4 ms·

While I always thought the large display to be rather silly, really I don't need a giant rectangle when knobs would do better for some functions, like radio or

While I always thought the large display to be rather silly, really I don't need a giant rectangle when knobs would do better for some functions, like radio or better yet the sunroof, I am more convinced that most cars bombard their users with too much information. while gearheads like myself want gauges/displays for as much as we can see most people need to know only a few items, namely speed, distance till empty, and time. Most displays should be treated like idiot lights, not visible until something is outside of nominal. A large display, or even the smallish display of my car's navigation system, are mostly overkill while not using any advanced function. At most show me the radio and go away.

rowyourboat 13y ago
The knobs are not silly. A well designed knobs-levers-and-buttons interface can be committed to muscle memory and operated without taking your eyes off the road.
mdorazio 13y ago
Keep in mind that traditional radio is rapidly becoming an unappealing choice for audio consumption by tech-savvy drivers. Slacker, iHeart, Pandora, Bluetooth streaming, etc. are slowly taking over the space and none of those can be interacted with via traditional physical buttons. I, too, strongly dislike the lack of tactile feedback on touch screens, and the lack of physical buttons for simple things like opening a sunroof is really annoying. But in reality it's becoming more and more difficult to keep all the hard buttons on a dash. Drivers and passengers want more options, customization, and media in their cars, not less. If you ignore their preferences too much they're just going to pick up their phones and use them while driving instead of messing with a clunky interface and screen lock-outs.
- Pxtl 13y ago
  > and none of those can be interacted with via traditional physical buttons. Was with you until this point. Yes, the UI is trickier, but if YouTube and Netflix and Twitch et al can be hammered into supporting the Roku and other non-touch-enabled set-top boxen, then the various audio-streamers need to get support for non-touchscreen-interfaces as well. Stick a D-pad and a "select/back" button on the steering wheel and do good old-fashioned arrow-key menu-nav.

rowyourboat 13y ago

The knobs are not silly. A well designed knobs-levers-and-buttons interface can be committed to muscle memory and operated without taking your eyes off the road.

mdorazio 13y ago

Keep in mind that traditional radio is rapidly becoming an unappealing choice for audio consumption by tech-savvy drivers. Slacker, iHeart, Pandora, Bluetooth streaming, etc. are slowly taking over the space and none of those can be interacted with via traditional physical buttons. I, too, strongly dislike the lack of tactile feedback on touch screens, and the lack of physical buttons for simple things like opening a sunroof is really annoying. But in reality it's becoming more and more difficult to keep all the hard buttons on a dash. Drivers and passengers want more options, customization, and media in their cars, not less. If you ignore their preferences too much they're just going to pick up their phones and use them while driving instead of messing with a clunky interface and screen lock-outs.

Pxtl 13y ago
> and none of those can be interacted with via traditional physical buttons. Was with you until this point. Yes, the UI is trickier, but if YouTube and Netflix and Twitch et al can be hammered into supporting the Roku and other non-touch-enabled set-top boxen, then the various audio-streamers need to get support for non-touchscreen-interfaces as well. Stick a D-pad and a "select/back" button on the steering wheel and do good old-fashioned arrow-key menu-nav.