[mfsoa]

Is anyone else confused by the international symbols for On (straight line) and Off (circle)??

To my feeble mind the straight line should represent a wire not connected to anything and the circle looks like something making a circuit!

When I turn something on that has these symbols, I have to tell myself "OK, it's the opposite of what I think it should be..."

 

OK, I'm pretty sure the sun's still gonna come up tomorrow so I'm not too concerned, but anyone else notice this?

[bpape]

There are a couple of different interpretations - both relate to the symbols being the numbers 1 and 0. 

You can look at it as a Boolean implementation - 1 meaning power switched on is TRUE, 0 meaning power switched on is FALSE

The other is more simplistic and purely 'how many power connections are active?'  1 or 0

Bryan

[ohenry]

I've gotten over the "O/I" struggle, but after ten years with this range, I still have to talk to myself before turning it on... now which dot goes to which burner???

[markC]

I've convinced myself that "l" means in and "o" means out. So, I relate this to the switch being in the circuit or on and out means out of the cicuit or off.

[Haoleb]

Look at it this way.

I means Current Flowing (I is standard electronic abbreviation for current)

O means circuit open. 

[JLM]

To me the "on" symbol looks like a very short piece of wire going into a hole (meaning a connection would be made) and the "off" symbol looks like an empty hole (meaning no connection has been made).

Are we still talking about electronics?   

[ctviggen]

I always thought "1" meant "true" as in boolean logic and "0" meant false.  You know, another set of bad symbols are the symbols on audio cards.  I can understand the microphone symbol, but there are also symbols for preamplified and amplified, and I cannot determine the difference between those symbols.  Thankfully, they tend to be color coded now. 

Those symbols for the oven would drive me crazy.  They need an X through the one that will not turn on.  Which dot does go to which burner?

[JLM]

Bob, as a Saab owner I would of thought you'd love quirky stuff.   

From a former Saab owner (back in the day when Saabs were ...).   

[ctviggen]

You know, they say Saabs are quirky, but I think that they're designed correctly and other cars are quirky.  For instance, the location of the key cylinder and window/lock buttons makes perfect sense to me.  Why would you want them anywhere else?  My 2001 Saab has the child safety anchors (LATCH) system, which only recently has begun to be implemented in the US.  I love the heated seats.  I love the rear view mirror with the curved/bent section (bought one for the driver's side, in fact).  I love having audio controls on the steering wheel and cruise control on a wand.  I rented a vehicle that had cruise control on the steering wheel and I couldn't figure out why anyone would want something that's used a handful of times per year (cruise control) on the steering wheel and something that's used many times every time the car is driven (audio controls) not on the steering wheel?  It simply doesn't make sense.  The hatchback design is great.  Why aren't there more hatchback designs?  Why don't people in the US like hatchbacks?

So, I think other cars are incorrectly designed and the Saab is correctly designed. Therefore, those other cars are quirky and thes Saab is not.  That's my opinion, and I know plenty of others, including for some reason car magazine writers, have other opinions.

[JLM]

Bob,

I loved my 1978 Saab 99 (last year they burned regular, leaded gas).  I had the least expensive model available (2 door sedan, 4M, non-turbo).  The bank couldn't understand why anyone would want to spend $8k on a car with no A/C, no power windows/locks, no automatic, and no radio.  The design was so old that it cost $65 to add a under dash panel to provide a place to mount the radio.  But it was the most solid, well built car I've ever owned.  It was the biggest car (inside space) I've ever owned.  Even without a hatch, I could pile in incredible amounts of stuff.  I car pooled with a 400-500 pound guy and he even fit in the back seat (again it was a 2 door)!  Another guy in the pool had an x-car that was the same size and weight, but no comparison.  In fact he had to get his front end realigned to that big guy (his car would lean to his side even when both of us were on the opposite side).

I bought mine from a family owned, Saab only dealership that had been in business since the 50s.  IMO this kind of experience and dedication is essential for small market ownership.  They knew the cars, could work efficiently, avoided service problems, and had lots of parts.  Another nearby dealership had one mechanic, sold Saabs as a sideline, and now have dropped them completely. 

You know I was kidding about the "quirkiness" of Saabs.  I love being an individual.  (Hey I have custom built single driver speakers.)  The floor mounted key made lots of sense.  I love chair-like seating in any vehicle.  And hatchback designs are a big plus in my book.  But I do disagree with you regarding cruise and audio controls.  Saab had a properly designed dash in the 9000s that put everything facing the driver and at his arm's reach, no need for stalks or stuff on the steering wheel.  And my driving patterns would have my use cruise more than audio controls.

But alas, the 9-5 is too big/expensive/old design and the 9-3 has little of the "real" Saabiness in it.

[ctviggen]

I agree with you, except for the steering wheel mounted audio controls.    I try never to take my eyes off the road, and with the steering wheel mounted audio controls, I rarely have to.  Every once in a while, I'll have to adjust the automatic climate control up or down in temperature, but that's about it.  With the steering wheel mounte audio controls, even with thick winter gloves on, I can adjust the main controls for the radio.  I tend to go back and forth between radio and CD and while it's possible to switch between these modes while having heavy gloves on and while using the button on the dash (and not looking down to see the button), it's much easier to do on the steering wheel.  This is particularly true as Saab made the buttons with the correct amount of divots and raised sections for easy selection even with gloves on.