Bring Back Our Knobs: Analog vs. Digital (2009)
> So what do product designers have against knobs? Several things. ...Then the piece omits the two overwhelmingly important reasons: cost and reliability.Knobs definitely are much better to use, but things with moving parts that stick out from the surface are not as reliable in population terms. Most people never have trouble, but that quintile that gives their stuff a hard time costs manufacturers a lot.