5 ms·

> Screens are also less likely to break than mechanically moving gauges What? If you buy a 30 year old car, the gauges are most likely still intact, and origin

by lqet 7y ago

> Screens are also less likely to break than mechanically moving gauges What? If you buy a 30 year old car, the gauges are most likely still intact, and original. If you have an older house, things like the water gauges (or even regular clock gauges) are also decades old. I want to see the screen that will work for > 20 years in a constantly moving and vibrating environment, under massive temperature changes, without any additional care or repairs or replacement. Take passenger information displays in public transit. Not until a few years ago, it was still common that the head signs in trains, buses or subways where mechanical. It was often just a paper roll [0] that was adjusted to display the correct destination, or even just a plate that was changed by the conductor [1]. Things like car numbers or seat reservations were displayed by simple paper signs. Fast-forward to the 90ies, where at least in Europe, they began to replace these things by LCDs. After a few years, it was normal to see trains with broken head signs, broken car numbers, and broken reservation systems [2]. Fast-forward to today, where it is now en vogue to use full-fledged displays everywhere. The result (at least in the towns I use public transportation) are regularly broken displays [3] [4] [5] that even when they work, often offer no advantage over LCD or LED or even mechanical display from a passenger perspective. They just look more modern. Add to this that the display software is mostly some variant of Windows with a poorly built and designed web application running on it. Think of all the people, all the knowledge, all the hours, all the resources and all the energy required to build and run a full-fledged high-resolution display, an operating system, the web application and a central server in the vehicle running those displays - all to replace a simple roll of paper with a less reliable solution! As computer scientists and software developers, this is what pays us - but as soon as the rest of the society realizes what is going on, I fear that there will a massive backlash. [0] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/2009-08-19-obus-eberswalde-by-RalfR-03.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/2009-08-... [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Wupper-Expresszugschild.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Wupper-E... [2] https://soscheescho.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wirre-anzeige-am-bahnhof.jpg https://soscheescho.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/wirre-anze... [3] https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/33/aa/0633aa8ad996cfeb793672266cc99f44.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/06/33/aa/0633aa8ad996cfeb7936... [4] https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/a0/b7/33a0b7ac6e5563f48f668aaa10cb2c8e.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/33/a0/b7/33a0b7ac6e5563f48f66... [5] https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkI_ZEbXsAEcknf.jpg:large https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DkI_ZEbXsAEcknf.jpg:large

Fnoord 7y ago
> I want to see the screen that will work for > 20 years in a constantly moving and vibrating environment, under massive temperature changes, without any additional care or repairs. Bingo. The screen becomes less readable (and if a touch screen, difficult and/or dangerous to use) the longer it ages, the more chance it gets physical damage. Then there's the batteries which go bad, yet the devices are glued. And then there's the backlight. My Kobo reader does not use/need much backlight, it doesn't use/need much battery (esp w/o networking), and the screen can endure a lot. So perhaps e-readers are partly exempt from this. Airpods, for example, are not because of the battery alone. Smartwatches: screen (often touch as well)/battery/backlight. Monitors: backlight/screen. On top of that, some of these devices also require software updates. These devices are sold to be replaced in a few years; not to last. If they were part of a service contract (like a boiler) they wouldn't happen. > After a few years, it was normal to see trains with broken head signs, broken car numbers, and broken reservation systems. True, seen this ample amount of time when I traveled with ICE Amsterdam - Berlin. I do have to admit I like it when I see the TeamViewer error in the EBS busses. All these otherwise show is useless, distracting commercials anyway. > The result (at least in the towns I use public transportation) are regularly broken displays that even when they work, offer no advantage over LCD or LED or even mechanical display from a passenger perspective. They just look more modern. Indeed, never mind the backlight dying, or the broken (stuck, dead, ...) pixels, or physical damage on the screen (due to vandals, accidents, ...).
- novok 7y ago
  I would imagine that LED backlit LCD screens are some of the longest lasting computer parts in the world. Gauges are physical devices and can go bad too.
  - Symbiote 7y ago
    Even if the screen itself is reliable, you also need the soldering connections and all other components to stay good (on a moving vehicle, exposed to a wide temperature range, direct sunlight for many hours, water etc) Plus you need the software to be reliable, which probably isn't the case even when the system is new.

by lqet 7y ago

Fnoord 7y ago

> I want to see the screen that will work for > 20 years in a constantly moving and vibrating environment, under massive temperature changes, without any additional care or repairs. Bingo. The screen becomes less readable (and if a touch screen, difficult and/or dangerous to use) the longer it ages, the more chance it gets physical damage. Then there's the batteries which go bad, yet the devices are glued. And then there's the backlight. My Kobo reader does not use/need much backlight, it doesn't use/need much battery (esp w/o networking), and the screen can endure a lot. So perhaps e-readers are partly exempt from this. Airpods, for example, are not because of the battery alone. Smartwatches: screen (often touch as well)/battery/backlight. Monitors: backlight/screen. On top of that, some of these devices also require software updates. These devices are sold to be replaced in a few years; not to last. If they were part of a service contract (like a boiler) they wouldn't happen. > After a few years, it was normal to see trains with broken head signs, broken car numbers, and broken reservation systems. True, seen this ample amount of time when I traveled with ICE Amsterdam - Berlin. I do have to admit I like it when I see the TeamViewer error in the EBS busses. All these otherwise show is useless, distracting commercials anyway. > The result (at least in the towns I use public transportation) are regularly broken displays that even when they work, offer no advantage over LCD or LED or even mechanical display from a passenger perspective. They just look more modern. Indeed, never mind the backlight dying, or the broken (stuck, dead, ...) pixels, or physical damage on the screen (due to vandals, accidents, ...).

novok 7y ago
I would imagine that LED backlit LCD screens are some of the longest lasting computer parts in the world. Gauges are physical devices and can go bad too.
- Symbiote 7y ago
  Even if the screen itself is reliable, you also need the soldering connections and all other components to stay good (on a moving vehicle, exposed to a wide temperature range, direct sunlight for many hours, water etc) Plus you need the software to be reliable, which probably isn't the case even when the system is new.