4 ms·
Is it really? Touchscreens and the tech stack to drive them aren't exactly simplistic. A handful of simple switches and a few rheostats seems like it'd be cheap
by forgetfreeman 2y ago
Is it really? Touchscreens and the tech stack to drive them aren't exactly simplistic. A handful of simple switches and a few rheostats seems like it'd be cheaper if for no other reason they don't invoke the avalanche of dumb shit that kicks off whenever software is brought into a project.
- Gare 2y agoLabor also isn't getting cheaper, and someone has to assemble and test all those switches. You can automate... but LCD touchscreen is simpler.
- forgetfreeman 2y agoI strongly doubt mass produced commodity components like switches are hand assembled or individually tested. It's typical for random samples, say one in a thousand, to be pulled from a batch for testing.
- baobabKoodaa 2y agoIf you are asking which of these things is more likely: A) The developer chose a touch screen to make the build easier and cheaper B) The developer has never seen physical buttons The answer is A)
- stavros 2y agoYou think it's faster to get a bunch of switches and rheostats, CAD components so that they fit together while looking like a Winamp skin that looks like a physical device, get them manufactured, test them, do the above five more times to get everything perfect, sand/paint the components to get the specific look, and wire them all up than to throw some CSS lines and HTML elements on a screen?
- bongodongobob 2y agoHonestly since I don't do UI, yes. I also think it's a little weird to think that is particularly difficult. It's really not.
- stavros 2y agoI didn't say "difficult", I said "faster". I do both, and CSS is an order of magnitude faster, maybe more.
- bongodongobob 2y agoOk but most of the things you listed don't need to be done. You don't need CAD or custom manufactured parts. Just some model paint. If you want to get nitty gritty about it you left out language support, accessibility, unit tests, version control, and documentation out of the UI portion.
- stavros 2y agoHow am I going to make the little buttons, the frame, the rails for the pots, etc? If I have to 3D print them, I need to model them.
- olyjohn 2y agoSome metal and a drill and a tape measure. What ever did people do before 3d printers?
- bongodongobob 2y agoYou can buy all of these things. None of that needs to be custom made.
- forgetfreeman 2y agoFor a one-off project probably not, for the larger ecosystem time's going to get spent on case design and debugging manufacturing regardless so any gains there are a rounding error. That said I've seen talented designers spend weeks chasing cross-browser bugs and I knew a guy who could lay out and solder an entire mixing board over a long weekend so I'm not convinced the time savings are real.
- TeMPOraL 2y ago1) Economies of scale. One touchscreen factory replaces arbitrary number of switches and sliders and buttons of all shape and size. 2) Who says anything about touchscreens? Most touch interfaces your interact with aren't displays - they're capacitive buttons. Think your induction stove, or a powerbank, or any other random device you have to touch just right to turn on. Capacitive buttons are dumb pieces of solid-state electronics. Zero moving parts. Zero things to break (except maybe status LED that shines through them so you know where to touch). Cheap as dirt. The future sucks because it wasn't created for improved quality or functionality - it was created because it was cheaper than the old-school way before it.