So why did you specify that the controls should be balled if you intended them to be used without looking at them? On 18 July 2014 21:08, Vitaliy M wrote: > Sounds contrived. I adjust the volume and set/adjust cruise using the > steering wheel controls, without taking my eyes off the road. > > Sent from my phone > > > On Jul 18, 2014, at 12:39, David C Brown wrote: > > > > Two buttons labelled "forwards" and "backwards" would be excellent if i= t > > was light enough to read the labels. But slide projectors are usually > > operated in a darkened room and, as I have discovered to my > embarrassment, > > it is very easy to confuse the two buttons. You could label them in > > Braille I suppose but that, for all but the registered blind, would be = as > > counter-intuitive as the single button so;ition. > > > > > >> On 18 July 2014 19:58, Vitaliy M wrote: > >> > >> It takes an engineer to argue that a single button projector interface > is > >> "reasonable". 'Cause, you know, a two-button interface (back/forward) = is > >> unnecessary luxury. :) > >> > >> "The concept of an intuitive user interface is deeply flawed". Not > really. > >> Few men would be baffled by two buttons labeled "forward" and "back". = On > >> the other hand, there are documented cases of people baffled by the > >> "clever" single-button UI. > >> > >>> And a designer who thinks his > >>> interface is intuitive also thinks that that spareshim the necessity = of > >>> documenting it. > >> > >> Non-sequitur, but I'll bite. I've never read my iPhone manual. But eve= ry > >> time I go to use my air-air handheld, I am convinced that the guys who > >> designed the UI, were guided by the motto "Screw intuitive UI, RTFM". > >> > >> Sent from my phone > >> > >>> On Jul 18, 2014, at 11:30, David C Brown wrote: > >>> > >>> Panel space is the main limitation, along with the number of inputs t= o > >> the > >>> PIC. O remember that slide projector interface used to be common an= d > >>> rarely caused problems. It is not unreasonable to expect users to ha= ve > >>> some familiarity with the equipment that they are using. The concep= t > of > >>> an intuitive user interface is deeply flawed since what is intuitive = to > >> one > >>> man is deeply baffling to another. And a designer who thinks his > >>> interface is intuitive also thinks that that spareshim the necessity = of > >>> documenting it. /rant > >>> > >>> > >>>> On 18 July 2014 19:01, Vitaliy M wrote: > >>>> > >>>> Why is "minimum panel hardware", important for this project? Cost, > size > >>>> limitations, ... ? > >>>> > >>>> A note of caution: engineers are known for being proud of clever > >>>> solutions, at the expense of usability. > >>>> > >>>> In one of the books on UI design, the author cites an example of a > slide > >>>> projector, where a single button was used to control the slide show. > >> Click > >>>> once to advance to the next slide. Hold the button for one second, t= o > go > >>>> back. Genius! Except when an unfamiliar user is asked to run the > >> projector, > >>>> and the slides start to jump back and forth. The engineer shaved $0.= 10 > >> off > >>>> a $200 BOM, whoop-dee-doo. > >>>> > >>>> If it's a one-off device, for your use, cost of the UI shouldn't be = an > >>>> issue. If it's something you're expecting to ship in volume, I would > try > >>>> hard to make the UI as intuitive as practical. > >>>> > >>>> Sent from my phone > >>>> > >>>>> On Jul 18, 2014, at 6:17, David C Brown wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> I am building a simple pulse generator using an LTC6903 "synthesise= r > >>>> chip" > >>>>> and a few TTL chips. The range will be from about 0.1Hz to 68MHz a= nd > >> the > >>>>> frequency is set, geometrically, by a 15 bit control word. I will > be > >>>>> using a PIC16F87 to control the synthesiser and drive a display. > >>>>> > >>>>> My problem is how to set the frequency by hand using the minimum > panel > >>>>> hardware. I need control at the finest level, stepping the contro= l > >>>>> register by one but also need to be able to make large frequency > shifts > >>>>> quickly, perhaps stepping the register by 2^10 > >>>>> > >>>>> I have studied this for some time and come up with several solution= s, > >> non > >>>>> of them entirely satisfactory, but I would appreciate, in the first > >>>>> instance, suggestions which are not influenced by my thinking. > >>>>> -- > >>>>> __________________________________________ > >>>>> David C Brown > >>>>> 43 Bings Road > >>>>> Whaley Bridge > >>>>> High Peak Phone: 01663 733236 > >>>>> Derbyshire eMail: dcb.home@gmail.com > >>>>> SK23 7ND web: www.bings-knowle.co.uk/dcb > >>>>> > >>>>> -- > >>>>> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > >>>>> View/change your membership options at > >>>>> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > >>>> > >>>> -- > >>>> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > >>>> View/change your membership options at > >>>> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> __________________________________________ > >>> David C Brown > >>> 43 Bings Road > >>> Whaley Bridge > >>> High Peak Phone: 01663 733236 > >>> Derbyshire eMail: dcb.home@gmail.com > >>> SK23 7ND web: www.bings-knowle.co.uk/dcb > >>> > >>> -- > >>> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > >>> View/change your membership options at > >>> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > >> > >> -- > >> http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > >> View/change your membership options at > >> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > __________________________________________ > > David C Brown > > 43 Bings Road > > Whaley Bridge > > High Peak Phone: 01663 733236 > > Derbyshire eMail: dcb.home@gmail.com > > SK23 7ND web: www.bings-knowle.co.uk/dcb > > > > -- > > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > > View/change your membership options at > > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > -- > http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > -- __________________________________________ David C Brown 43 Bings Road Whaley Bridge High Peak Phone: 01663 733236 Derbyshire eMail: dcb.home@gmail.com SK23 7ND web: www.bings-knowle.co.uk/dcb -- http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist .