History Main / BillionsOfButtons

** Before the Atari Jaguar's controller came along, it was Platform/{{Intellivision}}'s controllers, which sports a 12-key "touch tone phone" keypad, two trigger buttons, and a D-pad whose center is yet another button. Coming in close is the Platform/ColecoVision's, which has the same 12-key "touch tone phone" keypad, two trigger buttons, and a joystick (narrowly losing out to the Intellivision by one button). It's no surprise that both platforms did not catch on as well as the Platform/{{Atari 2600}}. Most of what doomed the "telephone keypad" controller designs was the combination of a lousy user interface and a lack of developer interest in actually making all those extra buttons ''do'' something; by contrast, in the entire Atari 2600 lineup there was [[VideoGame/StarRaiders only one game]] that actually had a use for a 12-button keypad, and that game came with one in the box.

--> '''Dedalus:''' You know how to drive, I take it?
--> '''Vernon Dursley:''' Of course I ruddy well know how to drive!
--> '''Dedalus:''' Very clever of you, sir, I personally would be utterly bamboozled by all those buttons and knobs.

* The 1978 BBC comedy ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah'' had this on the space station Britannia Seven, being a wonder of British technology and all. OnceAnEpisode there would be some futuristic device that after [[OverlyLongGag excessive button-pushing and accompanying sound effects]] would end up [[RuleOfFunny not doing what they wanted it to do.]]

** For many years the BBC kept a plywood mockup console for rehearsals that had outlines of the various controls drawn on it. If you looked closely you'd find handwritten notes penciled in beside some of them. They were written by Jon Pertwee: every time he had to do something "new" on the console he'd pick an unlabelled control on the mockup and use it, then write in what he used it for in case it ever came up again. Basically, SchrodingersGun as applied to controls.
*** This also happened very early on in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E3TheEdgeOfDestruction "The Edge of Destruction"]]. A plot-relevant button had to be labeled for the actors to interact with, and the crude felt-tip label [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fast_return_9567.png made it onscreen]].
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks "Day of the Daleks"]], the women "manning" the consoles in the Controller's headquarters are clearly just sliding their hands aimlessly over those same consoles. Perhaps it's meant to be a touch-sensitive interface, but how can they tell what they're doing without looking at the panels?

** In the new series, much as in the Pertwee days, the uselessness of the buttons is averted. Matt Smith was actually given a manual when he was cast as the Eleventh Doctor so he could learn to use the console properly.

* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', ''Serenity's'' cockpit doesn't have massive amounts of buttons, but it does have a large number of them on the consoles and especially on the cockpit's ceiling.
** Alan Tudyk, who played the ship's pilot Wash, said that every time he was directed to do something with the ship, he would always flip three switches above him as a sort of "start-up sequence".

'''Michael:''' Thank you. What's all this? ''(gestures at dashboard)'' Looks like [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]'s bathroom.
* ''Series/OutOfThisWorld1962'''s "[[Recap/OutOfThisWorldLittleLostRobot Little Lost Robot]]": The gallery, from where the characters conduct the [[BluffTheImpostor experiment]], has [[ComputerEqualsTapedrive tape reels]], buttons and levers, as well as [[BeepingComputers whirring and flashing lights]], which shows how complicated the machinery is in Hyperbase 7.
* Inverted in ''Series/RedDwarf'' with Holly's ultra-sophisticated, universe traveling, faster-than-light "Holly Hop Drive". It only had two buttons a green one marked "start" and a red one marked "stop", you pressed the green one to start it...
-->'''Holly:''' ...and you can work out the rest of the controls yourself.

* The control consoles for starships in ''Franchise/StarTrek''. The original series had huge panels filled with unlabeled buttons and switches. The Next Generation had illuminated consoles that were touch-sensitive, and we always see crewmembers constantly pushing buttons even when nothing much is happening.
** George Takei, playing helmsman Sulu in the original series, subverted the usual ContextSensitiveButton corollary; directed to push a particular button, he refused, saying that based on previous episodes it would blow up the ship.

** In "Message In A Bottle", the Doctor ends up in the middle of a battle on a Starfleet ship where the only other crew is another EMH who's never even seen bridge controls (and the Doctor himself is hardly an expert, not to mention the ship is a prototype with a new design). HilarityEnsues.

* The vehicles in ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' were controlled by many flashing unlabelled buttons pushed by untrained teenagers (and on one occasion a high school lunch lady) - even weirder considering the said vehicles were actually [[ItRunsOnNonsenseoleum antivirus software.]]

