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[...] Innovation is a funny thing. I’ve seen a few say recently that everything possible has already been thought up. To quote Dave "Someone, somewhere, already had the conversation that you and your buddy are drawing out on a napkin over beers." There’s also that email being passed around that supposedly quotes Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents in 1899 at saying "Everything that can be invented has been invented" and then some nonsense about the patent office actually shutting down for a time because they thought there was nothing left to patent. I didn’t spend the quality time with Google to see if that actually happened, I’ll simply hope that it didn’t. So moving beyond the overused cliché about necessity, I wonder what prompts some particular innovation. Is it a careful evaluation of a products short comings? Is the result of thorough UAT to improve usage? Or is it simply because we can. Along with an increased displacement to a wonderful round 6.0 liters (read: yes, you can have my first born in trade), the 2005 Corvette includes a host of "innovative", new-to-Chevrolet features. Since I can’t seem to get off my UI kick, let’s focus on one that should be fairly straight forward from a user standpoint. The ignition. Every morning my C5 requires such basic attention from me that I can usually start her up even before the intervenes Starbucks feed. Key in, turn to "On", engine fires. I’ll leave the (not-so) complicated procedure to turn off the car to your imagination. For years this reliable and simplistic procedure has served us all quite well and shown no need for enhancement. Enter your friendly GM engineer. Along with several other late model cars including the Honda S2000, Toyota Prius, and Cadillac XLR, the C6 now includes a push button ignition. A key is no longer required, simply push the "Start" button on the dash and the LS2 engine breathes life. Chevrolet is touting it as one of the best new features on the vehicle. But what was the reason for the change? It wasn’t necessity, the old way got us through 50+ years. Improved functionality? Lets see what improvements the new way offers. 1) You no longer have to remove your keys from your pocket to enter or start the car (proximity of the correctly paired key fob also unlocks the door). 2) Possibly improved theft deterrence. 3) Is there a third reason? I’m stuck at 2. So fair enough, 2 enhancements sound great. Technology moving forward is why I wake up in the morning. But before you feel completely jaded by continuing payments on that antiquated "key turner" you’ve got sitting in the drive way, consider also the draw backs of this new fangeled system. The key fob is paired to a receiver in the car, they must have matching codes. A code which is lost if either the key fob battery dies or if the car is disconnected from the battery. I assume there is a simple re-paring procedure for these events. But what I haven’t read is what happens in that moment when your door wont unlock because the $1.25 battery in your keyfob has passed on. The Prius decided that if all the technology fails, we’ll just give you back your key…there is a key cleverly embedded inside the key fob, which can be removed to unlock the door or start the car. I could be mistaken, but I don’t believe there is even a key hole on the new Vette. So if not being able to open the door to drive your premium performance vehicle under such a circumstance isn’t enough to make you question the technology, take a look at the GM posted tech article explaining the operation of the new keyless ignition system. By my count there are 7 different vehicle states in which pressing the ignition button will produce 7 different results. And yes, it’s a two position switch, you do the math. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, "On" and "Off" just consumed two pages of your new car owner’s manual. I might suggest a Grande Carmel Mocha and a calculator before reading the chapter on putting gas in this sucker. So to repeat a theme, doesn’t increasing the complexity of something this simple invite greater possibility for failure? Be it human or technology. We’ve taken a state of "on" or "off," (ironically the root of everything digital) and muddied it with additional options. There is an inherent complexity that now exists in this user interface which could cause the user to receive unexpected results, leading them to frustration and possibly dissatisfaction in the product. I have the growing concern that this kind of over engineering "because we can" is spreading to the mass consumer market, with only a thickening user guide to comfort us. So Dave, while your point is well taken, hold your hat, they just managed to reinvent (and complicate) the on/off button. [...]
December 14th, 2005 at 8:21 pm
[...] Innovation is a funny thing. I’ve seen a few say recently that everything possible has already been thought up. To quote Dave "Someone, somewhere, already had the conversation that you and your buddy are drawing out on a napkin over beers." There’s also that email being passed around that supposedly quotes Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents in 1899 at saying "Everything that can be invented has been invented" and then some nonsense about the patent office actually shutting down for a time because they thought there was nothing left to patent. I didn’t spend the quality time with Google to see if that actually happened, I’ll simply hope that it didn’t. So moving beyond the overused cliché about necessity, I wonder what prompts some particular innovation. Is it a careful evaluation of a products short comings? Is the result of thorough UAT to improve usage? Or is it simply because we can. Along with an increased displacement to a wonderful round 6.0 liters (read: yes, you can have my first born in trade), the 2005 Corvette includes a host of "innovative", new-to-Chevrolet features. Since I can’t seem to get off my UI kick, let’s focus on one that should be fairly straight forward from a user standpoint. The ignition. Every morning my C5 requires such basic attention from me that I can usually start her up even before the intervenes Starbucks feed. Key in, turn to "On", engine fires. I’ll leave the (not-so) complicated procedure to turn off the car to your imagination. For years this reliable and simplistic procedure has served us all quite well and shown no need for enhancement. Enter your friendly GM engineer. Along with several other late model cars including the Honda S2000, Toyota Prius, and Cadillac XLR, the C6 now includes a push button ignition. A key is no longer required, simply push the "Start" button on the dash and the LS2 engine breathes life. Chevrolet is touting it as one of the best new features on the vehicle. But what was the reason for the change? It wasn’t necessity, the old way got us through 50+ years. Improved functionality? Lets see what improvements the new way offers. 1) You no longer have to remove your keys from your pocket to enter or start the car (proximity of the correctly paired key fob also unlocks the door). 2) Possibly improved theft deterrence. 3) Is there a third reason? I’m stuck at 2. So fair enough, 2 enhancements sound great. Technology moving forward is why I wake up in the morning. But before you feel completely jaded by continuing payments on that antiquated "key turner" you’ve got sitting in the drive way, consider also the draw backs of this new fangeled system. The key fob is paired to a receiver in the car, they must have matching codes. A code which is lost if either the key fob battery dies or if the car is disconnected from the battery. I assume there is a simple re-paring procedure for these events. But what I haven’t read is what happens in that moment when your door wont unlock because the $1.25 battery in your keyfob has passed on. The Prius decided that if all the technology fails, we’ll just give you back your key…there is a key cleverly embedded inside the key fob, which can be removed to unlock the door or start the car. I could be mistaken, but I don’t believe there is even a key hole on the new Vette. So if not being able to open the door to drive your premium performance vehicle under such a circumstance isn’t enough to make you question the technology, take a look at the GM posted tech article explaining the operation of the new keyless ignition system. By my count there are 7 different vehicle states in which pressing the ignition button will produce 7 different results. And yes, it’s a two position switch, you do the math. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, "On" and "Off" just consumed two pages of your new car owner’s manual. I might suggest a Grande Carmel Mocha and a calculator before reading the chapter on putting gas in this sucker. So to repeat a theme, doesn’t increasing the complexity of something this simple invite greater possibility for failure? Be it human or technology. We’ve taken a state of "on" or "off," (ironically the root of everything digital) and muddied it with additional options. There is an inherent complexity that now exists in this user interface which could cause the user to receive unexpected results, leading them to frustration and possibly dissatisfaction in the product. I have the growing concern that this kind of over engineering "because we can" is spreading to the mass consumer market, with only a thickening user guide to comfort us. So Dave, while your point is well taken, hold your hat, they just managed to reinvent (and complicate) the on/off button. [...]