Thursday, March 06, 2025

Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital

So why have many product designers abandoned simple analog controls? Glenn Harlan Reynolds - Published: Sep 30, 2009 
Not so long ago, if I wanted to adjust the heat in my car, or the volume on my car radio, I could grab a nice, simple knob. 
  • Turn it to the right, and the car got warmer, or the radio got louder. 
  • Turn it the other way, and the opposite occurred. 
I could always sense how far I was adjusting things—without ever taking my eyes off the road—because millions of years of evolution have produced a neurological feedback mechanism that lets me know just how much I'm turning my wrist.
Easy, effective, intuitive. 
That's simply good design, right? 
You'd think...

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