Month: July 2024

Enlarge / The left spoke has controls for adaptive cruise control and lane keeping, the right spoke is for controlling settings and audio functions. (credit: Volkswagen)

Of all the recent trends in automotive technology and design, the adoption of capacitive controls over mechanical switches and buttons—particularly on multifunction steering wheels—is among the most deplorable. One can see the appeal to the designer—slick-looking fiat panels trump dust-attracting seams, for starters. The bean counters love them, too—it takes less time to install the subassemblies, and that means a little more profit per car. It's just that they suck. And now, some Volkswagen drivers say capacitive buttons are to blame for their car crashes.

Capacitive buttons require only the lightest of touches to register a button push. That's mostly a positive thing for buttons on the center console, but when those controls are on bits of trim you might touch by accident, you can run into problems.

For example, capacitive buttons are sometimes put on the spokes of a multifunction steering wheel, as in the image above. In some maneuvers—parking, for example—it's possible to brush either one of the panels of buttons with a palm. If it's the spoke on the right side, an accidental touch will just mess with the audio system, which is annoying and perhaps a bit distracting.

Enlarge / The Computer History Museum, where we'll be meeting for our Bay Area adventure on September 18! (credit: SpVVK / Getty Images)

Howdy, Arsians! Last year, we partnered with IBM to host an in-person event in the Houston area where we all gathered together, had some cocktails, and talked about resiliency and the future of IT. Location always matters for things like this, and so we hosted it at Space Center Houston and had our cocktails amidst cool space artifacts. In addition to learning a bunch of neat stuff, it was awesome to hang out with all the amazing folks who turned up at the event. Much fun was had!

This year, we're back partnering with IBM again and we're looking to repeat that success with not one, but two in-person gatherings—each featuring a series of panel discussions with experts and capping off with a happy hour for hanging out and mingling. Where last time we went central, this time we're going to the coasts—both east and west. Read on for details!

September: San Jose, California

Our first event will be in San Jose on September 18, and it's titled "Beyond the Buzz: An Infrastructure Future with GenAI and What Comes Next." The idea will be to look at what generative AI means for the future of data management.