** Parodied a second time, when Buck Murdoch (Creator/WilliamShatner [[ChewingTheScenery hamming it up]] as always) has a nervous breakdown over the thousands of switches, lights, and knobs in the control tower on the Moon.

** Parodied a second time, when Buck Murdoch (Creator/WilliamShatner hamming it up as always) has a nervous breakdown over the thousands of switches, lights, and knobs in the control tower on the Moon.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar's controller had seventeen buttons: a normal set of buttons consisting of a directional pad, Pause and Option buttons, and 3 face buttons, and a numerical keypad under them with pound sign and asterisk buttons. The intention was to include game-specific plastic faceplates to be attached on top of them as a reminder of what each button does in that game. Keep in mind that this is a game controller, where all the buttons have to be able to be accessed easily and quickly. This was one of many reasons why it flopped.

** Before the Atari Jaguar's controller came along, it was UsefulNotes/{{Intellivision}}'s controllers, which sports a 12-key "touch tone phone" keypad, two trigger buttons, and a D-pad whose center is yet another button. Coming in close is the UsefulNotes/ColecoVision's, which has the same 12-key "touch tone phone" keypad, two trigger buttons, and a joystick (narrowly losing out to the Intellivision by one button). It's no surprise that both platforms did not catch on as well as the UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}}. Most of what doomed the "telephone keypad" controller designs was the combination of a lousy user interface and a lack of developer interest in actually making all those extra buttons ''do'' something; by contrast, in the entire Atari 2600 lineup there was [[VideoGame/StarRaiders only one game]] that actually had a use for a 12-button keypad, and that game came with one in the box.
** Hilariously, modern gamepads are coming dangerously close to returning to this trope. The UsefulNotes/XboxOne Elite controller has two analog sticks that could also be pushed down as buttons, a four-way D-Pad, two shoulder buttons, two analog triggers that double as additional shoulder buttons when pushed, seven face buttons, and ''four more'' backhand buttons that are triggered by the third and fourth finger on each hand. The [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 DualShock 4]] and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 DualSense]] does not have the backhand buttons but instead has a multitouch pressure-sensitive trackpad, and the [=DualSense=] has an additional face button to activate streaming/sharing mode.

* ''Videogame/SteelBattalion'', a $200 HumongousMecha game for the UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}, has a controller approximating what might actually be used to pilot a mech, including an ''ejector switch housed in a plastic cover'' which had to be used if your mech was destroyed or you, the pilot, were blown up too... [[{{Permadeath}} which deleted your saved game]]. Unlike the prior examples, this actually succeeded quite well in its admittedly rather narrow niche.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' spoofed the design of the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64's controller with Grim trying to use one that had about 15 buttons, 6 lights, 3 control sticks, 2 steering wheels, and 4 handles with a gun trigger in one.

* Not technically physical buttons, but UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} command line programs often have dozens of optional flags that may or may not combine, leading to a feeling of this trope. The UNIX philosophy is that simple, smaller programs with a single main function interact via I/O to form a larger operating system, but in practice, it's often much more straightforward from the developer's perspective to add functionality to an existing program than to write a whole new one just to do something that's only slightly different, so existing programs grow flags, often in astonishing profusion. All the possible input flags for a program are typically outlined on the ''[[AllThereInTheManual man]]'' page - [[MindScrew if you can understand]] the [[ViewersAreGeniuses developers' own documentation]]. Most non-geeks just stick to Windows GUI and call it a day.

* Creator/{{Sony}}'s first range of Google TV-powered smart [=TVs=] and boxes from 2010 to 2012 used...[[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c7/4b/45/c74b45a0375a2aef43b9769199033397.jpg this monstrosity]]; it even had shoulder buttons akin to Sony's [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 [=DualShock=] 3]]. Fortunately, their next Google TV remote had the good sense to [[https://demo.idg.com.au/idgns/images/d622eda797-sony_internet_player_3.jpg keep the keyboard on the other side of the remote]]; [[https://demo.idg.com.au/idgns/images/c96f1db382-sony_internet_player_2.jpg the top of this version had way fewer buttons]], though it had a massive trackpad too (yay?).

