I pay a lot of attention to car interiors, but didn’t start photographing them until I got into this Volvo.

The light on the AC switch turns off when the AC is on.

The light on the rec switch (recycled air) turns on when the recycled air option is on.

Sweden is messing with us.

Want more car button fun? Matthew Oliphant posted an amusing car button quiz on Flickr.

The newest ads from Courtyard Marriott show business travelers using large touchscreens to get weather information for the day. Known as the GoBoard, these touchscreens are already installed at over 60 Courtyard by Marriott hotels.

Now here’s the part where I sound like an old fogey: do designers ever think about the folks who have to clean these things? On small touchscreen interfaces this isn’t so much of an issue. Sure, between fingerprints and ear sweat (I know, it is gross – but tell me it doesn’t happen to you), my iPhone gets pretty disgusting. But the phone is relatively easy to clean: I keep it covered with a screen protector and I can just wipe it off with a soft cloth.

Can you imagine how grimy a 51″ touchscreen device would get in a hotel? Would you want to touch that thing? How would you feel about walking up to a surface that showed the traces of every previous visitor?

At what point does a touchscreen device go from fun, enjoyable, and useful to pain in the ass?

Stopgaps and alternatives to the touchscreen exist:

• Fingerprint-resistant coating: The market is still waiting for a truly fingerprint-resistant coating that doesn’t interfere with the interface. The minute I see one I’ll spray it on every hard surface in my house. Provided the product doesn’t destroy the Earth.
• Gestural interfaces: The folks at Kicker Studio developed an alternative way to interact with the screen, but it gives control to a single user rather than the multiple users envisioned by Courtyard Marriott.
  
• Sanitary covers. Much like the Hygolet toilet seat covers at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Courtyard Marriott’s touchscreen could feature a sanitary coating that refreshes for each user.
  
• GoBoard Attendant: In the same vein as a bathroom attendant, the GoBoard attendant would set up shop near the device, either cleaning the screen after each use or offering customers a squirt of Purell.

Now try not to think too much about airport kiosks.