A mechanical switch is easy and cheap to fix or replace. A touch screen is the opposite. It cannot be repaired, only replaced. A switch can usually be cleaned easily, to restore its function. And proper quality switches can be actuated millions of times before failure.
robocat|6 years ago
Not if it is in an airplane. Think of all the QC steps required to track the production, storage, shipping, installation, testing, etcetera for the replacement of a single switch. If a switch has failed it needs to be inspected to understand the reason for failure (no switch should fail; tracked to understand if it is a batch failure, plus other steps). I am only making an educated guess here.
> A switch can usually be cleaned easily, to restore its function.
Ummm, you think they put known failed parts back in planes? I think not. They do fix major parts, but the QC for that would be insane. You would make a switch to be hermetic and add anti-tampering - a manufacturer of any safety related device doesn’t want it to be “fixed”. Items are designed to be maintained (with proper schedules), or replaced.
> And proper quality switches can be actuated millions of times before failure.
On average? Or does it have a bathtub curve? Yes, quality switches are insanely reliable, but so are touchscreens.
If you have a variety of 50 switches and knobs, then the reliability is worse than 50x worse, because every item has it’s own reliability curve, and it only takes one failure to muck up your day.
JensRex|6 years ago
Even less so if it's on the space station. Or on a Mars rover. But we're talking about cars. Something a lot of people like to mend for themselves.
JackRabbitSlim|6 years ago
A cheap phone or tablet hardly represent best of breed for the technology as a whole.
her5ahber5h|6 years ago