* Parodied a second time in ''Film/AirplaneIITheSequel'', when Buck Murdoch (Creator/WilliamShatner hamming it up as always) has a nervous breakdown over the thousands of switches, lights, and knobs in the control tower on the Moon.
--> '''Murdoch:''' They're blinking and they're beeping and they're flashing... and they're FLASHING and they're BEEPING. I can't stand it anymore! WHY DOESN'T SOMEBODY STOP THEM?!…

* The cockpit of the ''Millennium Falcon'' from ''Franchise/StarWars''. Harrison Ford has said that he had seen the construction of the set for ''Film/ANewHope'', and was looking forward to actually sitting in the cockpit. When he finally did, he asked how you "fly" the ship, and he was told by George Lucas that he didn't know, just to work it out.

** Of course, the Discovery had an advanced artificial intelligence to help run things. And the Leonov didn't end up [[GhostShip drifting derelict]] in Jovian space, so maybe the Soviets were onto something.

->''"The bubble-top canopy rose automatically and Tom dived inside, searching frantically amongst hundreds of levers, switches and analogue dials for the start button."''

->''The bubble-top canopy rose automatically and Tom dived inside, searching frantically amongst hundreds of levers, switches and analogue dials for the start button.''

** In another episode of ''Voyager'', the Doctor ends up in the middle of a battle on a Starfleet ship where the only other crew is another EMH who's never even seen bridge controls (and the Doctor himself is hardly an expert, not to mention the ship is a prototype with a new design). HilarityEnsues.

** A smaller-scale implementation of this is the Apparatus of Kwalish, a construct that is piloted by sitting inside its barrel-like body. It has ten different levers, each lever has two functions, and none are labeled. Spending some time getting to grips with it is mandatory.
* ''Into the Outdoors with Gun and Camera'', the introductory adventure to ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' 2nd ed, sends the hapless Troubleshooters into wacky adventures on a six-legged amphibious vehicle. The players are presented with a foldout of the vehicle's dashboard with unmarked buttons, gauges, and levers, and of course the instruction manual is not available at their security clearance, leaving WhatDoesThisButtonDo as their only option. Have a nice day.

-->-- '''Attack of the 50-Ft. Half-Klingon'''

[[folder:Films — Animated]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

--->'''Lieutenant Pervis:''' Sir, these lights keep blinking out of sequence. What should we do about it, sir?
--->'''Commander Murdoch:''' Get them to blink ''in'' sequence!

* In ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' there are buttons all over the spacecraft, many were even behind the astronauts' shoulders and were meant to be reached without turning to look (the controls were labelled in reverse and mirrors were strategically placed around the CSM). The writers and actors made sure that the usage of such buttons was realistic - they had the commander of Apollo 15 there ''every day'' to make sure they [[ShownTheirWork did it right]].

* The Gadgetmobile in both of the ''Film/InspectorGadget'' movies takes this to [[RefugeInAudacity absurd levels]]. Seriously, the thing is so over-crammed it's an eyesore.

This is TruthInTelevision. RealLife aircraft, spacecraft, power stations, trains and so on have loads and loads of buttons — many of which are only used if one particular component (out of thousands) is misbehaving. The cockpit of the Space Shuttle, for example, had buttons covering every available surface (even the ceiling!), as seen in the page image. More advanced and reliable computing power has allowed designers to simplify control panels; the 'Glass Cockpit' with Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) screen, for instance, is pretty much standard kit on most airliners. Even in an era when most or all functions ''can'' be routed through a single simple interface, having a cockpit full of hard-wired controls reduces the chances of a single circuit failure rendering an entire craft uncontrollable. The armada of buttons are on standby just in case you have to take full manual control of the craft, or make it do something outside the normal operational regime — say, when you suddenly need to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Airways_Flight_1549 land an airliner on a river]]. (In a delightful fulfillment of the trope, the Airbus A320 actually ''does'' have a button for precisely that situation; it seals several of the aircraft's external openings, to help slow the rate at which the fuselage floods and sinks. In the case of Flight 1549, though, it wasn't actually used, nor would it have helped, since the impact with the water tore holes much larger than those the "ditch switch" would have sealed. But the switch was ''there'', and that's the point.)

* The [[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} Space Shuttle]], pictured above. That's a photo of the "glass cockpit", added later in the Orbiters' lives, which added additional visual screens while reducing the number of buttons by a few dozen or so.

