6 ms·

The round knob to increase / decrease sound volume is simply the best UX in the car. Why do I have to navigate to a submenu to push a button repeatedly to chang

The round knob to increase / decrease sound volume is simply the best UX in the car. Why do I have to navigate to a submenu to push a button repeatedly to change the volume. The less I look at the road the higher the risk of an accident.

eurasiantiger 4y ago
The whisker controls are even better. No need to take hands off the wheel.
- someweirdperson 4y ago
  > whisker controls Tried a quick search and couldn't find it. Is it like the scoll wheel on a mouse? Would be nice to have those on the steering wheel instead of up/down buttons.
  - alias_neo 4y ago
    I assume they mean the levers on the steering wheel, indicators and wipers... They look like whiskers in a cat's face that is the steering wheel (and you find them by touch, which is a nice double entendre)
  - Eavolution 4y ago
    Aye my skoda has a touch screen but I rarely use it (2016 model with touch screen and proper buttons, not the horrific current design of xbox style touch buttons) because I have 2 scroll wheels (volume and screen between the rev counter and speedo control), buttons to skip back and forward music, button for voice assistant, and a phone button. Its the best design out there I'm convinced.
    - tomcam 4y ago
      TIL Skoda was manufacturing cars at least until 2016. I’m now that much more nervous about driving.
      - spr93 4y ago
        TUL: Skoda makes reliable cars at a good price. VW bought them out; they're basically VW models built in Czechia factories that apparently have great quality control. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/skoda-named-most-dependable-uk-car-brand-2016-jd-power-survey https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/skoda-named-most...
        steve_gh 4y ago
        Skoda is part of the VW group, as are Audi and Seat. There are some common parts used across the group, from chassis and engines down to much smller elements. But the different marques have different feels and appeal to different markets. Skoda cars have a reputation for being cheap and very reliable, unlike Audi which is positioned as a luxury marque
  - davchana 4y ago
    I assume they mean the buttons on steering wheel spokes (the parts which connect the wheel to the center).
- unwind 4y ago
  Not sure if you're native (disclaimer: I'm certainly not) but I believe the word is (steering wheel) stalk.
  - eurasiantiger 4y ago
    Well now there is a better word. :) Searching for ”steering wheel stalk” seems to bring up entire center shaft assemblies though, while ”whisker” is only referring to the controls.
adhesive_wombat 4y ago
My old car has a navigation thing that pops up out of the dashboard. It's not a touchscreen: all control of that is by a four-way button plus a confirm and an exit button on the back of the steering wheel. The new car has a big flashy touchscreen, but there's no way to interact with it without taking a hand off the wheel and looking down below the dashboard line. I don't know why they can't at least add button-based navigation to the UI.
UweSchmidt 4y ago
Worth noting that that round knob, where it exists, has lost a lot of functionality: 1. Setting volume to 0 will pause the recording, even though I sometimes want to silently forward through some unwanted parts (intros or ads in podcasts). 2. These knobs are also infinity knobs, I liked to have fixed start and end position with an indicator how loud it's going to be when I switch on. That last part has been taken over by software and probably can't be done reliably any more. 3. On the leftmost, zero position that round knob was also used to switch a radio on or off. It is very convenient to have a single movement to switch music on, and with the same movement adjust the volume, or to lower the volume and while doing so, maybe decide to switch it all off entirely.
- qull 4y ago
  Analog potentiometers is what we all want. The worst are the rotary encoders (infinity knobs) that glitch when you turn them fast, like trying to turn down the radio your kid left on full blast, only to have it do nothing or actually turn it up instead.
  - dbttdft 4y ago
    Yep. Everything turned to garbage when "it all went digital", in the early 2000s. Now every single electronic product from appliances to vehicles are completely broken. Even the average thermostat spazzes out. There's no standard for anything.
- Akronymus 4y ago
  And quite often the volume controls are linear, rather than exponential. Because we hear logarythmic, it then makes the top half almost useless, while in the lower parts it's way too sensitive.
stevage 4y ago
Well I like having separate up and down buttons on the steering wheel that I can use by feel. But a knob for the passenger too.

