Can we finally move to the Metric system already? I mean…WTF? I was (semi) taught as a young lad that this was something to look forward too. And here it is, eons later, and still nothing. Even the folks that gave us the archaic Imperial system are using Metric now. Can we finally move on? Please? I mean…what is it going to take?
I recently purchased an accessory for my prized Mac Book Pro directly from the vendor. About a week and a half later (today) I received an email from them asking me to fill out a lengthy survey. I’m old and jaded (in internet terms) so I immediately wondered, what do *I* get out of this? I mean, I’m spending my spare time to help them improve their business. The absolute least they could do is offer me a discount on a future purchase, if not a freebie of some sort. Or god forbid, cash! What gives? How many people actually take time out of their day to do this for a company? So keep this in mind if you’re planning on soliciting feedback from your customers. You’ve got to offer something up for their time. You know why? It doesn’t have to be much, but you have to show that you know that their time is valuable. Then maybe they’ll take the time to help you out, rather than just deleting your solicitation.
I’ve had this unit for a couple weeks now, and I can say that it has the worst navigation ever. GlideTouch was obviously developed in a lab and never tested by a driver, let alone a passenger. Alpine… two words for you… Cognitive Engineering.
I went with this unit because of Alpine’s iPod interface, so this review is from that perspective. The GlideTouch is probably fine with a single CD, but with the number of tracks on an MP3 CD or iPod, it completely falls apart. Scrolling with the GlideTouch never gives you the same results… sometimes you move 1, sometimes you jump 2, sometimes 10. You have to keep eyes on the display to know where you are, which while driving is a feat. Find an artist you want to listen to and click, it starts playing the first album. Clicked into the wrong artist? You start back at the beginning of artists…each time. Want to play something else? It doesn’t remember that you navigated by artist previously.
The easy way to fix all of this would be to allow the user to use the knob, to quickly and easily scroll through items. You spin it one click, it moves one item, you spin it fast, it jumps through the list. Push down selects an item. The GlideTouch is much better suited for a soft-button application, rather than scrolling.
The interface could be a bit better too: no track# for iPod albums/playlists, elapsed time instead of remaining time, the only way to see the track name is w/o the artist/album… etc.
This unit is great in a lot of ways… audio quality & appearance are good. I’m sure it’s great as a stand-alone unit playing audio CDs. If you’re wanting to use this with the iPod interface… consider yourself warned.
Forget blogger…let’s give this WordPress thing a try. So far…it’s almost too easy. No scorn for you yet my lovely.