* In ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' original series, any time a computer was used, it would have not only numerous buttons but also panels full of lights that were not labeled, which would blink, usually in a pattern. This is a simultaneously lazy and clever take on contemporaneous ''actual'' computers, which themselves had panels full of lights that ''were'' labeled, and which would blink, usually in a pattern. Since the lights and their labels had meaning only for those few closely familiar with the arcana of a particular machine's operation, the TV versions just showed big panels full of blinking lights, since that's all a layman would notice in any case.
* In the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson series ''Series/{{UFO}}'' (1970-1) a montage of flashing lights, [[ComputerEqualsTapedrive spinning tape drives]], [[OurGraphicsWillSuckInTheFuture blocky letters on colored monitors]], [[{{Fanservice}} swaying female buttocks]], and rows of large luminous buttons accompany every RedAlert.

[[quoteright:350:[[UsefulNotes/{{NASA}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/billions_of_buttons.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Don't worry; it's not that hard once you get used to it.]]

* Lampshaded in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'': cars and other Muggle technologies have too many buttons for a clever wizard.

See also ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation, and the TheAestheticsOfTechnology for adding billions of buttons to something in an attempt to make it look complicated. In animation expect some LazyArtist, with huge banks of cool but unlabeled controls.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': To ComicBook/SteveTrevor's horror Etta Candy once activated a space ship, which then took off with them still aboard, on accident due to messing with two of the many buttons covering a wall and then trying to fix whatever that had activated when things started lighting up.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': [[ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} Sebastian Ballesteros]]'s nuclear silo inspired base has every surface save the floor covered in buttons, screens or both.

* ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' had the same principle as above. Tommy knew how to drive the Thermian ship because he had made up in his mind which each button was supposed to do, acted accordingly in the ShowWithinAShow, and the Thermians based their design on that.

* Parodied in the movie ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' when Ted Striker first steps into the airplane's cockpit, and his POV slowly pans ([[OverlyLongGag and pans and pans]]) across an endless, well, panorama of buttons, knobs and switches. To top it off, that's a pan across [[TruthInTelevision actual control panels]] from a contemporary four-engine jet, although much of what's included would actually be on the flight engineer's panels and not an immediate concern of the pilots themselves.
* Parodied a second time in ''Film/AirplaneIITheSequel'', when Buck Murdoch (Creator/WilliamShatner hamming it up as always) has a nervous breakdown over the thousands of switches, lights and knobs in the control tower on the Moon.

** It doesn't help that [[CowTools no-one knows what they actually do]].
-->'''Lieutenant Pervis:''' Sir, these lights keep blinking out of sequence. What should we do about it, sir?
-->'''Commander Murdoch:''' Get them to blink ''in'' sequence!

* In ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' there are buttons all over the spacecraft, many were even behind the astronauts' shoulders and were meant to be reached without turning to look (the controls were labelled in reverse and mirrors were strategically placed around the CSM). The writers and actors made sure that usage of such buttons was realistic - they had the commander of Apollo 15 there ''every day'' to make sure they [[ShownTheirWork did it right]].

** Of couse, the Discovery had an advanced artificial intelligence to help run things. And the Leonov didn't end up [[GhostShip drifting derelict]] in Jovian space, so maybe the Soviets were onto something.

* In the ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'', the cockpit of a [[HumongousMecha BattleMech]] has hundreds of buttons and switches to control fire suppression system, communications, ammo selection, and actuator calibration. In the ''Saga Of The Gray Death Legion'', Grayson notes that while the basic movement and weapon control systems for a mech are almost universally a pair joysticks, twin foot pedals, and a BrainComputerInterface helmet for balance, all the other systems vary heavily by manufacturer. When he steals an enemy battlemech in the second novel, [[DamnYouMuscleMemory he can't find the loudspeaker button]] as a friendly mercenary is aiming at the "enemy" mech with a FireBreathingWeapon.

** The TARDIS console has tons of buttons and things, because it's actually a 6-person console which the Doctor is using by themself. The ship also creates her own interfaces every time she takes on a new appearance, and the buttons change accordingly. The Doctor often needs to run around the console hitting buttons on all sides, even when it's not an emergency. (In an emergency, they sometimes have to tie levers down with rope...) Also, because of the effect of eleven centuries of amateur maintenance, the console possesses fewer actual buttons than it does loose wires, brass light switches, ''bicycle pumps''...

*** This also happened very early on in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E3TheEdgeOfDestruction "The Edge of Destruction"]]. A plot relevant button had to be labeled for the actors to interact with, and the crude felt-tip label [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fast_return_9567.png made it onscreen]].

