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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Throttle Should Be A Cable.

In automobiles:

  • Throttle should be a cable or a linkage.
  • Brakes should be hydraulic.
  • Steering should be mechanical.
  • Shifters should be a cable or a linkage.
  • Lights should be wires and relays.
  • The radio should have a dedicated volume knob.

    Always. Anything beyond these is a step into the Realm of Bad Ideas.

    oh, and one more:
  • The default failure mode when sh*t goes haywire should NOT be "Uncontrolled Full-Throttle Acceleration You Can't Do Anything About No Matter What You Try Including Turning Off The Ignition, Shifting to Reverse, and Standing on the Brakes.

    ********

    I always thought that drive-by-wire was a [deleted] stupid idea. When I heard of commercial passenger aircraft going to fly-by-wire instead of direct hydraulic controls, I got a case of the creeping willies. Airplanes go through ridonculous amounts of safety testing. Cars are, by comparison, a very slapdash affair. Just ask this guy, who used to design Fords, and would never buy one.
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