I've been shopping for some audio equipment, and noticed that the latest version of an audio interface I'm interested in has replaced hardware switches on the device with software controls run from an attached computer.
I was immediately turned off by the new version and will likely buy a used one or one from a different manufacturer.
The hardware switches are old reliable technology and do not add much weight or size to the unit. And while the device is meant to be connected to a computer, it just needs to do so as a signal passing device, not as a device that is dependent upon software on the computer.
I'm sure the marketing department could explain why the new software controlled version is super awesome, but all it looks like to me is extra setup headaches and creating a dependency on software that I have no guarantee of being able to install on a future computer/OS combo.
Plus, there is always a chance the manufacturer will do something stupid/evil and brick old versions some day.