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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals: Also, trucks for Jawbone

Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals: Also, trucks for Jawbone (Page 2)
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ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 26, 2018, 09:54 PM
 
Heh. You have to understand a bit about the auto industry. New tech is usually slowly introduced in waves, so there’ll be overlap within the vehicle lineup. The 2017 CRV was a complete late-year redesign with a new button/knob system that apparently addressed complaints about the older systems. The 2017 Civic is a rollover of the 2016 Civic which used the older buttonless system (which did not have the volume knob, which is one of the particular complaints). A newly redesigned vehicle will be rolled forward as-is for a few years, and then probably given a system facelift to the newer CR-V technology down the road.

The Ridgeline was also a totally new design but went to market a few months earlier, and maybe to accommodate production or save some development costs, Honda decided to use the older (existing) system. I thought about waiting for a future update but got a good deal on the used 2017, so....
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subego
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Mar 26, 2018, 11:16 PM
 
Am I reading this right? They tried to ditch the volume knob?
     
Laminar
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Mar 27, 2018, 04:22 PM
 
My car doesn't have a volume knob, it has a touch slider. It's not as bad as you think.



But then the whole console is capacitive touch. Well, except for the touchscreen, that's resistive. It's...bad.
     
subego
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Mar 27, 2018, 05:31 PM
 
Is the slider actually improving the experience, or did they change it just to change it?

I’m hardly a Luddite, but I haven’t seen anyone actually improve on a knob directly to the right of the steering wheel. That’s a really good UI.
     
andi*pandi
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Mar 27, 2018, 05:34 PM
 
The only thing better is tactile controls ON the steering wheel. I had a loaner with touchscreen, and while driving could not read the tiny text, or see where to tap. Would I have gotten used to it? Maybe. But do I really want to when there's 17 other more important things to stuff in my brain? No.
     
subego
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Mar 27, 2018, 05:43 PM
 
Originally Posted by andi*pandi View Post
The only thing better is tactile controls ON the steering wheel.
Honestly, this is a big part of what of why I made the comment. When I had volume on the steering wheel, it was still way more natural to use the knob.

Skipping tracks was better from the steering wheel, though.
     
Thorzdad
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Mar 27, 2018, 07:34 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
I’m hardly a Luddite, but I haven’t seen anyone actually improve on a knob directly to the right of the steering wheel. That’s a really good UI.
This. I still drive an old VW, and love that all the controls are tactile and right where they should be every time I reach for them. Muscle memory FTW.

I often wonder how many automobile engineers or industrial designers lost their jobs for arguing too hard against any UI that requires the driver to take their eyes off the road.
     
ghporter
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Mar 27, 2018, 09:11 PM
 
They DID ditch the volume knob, for a few iterations of the system, at least. They brought it back, apparently, due to customer feedback.

The slider on the steering wheel is a real benefit while driving. It's easier to slide the volume up or down than to click the increment/decrement buttons - and faster too.

What I don't understand if why there's a slider control on my wife's Civic steering wheel that doesn't slide...

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
subego
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Mar 27, 2018, 10:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
The slider on the steering wheel is a real benefit while driving. It's easier to slide the volume up or down than to click the increment/decrement buttons - and faster too.
I could see that working better. I had buttons.
     
Laminar
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Mar 27, 2018, 11:42 PM
 


Big, prominent knob right in the middle is the volume right? WRONG you just changed the station.
     
BLAZE_MkIV
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Mar 27, 2018, 11:51 PM
 
What really confuses me is the temp controls. My car has a thermostat.
     
ShortcutToMoncton
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Mar 29, 2018, 06:56 AM
 
I’m a button man myself. Capacitive buttons that require you to look at them are a horrible idea for a driver IMO - Honda went heavily in that direction but seem to have come back around. On the other hand, I only ever use the volume buttons on the steering wheel, so you get used to that feature pretty quickly - it’s much faster.

I like temp controls myself. Set it to 19 C and you know pretty much what you’re getting. And bonus is it allows the car to pre-heat or pre-cool for a few minutes in the summer or winter if you remote start.
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Jawbone54  (op)
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Mar 29, 2018, 02:29 PM
 
Yep. The first thing my dad said when he sat in my truck was, "Look at that. Real buttons! Hallelujah."

It's nearly impossible to blindly adjust capacitive buttons — not dissimilar from the iPhone gaming debate.
     
Laminar
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Apr 2, 2018, 10:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton View Post
I’m a button man myself. Capacitive buttons that require you to look at them are a horrible idea for a driver IMO - Honda went heavily in that direction but seem to have come back around.
Ford, too.

2010 Edge, all buttons:


2011 Edge, volume knob only, everything else is touch:


2015 Edge, back to all buttons:
     
Jawbone54  (op)
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Apr 2, 2018, 10:37 AM
 
Side note: the 2011 and 2015 seem to a step backward aesthetically.

Tiny buttons everywhere with so much unused space surrounding. I don't get it.
     
andi*pandi
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Apr 2, 2018, 01:09 PM
 
all same size button easy to manufacture, but not easy to tell apart tactilely, or without reading glasses.
     
BLAZE_MkIV
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Apr 2, 2018, 11:33 PM
 
What you need to do is place them so theres some edge or feature that you can use to locate you hand to identify the correct button. ex: f & j on keyboard.
     
Laminar
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Apr 3, 2018, 09:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by BLAZE_MkIV View Post
What you need to do is place them so theres some edge or feature that you can use to locate you hand to identify the correct button. ex: f & j on keyboard.
But you can't brush your finger against the surface without pressing several buttons. Imagine the usefulness of bumps on the f and j keys if the entire keyboard is a single touch panel. How many keys would you hit trying to find the nubs by feel?

Trying to adjust the climate control usually results in changing the audio source, and hitting the AC button usually means ejecting the CD.
     
subego
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Apr 3, 2018, 10:08 AM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
ejecting the CD
     
 
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