Re: repairs and obsolescence ish

On Thu, 8 May 2025 20:03:39 -0400, 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.

Nice idea, but there's a problem.  Ralph Nader was able to identify
numerous safety hazards in the automobiles made in the late 1960's.
Among them is getting impaled or punctured by projecting knobs and
switches.  Sorry, but flat and low profile are generally safer than
switches and controls with projecting levers.

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.

Good idea, but why reinvent the wheel?  You could have used
standardized Braille stickers instead.  You'll also find Braille
stickers on ATM machines, elevators, roadside phones, some toys, etc.

Also, look into ELIA Frames, a Braille alternative:
<https://theblindguide.com/braille-alternative-is-elia-frames/>

"ELIA Frames Font Explanation Video"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3If0ZWu7jHM>
"We have gone to great lengths testing and refining ELIA Frames to
maximize its learnability. Over 200,000 test subject responses were
collected and analyzed. The key design principle that was applied, in
order to leverage a person’s finger sensitivity, was to make each
character’s design simple but unique, and to space each letter’s
features far apart enough that they can be easily recognized."

--
Jeff Liebermann                 jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272      http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann      AE6KS    831-336-2558