Great reporting but a seriously frustrating read. A really unfortunate case of bad user interface design resulting in lives being lost. Having to rely on touch screen controls in such a high pressure situation seems like a total nightmare, no matter how well designed the software interface may be. I abhor the use of touch controls in cars. I was happy to read that Mazda is removing touch screens from all their cars. Nice to know that I'll have at least one option if I ever have to get rid of my 13 year old car.
There are definitely some lessons to learn here for us software developers. Thankfully there's no chance of lives being lost when my own software (frequently) fails, malfunctions, or is misunderstood and misused.
I abhor the use of touch controls in cars.
I vaguely recall back when Tesla announced their next model would have a big touchscreen on its dashboard. Most of my friends thought it would be awesome, while I thought I would really miss physical buttons that I could memorise the feel of and use without looking. After being in one of those cars and seeing how it's used, I'm actually a bit less negative to them. Sure your life is in peril whenever you change the radio station, but that huge navigation map is pretty sweet. But of course, bugs and crashes.
Sure your life is in peril whenever you change the radio station, but that huge navigation map is pretty sweet.
Ha! 90%+ of consumer sentiment in a nutshell.
That lawsuit you linked to is super interesting. Flash memory wearing out prematurely due to logging. Sounds about right! I'd rather do mechanical maintenance and repairs than deal with that nonsense any day of the week.
I wish I could look forward to saving up and buying a Tesla one day. Electric cars make a ton of sense and their drivetrains are super impressive but all the tech really puts me off. I was watching a YouTube review of a recent model and people were accidently activating touch-sensitive controls while trying to turn with the new steering yoke. It seemed at least as ridiculous as the navigation controls on this ship!
Great reporting but a seriously frustrating read. A really unfortunate case of bad user interface design resulting in lives being lost. Having to rely on touch screen controls in such a high pressure situation seems like a total nightmare, no matter how well designed the software interface may be. I abhor the use of touch controls in cars. I was happy to read that Mazda is removing touch screens from all their cars. Nice to know that I'll have at least one option if I ever have to get rid of my 13 year old car.
There are definitely some lessons to learn here for us software developers. Thankfully there's no chance of lives being lost when my own software (frequently) fails, malfunctions, or is misunderstood and misused.
I vaguely recall back when Tesla announced their next model would have a big touchscreen on its dashboard. Most of my friends thought it would be awesome, while I thought I would really miss physical buttons that I could memorise the feel of and use without looking. After being in one of those cars and seeing how it's used, I'm actually a bit less negative to them. Sure your life is in peril whenever you change the radio station, but that huge navigation map is pretty sweet. But of course, bugs and crashes.
Ha! 90%+ of consumer sentiment in a nutshell.
That lawsuit you linked to is super interesting. Flash memory wearing out prematurely due to logging. Sounds about right! I'd rather do mechanical maintenance and repairs than deal with that nonsense any day of the week.
I wish I could look forward to saving up and buying a Tesla one day. Electric cars make a ton of sense and their drivetrains are super impressive but all the tech really puts me off. I was watching a YouTube review of a recent model and people were accidently activating touch-sensitive controls while trying to turn with the new steering yoke. It seemed at least as ridiculous as the navigation controls on this ship!