eurasiantiger 4y ago

The whisker controls are even better. No need to take hands off the wheel.

someweirdperson 4y ago
> whisker controls Tried a quick search and couldn't find it. Is it like the scoll wheel on a mouse? Would be nice to have those on the steering wheel instead of up/down buttons.
- alias_neo 4y ago
  I assume they mean the levers on the steering wheel, indicators and wipers... They look like whiskers in a cat's face that is the steering wheel (and you find them by touch, which is a nice double entendre)
- Eavolution 4y ago
  Aye my skoda has a touch screen but I rarely use it (2016 model with touch screen and proper buttons, not the horrific current design of xbox style touch buttons) because I have 2 scroll wheels (volume and screen between the rev counter and speedo control), buttons to skip back and forward music, button for voice assistant, and a phone button. Its the best design out there I'm convinced.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    TIL Skoda was manufacturing cars at least until 2016. I’m now that much more nervous about driving.
    - spr93 4y ago
      TUL: Skoda makes reliable cars at a good price. VW bought them out; they're basically VW models built in Czechia factories that apparently have great quality control. https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/skoda-named-most-dependable-uk-car-brand-2016-jd-power-survey https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/skoda-named-most...
      - steve_gh 4y ago
        Skoda is part of the VW group, as are Audi and Seat. There are some common parts used across the group, from chassis and engines down to much smller elements. But the different marques have different feels and appeal to different markets. Skoda cars have a reputation for being cheap and very reliable, unlike Audi which is positioned as a luxury marque
- davchana 4y ago
  I assume they mean the buttons on steering wheel spokes (the parts which connect the wheel to the center).
unwind 4y ago
Not sure if you're native (disclaimer: I'm certainly not) but I believe the word is (steering wheel) stalk.
- eurasiantiger 4y ago
  Well now there is a better word. :) Searching for ”steering wheel stalk” seems to bring up entire center shaft assemblies though, while ”whisker” is only referring to the controls.

adhesive_wombat 4y ago

My old car has a navigation thing that pops up out of the dashboard. It's not a touchscreen: all control of that is by a four-way button plus a confirm and an exit button on the back of the steering wheel. The new car has a big flashy touchscreen, but there's no way to interact with it without taking a hand off the wheel and looking down below the dashboard line. I don't know why they can't at least add button-based navigation to the UI.

UweSchmidt 4y ago

Worth noting that that round knob, where it exists, has lost a lot of functionality: 1. Setting volume to 0 will pause the recording, even though I sometimes want to silently forward through some unwanted parts (intros or ads in podcasts). 2. These knobs are also infinity knobs, I liked to have fixed start and end position with an indicator how loud it's going to be when I switch on. That last part has been taken over by software and probably can't be done reliably any more. 3. On the leftmost, zero position that round knob was also used to switch a radio on or off. It is very convenient to have a single movement to switch music on, and with the same movement adjust the volume, or to lower the volume and while doing so, maybe decide to switch it all off entirely.

qull 4y ago
Analog potentiometers is what we all want. The worst are the rotary encoders (infinity knobs) that glitch when you turn them fast, like trying to turn down the radio your kid left on full blast, only to have it do nothing or actually turn it up instead.
- dbttdft 4y ago
  Yep. Everything turned to garbage when "it all went digital", in the early 2000s. Now every single electronic product from appliances to vehicles are completely broken. Even the average thermostat spazzes out. There's no standard for anything.
Akronymus 4y ago
And quite often the volume controls are linear, rather than exponential. Because we hear logarythmic, it then makes the top half almost useless, while in the lower parts it's way too sensitive.

stevage 4y ago

Well I like having separate up and down buttons on the steering wheel that I can use by feel. But a knob for the passenger too.