** If the dramatisation of the early days of the franchise ''Film/AnAdventureInSpaceAndTime'' is accurate, this was in effect from the very start of the show. Creator/WilliamHartnell insisting that the same controls were used for the same TARDIS function, successfully arguing with the producers that it would violate viewers suspension of disbelief if he used the same control to operate the door one week and activate the viewscreen the next.

* The vehicles in ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' were controlled by many flashing unlabelled buttons pushed by untrained teenagers (and on one occasion a high school lunchlady) - even weirder considering the said vehicles were actually [[ItRunsOnNonsenseoleum antivirus software.]]
* ''Series/StrangerThings'': The console in Hawkins Lab opposing the glassed-in portal to the Upside Down has a very high button-count. They flash brightly and incoherently when an alarm condition occurs.
* In ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'' original series, any time a computer was used, it would have not only numerous buttons, but also panels full of lights that were not labeled, which would blink, usually in a pattern. This is a simultaneously lazy and clever take on contemporaneous ''actual'' computers, which themselves had panels full of lights which ''were'' labeled, and which would blink, usually in a pattern. Since the lights and their labels had meaning only for those few closely familiar with the arcana of a particular machine's operation, the TV versions just showed big panels full of blinking lights, since that's all a layman would notice in any case.

* ''Into the Outdoors with Gun and Camera'', the introductory adventure to ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' 2nd ed, sends the hapless Troubleshooters into wacky adventures on a six-legged amphibious vehicle. The players are presented a foldout of the vehicle's dashboard with unmarked buttons, gauges and levers, and of course the instruction manual is not available at their security clearance, leaving WhatDoesThisButtonDo as their only option. Have a nice day.

* The UsefulNotes/AtariJaguar's controller had seventeen buttons: a normal set of buttons consisting of a directional pad, Pause and Option buttons and 3 face buttons, and a numerical keypad under them with pound sign and asterisk buttons. The intention was to include game-specific plastic faceplates to be attached on top of them as a reminder of what each button does in that game. Keep in mind that this is a game controller, where all the buttons have to be able to be accessed easily and quickly. This was one of many reasons as to why it flopped.
** This is just the standard controller : The Pro Controller adds Z, Y and X on another row as well as two shoulder buttons for a whopping 22 individual inputs.

** Hilariously, modern gamepads are coming dangerously close to returning to this trope. The UsefulNotes/XboxOne Elite controller has two analog sticks that could also be pushed down as buttons, a four-way D-Pad, two shoulder buttons, two analog triggers that doubles as additional shoulder buttons when pushed, seven face buttons, and ''four more'' backhand buttons that is triggered by the third and fourth finger on each hand. The [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 DualShock 4]] and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 DualSense]] does not have the backhand buttons, but instead has a multitouch pressure-sensitive trackpad, and the [=DualSense=] has an additional face button to activate streaming/sharing mode.

** And it's not even limited to real world aircraft and spacecraft, either; ''VideoGame/RogueSystem'' is described as "''DCS'' [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]]" for a reason, clearly designed by someone who thought that your typical space sim didn't have ''enough'' switches to flick in the cockpit. It makes the likes of ''VideoGame/EliteDangerous'' and ''VideoGame/IndependenceWar'' look like simple arcade games by comparison.

** Played straight when Lisa encounters a Chinese keyboard.[[note]]Old Chinese "typewriter" keyboards literally did have a button/printing die for each character. Each typewriters have multiple keyboards, each with around a thousand characters. A professional typist averages around 20wpm. The University of Sydney Rare Book collection owns a 1920s Chinese typewriter. It's about 1.5m wide and weighs several hundred kilograms.[[/note]]

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' started with Stan having to show a new CIA powered armor, which is a killing machine that can perform delicate tasks such as defusing a bomb or adjusting a pearl necklace. When Stan is perplexed with what to do, the camera pulls back three times to show ''all'' the buttons in the control console. It ends about as well as you'd expect.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Olaf]]'s SupervillainLair has control boards full of buttons. [[spoiler: In Episode 104, [[TheDitz Stumpy]] has no idea how to operate anything, so he presses all the buttons. This releases Kaeloo, Quack Quack and Mr. Cat, who had been trapped, but he presses the BigRedButton to destroy the lair too.]]

* The Creator/TexAvery cartoon "WesternAnimation/TVOfTomorrow" shows a television set with dozens of dials and knobs. The set of the future is then shown with only one knob; but a closeup shows that knob covered with dozens of tinier knobs.

