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Computers and Cars: A Maddening Experience?
Johnny writes "The nytimes has a review of the new BMW 745i iDrive system. The iDrive system combines some 270 functions, some accessable by voice, into one tactile feedback joystick mouse thingy. While maybe easier for computer junkies, the reviewer finds the interface 'maddening, especially at first' and wonders out loud what a car from Microsoft might be like, citing that the 745i offers a clue. Without a key, a floor shifter or really any buttons, this might be the future for cars, are the masses ready to wrestle with computers just to go to Wawa for milk?"
a WaWa is basically a 7-11 in the mid-atlantic states, and they seem to be everywhere (and I do mean EVERYWHERE). Some jokes regarding this include "You're from South Jersey if .... you know what a WaWa is, and can name the locations of about 10 of them," "You can give directions by where the WaWas are"
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
Yes, the BMW iDrive is really nifty. I remember reading about it in a Popular Science, for the first time, about a year ago. I enjoy cars, and I enjoy gadgets. The new BMWs, equipped with the iDrive, combine both into a powerful beast, worthy of only the best drivers. Then again, don't all new BMWs fit this shoe?
I can't wait to test drive one. A maddening experience it may be, but I'm sure years of gaming will help me get the hang of it quickly.
"European Car" magazine reviewed the new 7 series in their February, 2002 issue.
They mention that in 1953, the BWM 502 had 26 control and indicator functions. In the late 90's, the 7-series had over 70 functions, with as many indicators, and over 35 control elements (buttons, etc.)
Something *had* to be done to reduce the complexity of the cockpit. While driving down the road you do not want the person in the car next to you trying to figure out which of the 40 buttons on the dash controls what. You can do it by feel with more simple cars, but cars as advanced as the 7-series will be simply too much.
Most reviews I have read (I am a big car buff, especially BMWs) all say that once you get used to the system (go out in your driveway for a Saturday), you can figure the system out fairly quickly, and that using it (once you have it figured out) is actually easier than a bunch of buttons.
Also realize this is the first generation of the system. User interface will only get better.
I recently drove a Mercedes Benz C320 with the navigation system and cell phone options. They were all combined with the stereo onto one LCD. Once I figured out the relatively easy interface, I was able to do more by touch than I have been able to with other cars using buttons.
Having one consistent interface made things much easier.
About the only problem I foud, and the only problem mentioned in most reviews, is the ability to do multiple thigns at once. You cannot raise the stero's volume at the exact same time as you adjust the passenger-side heat.
- (c) 2018 Hank Zimmerman
Car controls have changed dramatically through the years. The high-beams used to be via a footswitch. Windshield wipers only moved onto a stalk on the console very recently. Transmission controls have varied widely: stalks, buttons, levers, etc. True, the main controls (wheel, throttle, brake) haven't moved too much, but one might argue there aren't many variations possible if you a) want to steer with two hands and b) want to speed up/slow down with your feet. There were tillers on some early cars, but the public tended to prefer the wheel. Also, remember that engine controls in the old days were incredibly complex, letting you adjust engine timing, butterfly valve settings, and myriad other features.
I think we've seen plenty of change. Just try to drive a car from the twenties or thirties some time.
-- We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of other people. La Rochefoucauld
the reviewer finds the interface 'maddening
I can see why, if the interface was designed by the same people who designed their website.
When I pulled up their site I got the worst mis-rendered disaster I have ever seen. I got a column of text wordwrapped at !!14!! characters. Some of the text was invisible on black background. I got random little lines all over the screen. I don't know if it's because I'm using Netscape. I don't konw it it's because I have cookies shut off. But I *do* know it's not just because I have JavaScripting shut off. How do I know? I tried turning it Java script on and reloading. It actually wound up rendering *less* of the page.
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Registration-free link
main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
Current car layouts (gear shifter generally obvious, steering wheel, key ignition in one of several common places, etc) are not "intuitive", either. Rather, they're "comfortable", because they don't deviate much from what you've been driving. Think about it. A Ford Model T and a Porsche 911 are still pretty similar in layout of the steering wheel, gear shift, gas, breaks, etc. Yes, the 911 may have things in slightly different places, and it certainly has many more options, but the point is that the layout is still similar to everything that's come before.
