What's been a backwards step in technology for you?

[sheddy]

Smartphone - conversation killer, massive timewaster, makes some people unhappy.

 

[Nigeyy]

I had to laugh, I was only thinking that last week! I was looking at the strip of leds lighting up as though they were moving and thought: what better functionality does this provide? I'd imagine if one breaks it would provide enhanced functionality to emptying your wallet though!

There are definitely solutions out there that'll never find a problem. I'm reminded every time I see a newish Audi indicating to turn (so not too often)... those long strips of LEDs which light up sequentially, appearing to move in the direction that the car will turn.

Yes, because a flashing orange light on that side of the car was just too confusing.
Utterly, utterly pointless invention.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The early low energy bulbs. I’ve seen brighter and longer lasting matches.

 

[matticus]

Smartphone - conversation killer, massive timewaster, makes some people unhappy.

And you are genuinely excluded from some activities/cliques if you don't have one. Sad.

 

[byegad]

I like it, but I would not pay extra for it (assuming it's an option - idk). But at least Audi have long indicators that makes the pulsing action look ok. On other cars (Lexus and Range Rover come to mind), the indicators are so short that I cannot really tell if they are indicating or not.

Talking of car lights, new Vauxhall Astras have really small rear indicators and I see some cars like Nissans have really small front indicators that are right next to the LED DRL. In other cars, the DRL switches off when the indicator comes on which is far better.

Oh, another thing about those lights ... those dumb fog lights, which are now called turning lights, that come on when you turn the steering wheel. I cannot tell if someone is flashing at me and one of the lights is not working, or if they have the turning light on (in broad daylight no less).

Yes, the brighter lights we now see on cars can swamp indicator lights, if both are close to each other. It seems headlights, and even side lights, are brighter, but not indicators. Of course this is not such a problem now that only I and a dozen other drivers in the UK bother to indicate.

 

[Nigeyy]

Oh yes. Yes. Yes, 100%. Who thought this was the way forward?

I think touch screen car controls should be banned as a safety hazard. Granted you could feasibly setup voice control for the controls in a car, but then do you really need a touchscreen to do that? No.

Again, I'm no retrogrouch, but really who thought up the idea that touch screens without any form of tactile response were a good idea for controls such as heater or blower fan in a large and heavy moving object that demands concentration? Did they ever test what happens when you are driving and you want to adjust the heat, blower fan, etc? I don't say this very often, but it's stupidity at its finest and a definite step backwards.

Maybe I'll sound old, but what exactly was wrong with those tactile knobs and buttons?

...
Oh yeah, touch screens in cars = useless.

 

[Blue Hills]

I had to laugh, I was only thinking that last week! I was looking at the strip of leds lighting up as though they were moving and thought: what better functionality does this provide? I'd imagine if one breaks it would provide enhanced functionality to emptying your wallet though!

Very probably - I used to have an Audi - the pneumatic central locking went wonky once and that cost a bundle to fix - luckily I wasn't paying.

 

[ColinJ]

I thought about this today as I gave away my old Windows phone (I use Whatsapp and it was no longer supported and stopped working on the Windows phone, so bought a new phone last year). Though I have to say my first thought when I thought about this was: cars. What with the increase in complexity (ooh, all electric windows, mirrors, computerization, heated seats, etc, etc), it could be argued using a matchbox to fix the points on an Austin Cambridge is a preferable option, though of course modern cars probably wouldn't have ignition problems in the first place....

It's funny that you should mention that... I was out on a ride the other evening and it suddenly struck me that I couldn't remember the last time that I heard someone struggling to start their car. I was stuck behind a queue of modern cars at traffic lights and all of their engines had cut out. They all immediately started up again once the lights changed to green. That concept would (literally!) have been a non-starter in the 1960s or 1970s - somebody would have struggled to get going again and blocked the road.

That led me on to thinking that I also can't remember the last time that I saw or heard interference from a motor vehicle's electrics affecting TV or radio. (That is partly due to switching over to digital, but even before the big switchover, interference was almost a thing of the past.)

Another non-backwards step... Hugely-improved reliability of electronic devices. I am old enough to remember valve TVs and radios, and how often they went wrong. We must have had TV repairman round at least once a year. Nowadays, you'd be pretty disappointed if your TV went wrong within a 5 year warranty period.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Oh yes. Yes. Yes, 100%. Who thought this was the way forward?

I think touch screen car controls should be banned as a safety hazard. Granted you could feasibly setup voice control for the controls in a car, but then do you really need a touchscreen to do that? No.

Again, I'm no retrogrouch, but really who thought up the idea that touch screens without any form of tactile response were a good idea for controls such as heater or blower fan in a large and heavy moving object that demands concentration? Did they ever test what happens when you are driving and you want to adjust the heat, blower fan, etc? I don't say this very often, but it's stupidity at its finest and a definite step backwards.