* Mozilla Firefox is arguably the virtual equivalent: go to about:config, click through the cutesy warning if need be and let your mind boggle at the sheer number of options. Made even better by the fact that a number of settings [[GuideDangIt aren't even there by default]]; luckily, [[http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config_entries there's a manual]].

* The modern "glass cockpit" design trend, sort of an intermediary between this trope and outright touchscreens, condenses big panels full of mechanical controls and gauges into multi-mode computer displays and "soft buttons" which take on a variety of functions depending on which mode a given display is in at the moment. However, while a glass cockpit might ''duplicate'' critical functions, it cannot safely ''replace'' them, since the glass cockpit hardware requires electrical power and sensor integration which the old-fashioned mechanical instruments do not, and there are many kinds of emergency which can disable the former but not the latter.

** {{Exaggerated|Trope}} with the IBM 1397000 122-key (aka the IBM PS/2 Host Connected) keyboard[[http://www.seasip.info/VintagePC/ibm_1397000.html]]. It's intended for use with a conversion set that makes an IBM PS/2 microcomputer into a mainframe terminal emulator, and thus supplies a wide variety of keys which a micro doesn't need but a mainframe terminal does.

* Not technically physical buttons, but UsefulNotes/{{UNIX}} command line programs often have dozens of optional flags that may or may not combine, leading to a feeling of this trope. The UNIX philosophy is that simple, smaller programs with a single main function interact via I/O to form a larger operating system, but in practice it's often much more straightforward from the developer's perspective to add functionality to an existing program than to write a whole new one just to do something that's only slightly different, so existing programs grow flags, often in astonishing profusion. All the possible input flags for a program are typically outlined on the ''[[AllThereInTheManual man]]'' page - [[MindScrew if you can understand]] the [[ViewersAreGeniuses developers' own documentation]]. Most non-geeks just stick to Windows GUI and call it a day.
** Two words: '''Gentoo Linux'''. Two more words: '''USE Flags'''. Every single package, every program down to the ''kernel'', is compiled from source, tailored to your ''exact, explicit'' hardware and software specifications set beforehand. The next step in customization would be Linux from Scratch, or creating your own personal forks of programs. [[EveryoneHasStandards Most people, even Linux geeks]], [[AwesomeButImpractical see no need for this, or indeed for compiling everything from source Gentoo-style.]] Gentoo is used mostly for servers with a very specific hardware configuration, for a very small gain in performance to add up over longtime 24/7 operation. Desktop "ricers" and hobbyists tend to veer more toward the precompiled binaries of Arch Linux.
* Creator/{{Sony}}'s first range of Google TV-powered smart [=TVs=] and boxes from 2010 to 2012 used...[[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c7/4b/45/c74b45a0375a2aef43b9769199033397.jpg this monstrosity]]; it even had shoulder buttons akin to Sony's [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 [=DualShock=] 3]]. Fortunately, their next Google TV remote had the good sense to [[https://demo.idg.com.au/idgns/images/d622eda797-sony_internet_player_3.jpg keep the keyboard on the other side of the remote]]; [[https://demo.idg.com.au/idgns/images/c96f1db382-sony_internet_player_2.jpg the top of this version had way less buttons]], though it had a massive trackpad too (yay?).

** The [=A-10A=] has a relatively simple stick and throttle alongside a very analog Stores Management System (the panel that controls everything mounted under the wings and fuselage), but the later [=A-10C=] variant, while similar on the outside, modernizes the cockpit inside to the point of adding an up-front controls panel for inputting data, two Multi-Function Displays on each side, replaces the analog Stores Management System with a digital one accessed through said [=MFDs=] and control panel, and most of all, overhauls the relatively simplistic flight stick and throttle to a modern Hands-On Throttle And Stick design (itself summed up as this trope) with the old B-8 grip replaced with one akin to the [=F-16C=]. The [=A-10C=] HOTAS implementation allows the pilot to manage the plane's weapons, countermeasures and even the new support for targeting pods without having to let go of the controls, but adds a steep enough learning curve that conversion training is required.

* The [[http://www.synthmaster.de/ekodrum.htm EKO Computerhythm]], the first programmable drum machine. Speaking of stuff used by Music/JeanMichelJarre, the [[http://www.jarrography.free.fr/details_equipement_audio.php?id_equip=31 Geiss Digisequencer]]. Then again, how much more straight-forward can sequence programming be than a hardware piano roll?

* In general, almost any complex piece of equipment, which needs to support detailed user control in real time, will either start out honoring this trope, or grow into it over time.