I predict the ultimate interface will be voice control not keypads or
trackballs. Voice already works on cellphones and in cars. With more
processing power will work fine in gliders.

I can also predict that the most common installation in 5 years will be an
open system using off the shelf hardware running soaring specific software
of the user's choice - just like the PDA systems we now use. The difference
will be bigger, more readable screens and more processing power running more
sophisticated software.

LED backlight LCD monitors are already available in the 1500 - 2000 nit
brightness range which makes them very readable in direct sunlight. These
are likely to completely replace the CCFL backlights now common due to their
comparatively low power requirements. 8" OLED screens are due 'soon' which
will do a better job on even less power. "Electronic Paper" displays use
almost no power and are as readable as a newspaper in direct sunlight but
their response time needs to improve by 2 - 3 times. I predict a very
usable 8" screen will cost less than $300.

VIA Pico ITX and Intel Atom motherboards already offer plenty of processing
power in matchbox sizes. The price of SSD mass storage is in free fall.
Imagine a desktop PC shrunk to matchbox size running on a couple of LiFePo4
D batteries.

Its the classic Mac vs PC vs Linux debate. There will be a minority which
doesn't like to fiddle with configurations and will buy closed systems. The
rest of us will buy open systems because they are cheaper, give us a wider
choice and can be updated more easily.

I run free software on a $100 used PDA. My only gripe is that the screen is
too small and dim. My scheme is to use a thin screen over a rectangular
panel of old round instruments with the screen hinged at the top. If the
computer goes kaput, I'd just lift the screen and use the old instruments
hidden behind it.





"Udo Rumpf" wrote in message
...
I disagree strongly, the controls should be clustered around the screen.
The remote is just an other piece of hardware attached to a wire flying
around the cockpit. Naturally I can see and understand your bias.
There are products that function much closer to my way of thinking and I
am not bias. See http://www.triadis.ch
Udo

I find the ClearNav's keypad to be very easy to use. Also, the
ClearNav
is
very much designed with "simple user-interface" as a key design
consideration. I think it succeeds at that goal superbly. I predict
that

there will be many more ClearNav units sold than "Ultimate" systems.
Also,
NK is a first class company that will be creating many very nice soaring

instruments in the near future and they (and I) will support the ClearNav

extremely well. But I'm biased because I sell, support and am writing
the