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The most important lesson I learned in engineering school: define the problem then look for a solution. Most people have a solution in mind before they even lo

by nicbou 4y ago

The most important lesson I learned in engineering school: define the problem then look for a solution. Most people have a solution in mind before they even look at the problem, and that solution is usually "build an app", or "slap a screen on it". With bureaucracy, it's "put the form on the internet". There are a few low tech devices I much prefer: - A kitchen timer vs. my phone. I don't need to unlock the phone and navigate to the timer app. I just twist the knob until I see the desired number. Hell, it's probably set to 3 minutes already, because I mostly use it to make tea. - My microwave has one knob for time, and one knob for intensity. Best microwave interface ever. It doesn't tell time, so I never need to adjust it. I had microwaves so complicated that I turned to social networks for help. - Stoves. I refuse to buy a stove without knobs. I have hated every stove without knobs I've ever used. Touch-sensitive buttons don't work with oven mitts, but get triggered by a wet rag, steam and spilled spaghetti sauce. - Car infotainment. Each knob controls one thing. It's always in the same place, and I can find it while keeping my eyes on the road. - Wired audio. This device is paired to the device it's physically connected to.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
the_snooze 4y ago
>Most people have a solution in mind before they even look at the problem, and that solution is usually "put it on the blockchain" But to your point, you're absolutely right. If you want to actually deliver valuable solutions, you need to have a good understanding of what unmet need you're trying to address. Otherwise you end up with a bad problem-solution match, and you waste everyone's time. Too often, technically minded people put too much emphasis on what's novel instead of what's valuable.
marcosdumay 4y ago
> My microwave has one knob for time, and one knob for intensity. I don't think a knob is the optimal interface for time. In microwaves you need to input both low values of ~10s and very high values of ~600s with good precision on both cases. Sure, a logarithmic knob will give you that, but I don't think it's what you would expect. For power it's good. It's even a much better interface for the power level than the usual. But then, anything is a much better interface than the usual microwave power level one. > Wired audio. This device is paired to the device it's physically connected to. There used to exist those wireless speakers with two pieces, one you physically connected to the audio output on the device, the other had the speaker. The transmission was analog and sucked due to noise, but it was much more reliable and had less lag than bluetooth. For some reason, instead of fixing it into a digital transmission, everybody just stopped manufacturing the device.
- nicbou 4y ago
  I rarely need an exact amount of time. In fact I generally leave it with the door ajar and a few minutes on the timer. Even then, a knob works perfectly. It does not need to set the value linearly. The first quarter of the timer could be 5 second increments, and the second half minutes.
- strix_varius 4y ago
  I'm just curious what you cook in a microwave for 10 minutes.
  - danans 4y ago
    Large thick skinned squashes with hard flesh like butternut, kabocha or spaghetti. Probably not on max heat, but on medium so they cook evenly.
  - MajorBee 4y ago
    It's not really cooking, but I find it useful to defrost frozen meat in the microwave if I have forgotten to leave it out of the freezer overnight. Defrosting in a microwave usually means letting it run at low power for a long time (> 10 minutes depending on the type of meat and weight). Of course, I use the presets that come with my microwave to figure out the right time/power combination, so I definitely find that feature useful.
- sfink 4y ago
  >> My microwave has one knob for time, and one knob for intensity. > I don't think a knob is the optimal interface for time. In microwaves you need to input both low values of ~10s and very high values of ~600s with good precision on both cases. Sure, a logarithmic knob will give you that, but I don't think it's what you would expect. I definitely disagree. I had a stove once that had a perfect knob for setting time. The rate of increase/decrease was determined by the speed that you twisted it. Turn slowly for fine granularity, fast for large changes. I think it may have done something clever when you started fast and then slowed down (the natural thing to do), since I think the naive thing probably wouldn't work that well. It felt *awesome*. It sounds silly, but it's been just over a decade and I still miss that control knob. I think about it every time I'm faced with the latest way of adjusting some quantity. It's definitely not just because it was a physical knob—plenty of physical knobs are irritating and only good for either small or large changes, or feel unpredictable, or don't have good tactile feedback (too smooth and too chunky are both bad).
artificialLimbs 4y ago
> "A kitchen timer vs. my phone" Having to LOOK at the number? ;) I can talk to the phone while I'm slicing: 'Hey Siri, set a timer for x {timeunit}" > "Wired audio." Hoping this one doesn't keep disappearing...
- nicbou 4y ago
  It's still nice to see the time left if you're cooking things.
Too 4y ago
We got a new fancy coffee machine at work. Obviously with a big shiny touch screen attached. Best case, it requires 3 touch actions to get a standard coffee. One modal to select drink, one modal to select strength, one modal to confirm start. Some times, even more if it went into presentation mode where it brags about how good coffee it produces, requiring yet another touch to dismiss. The old model. One physical button for coffee, one for cappuccino, one for espresso, one for tea water. Single press instantly gives you want you want. For more custom mixes you can optionally change the strength with another button on top before making your choice. How is this progress? I don't want "engagement" with my coffee machine. I just want it to give me coffee with as little effort as possible. It's exactly like you say, someone was given the task to solve a coffee app, instead of looking at the actual problem first.

