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There are many things in the tech world that have gotten fantastically better in my lifetime (I am 40). GPUs have been amazing, machine learning has made great

There are many things in the tech world that have gotten fantastically better in my lifetime (I am 40). GPUs have been amazing, machine learning has made great leaps. virtual reality is now semi-awesome and improving. But a few things have been getting worse. One of the things I most lament is the move to touch interfaces instead of tactile buttons. See phones, cars, remote controls (apple tv) and now keyboards on laptops. It is a worse interface most of the time. I absolutely abhor it. The trend shows no signs of ever reversing though.

bitwize 8y ago
I think the keyboards in 2016 and later MBPs are deliberately terrible so that Apple can say "Our market research shows that customers view hardware keyboards negatively" and use that as a basis for either phasing out the Mac or introducing a new piezo touch keyboard or something.
- jki275 8y ago
  That's a bit bizarre as a conspiracy theory. Apple certainly isn't focused on their Macs anymore, but if they were going to phase it out they'd simply do so. They've never asked anyone for permission before.
  - bitwize 8y ago
    It may be a complete coincidence that Apple introduced crappy keyboards, the idiot bar, and a HUGE trackpad to the MacBook line all at the same time, but I find this difficult to believe. At the very least, it's a clear message from Cupertino: Apple wants you to touch, not type. Resistance is futile.
    - jki275 8y ago
      I love the trackpad, the touchbar is worthless and the keyboard doesn't bother me too much. If they wanted to do touch, they'd do a touch screen like everybody else.
H1Supreme 8y ago
My car (2018 Honda HRV) has full touch everything. I hate it. Luckily the volume and track selection controls are on the steering wheel as buttons. I don't want the Heater and A/C controls to be touch. Once you learn where tactile controls are, you don't have to take your eyes off the road. You build the muscle memory pretty fast to their location. This is many times more difficult, if not impossible to do with touch.
- bluGill 8y ago
  I've surprised the NTSB hasn't found touch interfaces dangerous and forced recalls to disable all of them that are within the drivers reach when the vehicle is in gear. Touch is great for things that are complex enough that you need to stop anyway (I doubt anyone can create an interface for entering the address you are going to that is safe to use while driving). Touch touch should be available to the navigator, but the screen should not be visible to the driver. When I'm driving give me a minimal number of buttons/knobs so that I can quickly learn them all. Ideally these should be standardized so I don't have to take my eyes off the road to figure out how to control the wipers.
Nursie 8y ago
> See phones A touch keyboard on a phone is definitely worse than a physical one, I'd agree. But a phone with a bigger screen is also better than one with a small screen. And there's definitely some sort of maximum size practical for a handset. Given these constraints, right now I'll go for the big screen and crappy input method. Even though it annoys me a lot and typing on it is painful, I think of the choices available to get a physical keyboard on there (larger phone, smaller screen) I'd take what we have now.
- gameswithgo 8y ago
  Yes I agree phones are a borderline case where it may be better for many.
- a13n 8y ago
  The nice thing about a touch keyboard on your phone is you can swipe, which is way faster than tapping.
Reedx 8y ago
I suspect we'll see a correction. Often new technologies or interfaces get used for things that don't benefit from it or even make it worse. Then novelty wears off and over time we figure out what things work well and what things don't... Touchscreens are better for some things, physical interfaces are better for others.
iClaudiusX 8y ago
Thinking about this, I notice most of the unpleasant changes in technology have come from the mobile side infecting desktop/laptop computing. touch interfaces * requires visual focus * no feedback * low information density hardware * death of repair (everything is hyper-fragile, glued or soldered) * death of expansion options (battery, storage) * "de-contenting" or removing features to sell more accessories * focus on vanity aesthetics over function * ever-increasing prices for less YoY improvement software * death of QA * death of stable releases (endless hash-barf versions) * notification spam abandonment of user control * os-mandated default applications and services * lack of security updates (android) * forced beta testing (apple, windows) app store model * no discovery * no search * no user privacy * abusive micro-transactions
ekanes 8y ago
Agree. In summer I want the AC to start right when I get in. I don't want to wait for the car's computer to boot up. (And what if it freezes/has problems?!)
sxp62000 8y ago
Totally agree with you on the cars part. The other day I rented a Ford Edge at an airport, and I struggled to start it. I had to look up the Ford Edge manual PDF and then find a youtube video to understand what I was supposed to do to get the engine running. User interfaces that make people feel stupid, are not good user interfaces.