Maybe I'll sound old, but what exactly was wrong with those tactile knobs and buttons?

Careful. You'll have the Tesla fans on to you for blasphemy, as on another recent thread.

 

[Black Sheep]

We've had a keyless entry car for 8 years & never put a physical lock on it or had it stolen, brilliant piece of kit.

A friend of mine had his Fiesta stolen twice in the space of a year, they got one of those boxes to keep the keys in after it was found the first time and repaired, got stolen the second time a month ago, the insurance waited a bit before declaring it a loss so he's got a Skoda on order now, I asked if that was keyless and was met with a pause and "oops"

I think touch screen car controls should be banned as a safety hazard. Granted you could feasibly setup voice control for the controls in a car, but then do you really need a touchscreen to do that? No.

Again, I'm no retrogrouch, but really who thought up the idea that touch screens without any form of tactile response were a good idea for controls such as heater or blower fan in a large and heavy moving object that demands concentration? Did they ever test what happens when you are driving and you want to adjust the heat, blower fan, etc? I don't say this very often, but it's stupidity at its finest and a definite step backwards.

Maybe I'll sound old, but what exactly was wrong with those tactile knobs and buttons?

I completely agree with the touch screen issue, thankfully our car offers a knob and button to be able to scroll through options on the screen as voice control is quite hit and miss "play album parklife" can either get me the album playing, or it can get a very confused sat nav that is asking me to clarify which park I want to go to. I then have to find a way of backing out of the menus until it will let me end voice command.

It's only the sat nav, in-built hands free and radio that are touch screen controlled, the first two of which you shouldn't be adjusting when driving anyway.

My first car was a mk1 Fiesta where the dash had a number of chunky rocker switches set into it in the centre, these were fairly difficult to find the correct one even once you'd got used to which was which (bottom left was hazard lights which you couldn't reach when strapped in!)

Thankfully it was a pretty simple car so it didn't matter, but to put things like wipers or lights or heater on the screen is effectively public endangerment on the part of the manufacturer.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Electronic handbrakes.

Of those I know who have the feature in their car, about 60% hate it.

 

[matticus]

on the subject of controls - digital controls for simple functions like ON/Off and Volume.
I see no benefit for these on radios etc. A chunky on/off switch just does the job. A rotary volume knob likewise - and you don't get the problem where "Level 1" is too loud for a little peaceful background music.
And you often need 2 hands to do something that used to take 1 finger!

/grouch

 

[weareHKR]

Dear me what a load of grouches...
As a service engineer (commercial) I spend probably 70% of a working day driving around the UK & Europe.
My vehicle has Central locking, Auto box or Trip Tronic if I should feel the need to do something, auto climate control, Auto wipers/lights, auto main beam, auto dip beam, touch screen &/or voice control for sat-nav, radio. lane discipline, auto cruise control, auto distance from the vehicle in front, auto-braking just in case I bob off temporarily, front, rear & side parking sensors including cross-traffic alert, reversing camera with guidance, blind spot mirrors (folding) Tyre pressure warning & the best thing 3 gold trophy awards depending on how economical I am with Accelerating, braking & gear changing! The vehicle ... Ford transit connect!
But no I'm not a big tech fan tbh...
Damn... I forgot the telephone wireless charger & text message facility + the USB ports for things with USB plugs!

 

[Once a Wheeler]

• The internal combustion engine: equivalent development resources put into the steam engine would possibly have resulted in acceptable transport systems with less pollution.
• The concentration on fast breeder and similar nuclear systems to the exclusion of sub-critical nuclear reactors. Sub-critical reactors have no practical route to making nuclear weapons, use up spent fuel from conventional reactors making it far less toxic and can be shut down for the week-end if required. There is no danger of melt-down or Chernobyl- and Fukushima -style accidents. Small-scale sub-critical reactors could be developed to power merchant shipping so removing a major source of greenhouse gases from the environment. The technology is proven and has been sidelined in favour of inferior alternatives.
• The obsolescence of morse-code communication. There are some situations where its use is still relevant.

 

[weareHKR]

• The internal combustion engine: equivalent development resources put into the steam engine would possibly have resulted in acceptable transport systems with less pollution.
• The concentration on fast breeder and similar nuclear systems to the exclusion of sub-critical nuclear reactors. Sub-critical reactors have no practical route to making nuclear weapons, use up spent fuel from conventional reactors making it far less toxic and can be shut down for the week-end if required. There is no danger of melt-down or Chernobyl- and Fukushima -style accidents. Small-scale sub-critical reactors could be developed to power merchant shipping so removing a major source of greenhouse gases from the environment. The technology is proven and has been sidelined in favour of inferior alternatives.
• The obsolescence of morse-code communication. There are some situations where its use is still relevant.

That's just common knowledge tho!