I hate the iDrive in my BMW with a passion. It goes against all common sense. Specifically, a new invention should work the way people think or it becomes a distraction. While you’re driving, that’s deadly. iDrive is BMW’s stupid control-knob which you turn, press, or push/pull in one of four directions to make things happen. My previous vehicle (Acura MDX) had a touch screen so everything is in front of your face. Not on the PASSENGER side of the console. What idiot came up with that?
Why iDrive sucks:
- Selecting a radio station takes a large number of spins and presses. You can’t just “dial” 015 for instance. You dial to Entertainment, then Satellite, then Presets. Or if it’s not a preset, you then dial through the entire list. To be helpful, you can select Category, the Rock, and then scroll through the less. Idiotic at best.
- Dialling the phone encounters the same exact long sequence of events. The thing
randomly decides it will or won’t work properly with the phone. - Navigation, you need to know the address. You cannot look for “Hard Rock” by name. Seriously. I don’t know the address of the Hard Rock. So I have to select Navigation, scroll to the correct menu, select Category, then select Entertainment, then select Casino. I assure you I can type Hard Rock faster. Not a choice. Idiots.
- The voice activation is worthless. I can’t say “DIAL” unless I am in the communications menu. Really. So I have to use iDrive to get to the correct menu and THEN say “Dial” — I kid you not. Worse, even when the address book syncs, it never picks the right name from the list. But wait, there’s more. My phone knows that under “First Last” Name there are four phones. Each one has an icon: home, work, mobile, etc. But in iDrive’s system, they’re all listed as the same, so you have to look at EACH one to see which number is stored. Yeah, that helps you keep the eye on the road. Which entry for Dad is his mobile? Horrendous planning. BMW should be shot.
(I like the car. I abhor the iDrive. However I won’t get another one when I’m finished with this one. I hate the iDrive that much.)
I am not please hurricane Faye is coming to town. I’ll do my shutters tomorrow evening I suppose. I didn’t plan on it, but the track is looking for more ominous with the last report.
And Adrian is less reliable than Karen. I’m just going to assume I should always make other plans and then just see him if he’s actually available when he says he will be. I think his success to cancellation ratio is well under 50%
WJM is over his first hurdle but the next hurdle is just as bad. I finally got to talk to him at length and he’s resigned to the next stage. We all wish him well.
RHPS in one week. Yay.