bitwize 8y ago

I think the keyboards in 2016 and later MBPs are deliberately terrible so that Apple can say "Our market research shows that customers view hardware keyboards negatively" and use that as a basis for either phasing out the Mac or introducing a new piezo touch keyboard or something.

jki275 8y ago
That's a bit bizarre as a conspiracy theory. Apple certainly isn't focused on their Macs anymore, but if they were going to phase it out they'd simply do so. They've never asked anyone for permission before.
- bitwize 8y ago
  It may be a complete coincidence that Apple introduced crappy keyboards, the idiot bar, and a HUGE trackpad to the MacBook line all at the same time, but I find this difficult to believe. At the very least, it's a clear message from Cupertino: Apple wants you to touch, not type. Resistance is futile.
  - jki275 8y ago
    I love the trackpad, the touchbar is worthless and the keyboard doesn't bother me too much. If they wanted to do touch, they'd do a touch screen like everybody else.

H1Supreme 8y ago

My car (2018 Honda HRV) has full touch everything. I hate it. Luckily the volume and track selection controls are on the steering wheel as buttons. I don't want the Heater and A/C controls to be touch. Once you learn where tactile controls are, you don't have to take your eyes off the road. You build the muscle memory pretty fast to their location. This is many times more difficult, if not impossible to do with touch.

bluGill 8y ago
I've surprised the NTSB hasn't found touch interfaces dangerous and forced recalls to disable all of them that are within the drivers reach when the vehicle is in gear. Touch is great for things that are complex enough that you need to stop anyway (I doubt anyone can create an interface for entering the address you are going to that is safe to use while driving). Touch touch should be available to the navigator, but the screen should not be visible to the driver. When I'm driving give me a minimal number of buttons/knobs so that I can quickly learn them all. Ideally these should be standardized so I don't have to take my eyes off the road to figure out how to control the wipers.

Nursie 8y ago

> See phones A touch keyboard on a phone is definitely worse than a physical one, I'd agree. But a phone with a bigger screen is also better than one with a small screen. And there's definitely some sort of maximum size practical for a handset. Given these constraints, right now I'll go for the big screen and crappy input method. Even though it annoys me a lot and typing on it is painful, I think of the choices available to get a physical keyboard on there (larger phone, smaller screen) I'd take what we have now.

gameswithgo 8y ago
Yes I agree phones are a borderline case where it may be better for many.
a13n 8y ago
The nice thing about a touch keyboard on your phone is you can swipe, which is way faster than tapping.

Reedx 8y ago

I suspect we'll see a correction. Often new technologies or interfaces get used for things that don't benefit from it or even make it worse. Then novelty wears off and over time we figure out what things work well and what things don't... Touchscreens are better for some things, physical interfaces are better for others.

iClaudiusX 8y ago

Thinking about this, I notice most of the unpleasant changes in technology have come from the mobile side infecting desktop/laptop computing. touch interfaces * requires visual focus * no feedback * low information density hardware * death of repair (everything is hyper-fragile, glued or soldered) * death of expansion options (battery, storage) * "de-contenting" or removing features to sell more accessories * focus on vanity aesthetics over function * ever-increasing prices for less YoY improvement software * death of QA * death of stable releases (endless hash-barf versions) * notification spam abandonment of user control * os-mandated default applications and services * lack of security updates (android) * forced beta testing (apple, windows) app store model * no discovery * no search * no user privacy * abusive micro-transactions

ekanes 8y ago

Agree. In summer I want the AC to start right when I get in. I don't want to wait for the car's computer to boot up. (And what if it freezes/has problems?!)

sxp62000 8y ago

Totally agree with you on the cars part. The other day I rented a Ford Edge at an airport, and I struggled to start it. I had to look up the Ford Edge manual PDF and then find a youtube video to understand what I was supposed to do to get the engine running. User interfaces that make people feel stupid, are not good user interfaces.