I have the highest regard for these terse, but information-dense displays that enable humans to quickly grasp all information they need to do their jobs, and nothing more. This is also something avionics provide - a modern cockpit displays are a work of art in layering needed information for what is happening at the time, both the dense PFD and the much specific that communicate aircraft status.
UI designers who were trained in the currently-popular paradigm would be at a complete loss to design such things. "Swipe left from the home screen, tap the nothingness on the screen to reveal the controls overlay, find the ••• in one corner of the screen, tap "More" in the 3-item menu, and then tap 'Bond Quote' in the modal dialog that takes over the entire screen." Keyboard shortcuts? "Hmm... interesting idea. Never thought of that. We might add those in a V2."
We already see this in car interfaces. Clearly designed by people that don't drive, or at the very least have not tested it themselves while driving.
I got a rental the other day and while driving could not find the clock! I had to hit TWO BUTTONS on the infotainment touchscreen panel to get back to "home" and see the gd time. I was driving on curvy roads in Yosemite too. Truly abhorrent.
Also bad: When a software update moves essential elements around.
For the last three years I've looked at a particular location in my car for the clock. Then a software update moved it not just to a different location on the screen, but to an entirely different screen.
Three years of muscle memory is probably going to take another three years to un-do.
(For those of you who don't understand why a clock is an essential part of driving, it's so I know if I can park in a 9a-4p zone, or if it's the time of day when I can use the reversible lanes in my direction of travel, or if I can use the lanes that are HOV sometimes and HOT at other times, or a hundred other things.)
The same software update moved the wiper locking controls (for car washes) from a button on the left steering column stalk to a menu option four levels deep on the center screen.
That's definitely surprising in this age. Could you change the air conditioner ui to celsius? But changing to kph is not something I expect by default in _every_ car. I do expect a visible clock in every car though.
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reaperducer · · focus · HN ↗
For the last three years I've looked at a particular location in my car for the clock. Then a software update moved it not just to a different location on the screen, but to an entirely different screen.
Three years of muscle memory is probably going to take another three years to un-do.
(For those of you who don't understand why a clock is an essential part of driving, it's so I know if I can park in a 9a-4p zone, or if it's the time of day when I can use the reversible lanes in my direction of travel, or if I can use the lanes that are HOV sometimes and HOT at other times, or a hundred other things.)
The same software update moved the wiper locking controls (for car washes) from a button on the left steering column stalk to a menu option four levels deep on the center screen.
steezeburger · · focus · HN ↗
sidewndr46 · · focus · HN ↗
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