Actual, genuine controls. I really miss them.

[dogbone]

I bought a cable so I could plug my monitors directly into the emac mini jack so I didn't have to have the soundcard on when I was just playing music.

But I found myself still using the monitors through the soundcard and I realised that the reason was that I like the actual real solid knob on the soundcard to control the volume. It even has a bonus tactile feedback. When I had that volume knob between my fingers I understood that something very important has vanished from our lives.

I realised that I am fracking well sick of all these faux-3D-glowing-blinking-sliding pretend stuff that has me interacting with the crt as if it's really got knobs on it. Every single application has their own take on trying to recreate the real world, down to a walnut burl on consoles. A friend of mine has a software mini moog but at least it had a piece of hardware with lots and lots of knobs linked to the software controlers.

 

[MACDRIVE]

I miss toggle switches.

 

[dogbone]

Of course. Faux toggle switches are amongst the knobs I hate the most in flight simulation software which has every type of fake device to adjust something that exists.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

why turn knobs when you can push buttons?
my my, this thread went off course quickly...

 

[MongoTheGeek]

why turn knobs when you can push buttons?
my my, this thread went off course quickly...

Cause buttons are digital.

A lot of fogies miss the analog uncertainties. We liked the idea that spock was twiddling pots on the phaser.
As opposed to twiddling other things on Nurse Chapel

 

[Legolamb]

I miss the carriage return.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

Cause buttons are digital.

A lot of fogies miss the analog uncertainties. We liked the idea that spock was twiddling pots on the phaser.
As opposed to twiddling other things on Nurse Chapel

i pressed the insinuation button (or turned the insinuation knob) if you couldn't tell

but yeah i know what you mean. we are at the start of a digital age, but sometimes you can't beat a good analogue system.

 

[TheBusDriver]

What I really hate is the digital knobs that just keep turning and turning and turning the volume stops but the knob keeps turning.

 

[Lixivial]

Every single application has their own take on trying to recreate the real world, down to a walnut burl on consoles.

What, you've something against Quicktime 4?

 

[MACDRIVE]

Hmm, I see that the thread title has been changed and one of my posts has disappeared. . .

 

[Thomas Veil]

There are certain places you really do miss good old fashioned knobs.

The car radio. Like when I'm about to pull out of the driveway and my wife appears at the car window to tell me something. Now, a knob, I can turn down the radio volume in a fraction of a second. But push-button controls, I have to find the down (not the nearly identical-looking up) button and wait as the volume leisurely decreases at the speed the radio wants to go. Pain in the ***.

TVs are the same way. The sun pours into my living room, I have to get the remote, push MENU, scroll down to the BRIGHTNESS menu item and then push the right-angle arrow button...and the brightness slo-o-owly increases. Then I have to push a couple more buttons to get out of the damn menu. I'm old enough to remember leaning over to the TV, turning up the brightness knob, and flash, in a half-second I'm done. No menus, no arrow buttons, no waiting, no bull****.

 

[Sesshi]

I like knobs too. Although some on this board may say I like being a knob.

Anyway, I use one of these hooked up to one of the PC's to cure me of my knob fetish. It works.