Too Many Symbols - Not Enough Words

[TheProfessor]

So I have some new appliances.

My new Whirlpool microwave just has symbols. No words for ON or OFF.
No words for the fan. Just a symbol.

Today, I noticed that Outlook mail has removed the word DELETE and replaced it with a symbol.

[mcdude]

I hate that there are no buttons or knobs on the radio in my new truck. To do anything you have to press something on the touch screen. This is not progress.

[Poor Richard]

A picture is worth 1000 words, is it not?

[garysanfran]

In my world, out here on the left-coast in a corrected environment for everyone. All printed material is in about 100 different languages. Gotta accommodate everyone you know.

Any appliances needing written words will not be understood by a large percentage of the population if written in English only.

Now you can make an appliance in any country, for any country.

[Outdoorsman]

Cave Men used to use pictures to tell a story...

Progress?

[SailinAway]

What's a microwave?

[Descant]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

What's a microwave?

That's what the Russian use top spy on our embassies. With some patience the microwaves can pop popcorn. Imagine what they do to your circulatory system!

[tis]

I totally agree. I sometimes understand a foreign language better than some of these symbols.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Poor Richard

A picture is worth 1000 words, is it not?

Pictures have come to our highways, but I worry what the sign "Wrong Way" means to drivers from afar...

[jbolty]

Originally Posted by mcdude

I hate that there are no buttons or knobs on the radio in my new truck. To do anything you have to press something on the touch screen. This is not progress.

Looking at your phone while driving is a violation but it's ok to stare at a video screen to turn up the defroster. I hate all that crap and can't stand adding so called tech to a simple process. Heat, vent, defrost. Fan low, med, high. why was that bad?

[SailinAway]

Originally Posted by jbolty

Looking at your phone while driving is a violation but it's ok to stare at a video screen to turn up the defroster. I hate all that crap and can't stand adding so called tech to a simple process. Heat, vent, defrost. Fan low, med, high. why was that bad?

What I find disturbing is the learning curve to master basic functions in a car. Three years ago I bought a new car in Salem and had to drive it home after dark, in the rain, over unfamiliar roads. I couldn't figure out how to operate the lights or the windshield wipers. Three years later, I still don't know exactly how the front and rear wipers work---I just try all the buttons and settings randomly. There are at least 13 settings just for the wipers. Same for the menu---to adjust something I have to hunt through the manual because NOTHING IS INTUITIVE. For safety, such things should be obvious and intuitive and not rely on a good memory.

The principle at work here is that designers don't care a bit about the user experience. They're not asking us the simple questions, what do you need/not need? What do you want/not want?

[Newbiesaukee]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

What I find disturbing is the learning curve to master basic functions in a car. Three years ago I bought a new car in Salem and had to drive it home after dark, in the rain, over unfamiliar roads. I couldn't figure out how to operate the lights or the windshield wipers. Three years later, I still don't know exactly how the front and rear wipers work---I just try all the buttons and settings randomly. There are at least 13 settings just for the wipers. Same for the menu---to adjust something I have to hunt through the manual because NOTHING IS INTUITIVE. For safety, such things should be obvious and intuitive and not rely on a good memory.

The principle at work here is that designers don't care a bit about the user experience. They're not asking us the simple questions, what do you need/not need? What do you want/not want?

And the manuals themselves are hardly intuitive. Neither the Contents nor the Index is clear. The only auto safety advances are the rear view camera and the “passing” indicators.

[Winilyme]

Originally Posted by TheProfessor

So I have some new appliances.

My new Whirlpool microwave just has symbols. No words for ON or OFF.
No words for the fan. Just a symbol.

Today, I noticed that Outlook mail has removed the word DELETE and replaced it with a symbol.

“@!/@&)%#<“