E_a.jpg https://www.pulsat.fr/media/catalog/product/cache/8/image/9d...

masklinn 8y ago
I think that's mostly an issue of haptics (and the lack thereof). My stovetop also uses capacitive buttons but the buttons themselves don't change, the biggest issue is the lack of feedback and eyes-free operation.
- cardinalfang 8y ago
  Many have some irritating multi-step process: select the zone, then select the power or use up/down buttons instead of direct power level selection.
  - masklinn 8y ago
    Those I've used had 2~3 buttons (3 if they support a timer) for each zone, so a 4-zone stovetop would have 4 pairs of buttons. The non-timer buttons would still just be +/- though, no direct power selection/