Now, before you say that the reason cars have the layout they do is because that layout is intuitive, let me say instead that that's certainly not the case. When cars were first being made, why didn't they use a "horse reigns"-like steering system, since that's what everybody was using before and thus must've been "intuitive"? Or why not a rudder lever like on a smaller boat, rather than the steering wheel from larger boats? Why gas on the right, break on the left? These things are not intuitive, but they're ingrained in us from long use. Think back when you first started driving. Did you just hop in the car and know how to do everything? Of course not, because it's not intuitive. But you learned, and having learned a certain way that's what you're comfortable with. And so, when a company tries to innovate and do something new, you complain because you have to read the manual to do what you think are "intuitive" tasks, even though you should be reading that manual anyway before driving the car away from the dealer.
OK, there may be some genuine safety advances that make the car more complicated, for example and air-conditioning system will help keep the windscreen from fogging up. But what functions do you need to drive a car safely?
BMW et al. can make running the stereo and other non-essential features as interesting as they want, so long as they don't mix them up with essential functions. People who get used to a particular UI aren't going to be the only people driving this car. Nor do we particlarly need a situation where you need a certification in a particular model of car before you can drive it safely.
Xix.
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
Okay, so you wrote a long skreed about how "intuitive" is a fundamentally meaningless term. Unfortunately, I think that's because you're confused about what "intuitive" means, as applied to technology and whatnot.
When I sat down at my first Mac in the summer of '84, I went through a fairly lengthy training program about how to use the mouse. It was the first thing that popped up when you turned on the computer, and it covered stuff like what "click" means, versus "click-and-hold," "click-and-drag," or "double-click." It pointed out the fact that you can pick up the mouse and move it to another place on the table without moving the pointer. These things weren't obvious. They had to be taught.
Years later, pretty much everybody in the 6-60 age bracket knows how to use a computer mouse. We think of computer mice as being "intuitive" because using them involves applying skills that we all acquired long ago.
But change some fundamental way that the mouse works. Say instead of using a button to click, you had to push the mouse forward slightly, then pull it back toward you. This would strike you as awkward and-- presto!-- unintuitive.
In this context, "unintuitive" means "differs from established custom in a significant and noticeable way."
So why are we blaming Microsoft for the iDrive? MS wrote the Windows CE OS that powers it, but BMW developed the iDrive interface. Why does that make it Microsoft's fault?
Not that I'm trying to defend MS, just if you are going to attack MS, do it from a rational reason, not a irrational one. Tell me about why Windows CE makes it bad (MS's fault), not why iDrive is bad (BMW's fault) before telling me it sucks because it uses MS.
(I do have a history of defending Microsoft by trashing irrational arguments, but mainly because I would prefer to see more intelligent discussion of why they suck and what they need to do better rather than knee-jerk anti-MS zealotry.)
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
How do you UN-punch this button when you've hit it by accident, in traffic?
if you punch the parking brake button
First: On-off switch is usually worse than freely adjustable, especially in brakes.
Second: Parking brake that uses same mechanics than main brakes leaves you without brakes when something critical fails. There are obvious reasons why parking brake is usually mechanic and fully separated from main brakes.
(to repeat something critically important that the other guy said)
Parking brakes are also for emergency use. What is the driver of this new fangled car going to do with the elecrtical system shorts out completly and there is no power. Not only does he have a fire under the hood, but there is no way to stop the car. Or what happens when the brake line break? Mechanical systems are subject to breakage you know.
"Parking brakes are also for emergency use. What is the driver of this new fangled car going to do with the elecrtical system shorts out completly and there is no power. Not only does he have a fire under the hood, but there is no way to stop the car. Or what happens when the brake line break? Mechanical systems are subject to breakage you know."
A few things about the goodness of mechanical emergency brakes...
They lock up only the rear wheels, this is actually better than all four. You can still steer with your front wheels rolling, but not without any wheels rolling.
Mechanical Brakes are SIMPLE. This matters when your car is inspected, and the LCD(Lowest Common D...) mechanic is quickly sweeping over a clueless drivers car. He might yank on the phsical cable and see that it it loose. But you can bet he won't spot the short in the wiring harness. By the way, auto wiring harnesses are now more expensive than most drivetrains in most cars.
If you battery fails and the car stalls will the E-brake still work?
Sounds to me like this beamer might be headed for trouble. Simple systems fail simply and predictably, complex systems might die giving the driver no clue on how to proceed.
I am not a mechanic, but I have worked as one in the past. I have disasembled cars put them back together and they worked. (mostly) :)
Novel theory: Modern Man evolved from psychopath