by nicbou 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

the_snooze 4y ago

>Most people have a solution in mind before they even look at the problem, and that solution is usually "put it on the blockchain" But to your point, you're absolutely right. If you want to actually deliver valuable solutions, you need to have a good understanding of what unmet need you're trying to address. Otherwise you end up with a bad problem-solution match, and you waste everyone's time. Too often, technically minded people put too much emphasis on what's novel instead of what's valuable.

marcosdumay 4y ago

> My microwave has one knob for time, and one knob for intensity. I don't think a knob is the optimal interface for time. In microwaves you need to input both low values of ~10s and very high values of ~600s with good precision on both cases. Sure, a logarithmic knob will give you that, but I don't think it's what you would expect. For power it's good. It's even a much better interface for the power level than the usual. But then, anything is a much better interface than the usual microwave power level one. > Wired audio. This device is paired to the device it's physically connected to. There used to exist those wireless speakers with two pieces, one you physically connected to the audio output on the device, the other had the speaker. The transmission was analog and sucked due to noise, but it was much more reliable and had less lag than bluetooth. For some reason, instead of fixing it into a digital transmission, everybody just stopped manufacturing the device.

nicbou 4y ago
I rarely need an exact amount of time. In fact I generally leave it with the door ajar and a few minutes on the timer. Even then, a knob works perfectly. It does not need to set the value linearly. The first quarter of the timer could be 5 second increments, and the second half minutes.
strix_varius 4y ago
I'm just curious what you cook in a microwave for 10 minutes.
- danans 4y ago
  Large thick skinned squashes with hard flesh like butternut, kabocha or spaghetti. Probably not on max heat, but on medium so they cook evenly.
- MajorBee 4y ago
  It's not really cooking, but I find it useful to defrost frozen meat in the microwave if I have forgotten to leave it out of the freezer overnight. Defrosting in a microwave usually means letting it run at low power for a long time (> 10 minutes depending on the type of meat and weight). Of course, I use the presets that come with my microwave to figure out the right time/power combination, so I definitely find that feature useful.
sfink 4y ago
>> My microwave has one knob for time, and one knob for intensity. > I don't think a knob is the optimal interface for time. In microwaves you need to input both low values of ~10s and very high values of ~600s with good precision on both cases. Sure, a logarithmic knob will give you that, but I don't think it's what you would expect. I definitely disagree. I had a stove once that had a perfect knob for setting time. The rate of increase/decrease was determined by the speed that you twisted it. Turn slowly for fine granularity, fast for large changes. I think it may have done something clever when you started fast and then slowed down (the natural thing to do), since I think the naive thing probably wouldn't work that well. It felt *awesome*. It sounds silly, but it's been just over a decade and I still miss that control knob. I think about it every time I'm faced with the latest way of adjusting some quantity. It's definitely not just because it was a physical knob—plenty of physical knobs are irritating and only good for either small or large changes, or feel unpredictable, or don't have good tactile feedback (too smooth and too chunky are both bad).

artificialLimbs 4y ago

> "A kitchen timer vs. my phone" Having to LOOK at the number? ;) I can talk to the phone while I'm slicing: 'Hey Siri, set a timer for x {timeunit}" > "Wired audio." Hoping this one doesn't keep disappearing...

nicbou 4y ago
It's still nice to see the time left if you're cooking things.

Too 4y ago

We got a new fancy coffee machine at work. Obviously with a big shiny touch screen attached. Best case, it requires 3 touch actions to get a standard coffee. One modal to select drink, one modal to select strength, one modal to confirm start. Some times, even more if it went into presentation mode where it brags about how good coffee it produces, requiring yet another touch to dismiss. The old model. One physical button for coffee, one for cappuccino, one for espresso, one for tea water. Single press instantly gives you want you want. For more custom mixes you can optionally change the strength with another button on top before making your choice. How is this progress? I don't want "engagement" with my coffee machine. I just want it to give me coffee with as little effort as possible. It's exactly like you say, someone was given the task to solve a coffee app, instead of looking at the actual problem first.