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From: Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: repairs and obsolescence ish
Date: 9 May 2025 10:30:16 GMT
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Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@gXXmail.com> wrote:
> On 5/7/2025 12:38 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> On 7 May 2025 00:17:10 GMT, Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Rather depends on the how and the why, I believe has been a push back by
>>> consumers for example with car dashboards in that while screens and so on
>>> are fun, they’d like some buttons still please and so on.
>> 
>> There is hope for push buttons, in the name of safety.
>> 
>> "Rejoice! Carmakers Are Embracing Physical Buttons Again
>> Amazingly, reaction times using screens while driving are worse than
>> being drunk or high - no wonder 90 percent of drivers hate using
>> touchscreens in cars. Finally the auto industry is coming to its
>> senses."
>> <https://www.wired.com/story/why-car-brands-are-finally-switching-back-to-buttons/>
>> "Automakers that nest key controls deep in touchscreen menus forcing
>> motorists to drive eyes-down rather than concentrate on the road ahead
>> may have their non-US safety ratings clipped next year."
>> 
>> Sorry, but you'll need a Wired Magazine subscription to read the
>> entire article.  If you don't want a subscription, you might find the
>> reader comments interesting.
>> 
>> In my never humble opinion, buttons, touch screens, haptic feedback,
>> voice control, gestures, sign language and AI all have their good and
>> bad points.  The trick is to attach numbers (fatality rate, accident
>> rate, cost, fashion, etc) to the various schemes and settle on the
>> least disgusting and most tolerable method.
> 
> I greatly prefer physical buttons, switches, etc. while driving. 
> Fortunately my EV mostly uses those for common functions; but there's 
> still a problem. Many switches are flat, low profile and all in a dense 
> row. Even if I did memorize that something like "Defrost" was the third 
> one from the left, it would be difficult to locate it by touch.
> 
> A possible solution would be switches with covers, etc. molded in 
> different shapes that gave a clue about their function. I'm reminded of 
> the increase in airplane safety (in WW2, IIRC) when the pilot's lever 
> for "flaps" was shaped like a wing cross section. The adjacent lever for 
> "landing gear" was shaped like a wheel.
> 
> What I eventually did was get a pack of ~5mm self adhesive hemispherical 
> rubber bumpers. I stuck those on certain buttons, the ones I push most 
> often, so I could find them by touch. It was a big improvement.
> 

My old V70 which has been used for buttons are best type tests, ie get
folks to do various tasks while driving vs cars with touchscreens.

I certainly can and do adjust things by touch. Though I’d only use the
defroster on starting the car, once warmed up the Volvo’s aircon is
designed for Swedish winters so London temperatures are non issue, and
copes fine even in Welsh weather which would be closer to yours at least in
the hills.

Roger Merriman