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Ask HN: If you could change the UI of any software. Which would you change?

6 points by kite_and_code ↗ HN
Imagine you have a magic wand and could change the UI of any software that you use into something that you like more. Which software's UI would you change (and into which direction)?

18 comments

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nkssy
Windows telemetry controls seem broken/incomplete by design. We should be able to turn it off by describing the process over the phone to a 80yo relative. It needs to be simple but not simplistic.
square_usual
Not an "app" per se, but if possible I'd like to have a Tiling WM that's has the discoverability and ease of use as more popular floating WMs like macOS's or GNOME. Pop shell's tiling mode is getting close but it's not as powerful yet.
neximo64
For it to be native and not electron.
teorema
OSX, to make the instances and windows of a given program that are running more immediately and passively visible. It's too easy to lose track of open windows in the background on OSX (yes I know you can swipe to see them, but that is something you have to do distinctly of other interactions with programs. This is something Windows and KDE gets right.

Also, the ribbon bar on desktop MS Office is inconsistent, with some things accessible via tabs/ribbons, and some not. in a ribbon UI, everything should be accessible through the same interface.

firecall
Miller Columns for GUI file navigation!

OSX has them, and is one of the workflow reasons I prefer OSX.

Windows doesn't have column views, and the 3rd party file explorers options are not to my taste!

I wish Gnome would add them!

I'd be happy using Linux more of the time if they did!

kite_and_code
Interesting - I never knew the name but totally agree that I absolutely love and prefer this navigation on OSX for folders
poletopole
This may sound half-baked, but I personally plan on exploring how far I can take the ideal and form of a "book" oriented UX/UI, in a least one future project--but is a subject I've written about almost too much.

If this sounds silly for software, then what exactly is the UX/UI of a spreadsheet application, and why is it so universally useful? At first, I thought this was by virtue of its tabular UI/UX, but books are nothing but rows and columns of text, are they not? At least Awk thinks so. What is the difference between a cell and a sheet in a relational sense? I see no difference, or that is, its design is isomorphic.

A book is a collection of sheets, where a sheet consists of other sheets or views, where a view is any given selection and dimension of text. Sheets can be stacked, ordered, sorted, and indexed into new books, just as words can--and as linguists say, into an infinite set of sentences (views). This design cannot be reduced in a hyper-grammatical sense.

This is to suggest that a "book" UX/UI would require a new way on how we approach language not only within the context of software but language--it's a direct spit in the face of Chomsky himself (although he would have more to say about this than I), but hasn't this been a long ways in coming? It seems as if textual communication is the long term trend, but comes at no surprise to any of us, here whom work remotely. So really when I say "book" based UX/UI, I mean just that, but really--it is augmented natural grammar--a subject beyond the scope of this discussion.

All good UX solves a problem, so what is the problem here? It's increasing the transmission capacity of information over text, or that is, expanding what and how we can express as information with language, without monumental standards. But no language is without communication and therefore the crux of the problem lies in the future of higher level network protocols (if you believe in such a thing).

Someone
> A book is a collection of sheets, where a sheet consists of other sheets or views, where a view is any given selection and dimension of text.

I would think a book is an ordered collection of chapters, a chapter an ordered collection of paragraphs, etc.

The pages are there solely to force the book into a physical form, just as one can ‘project’ a spreadsheet onto pages. Scrolls are an alternative physical form.

beardyw
Blender. Every time I open it, which is only periodically, I am overwhelmed by options. Maybe I am missing something, but it would be great to have say 10 or 20 apps each focussed on just one aspect. I know it would (should) support that under the covers.
high_byte
funny. I literally just wrote I wished Unity was more in line with blender. I often find myself in awe as how amazing blender UI is, and how artists approach is different than average programmer's approach.

if I may suggest a few tips: -use spacebar to open command search box. I wish more software had this. -use hotkeys rather than menus. -when you use an operator you can see additional options at the bottom bar. -blender is based on operators and context. once you get used to the fact whatever you do is based on where your mouse is, it actually makes a lot more sense than traditional software where hotkeys are pretty much global.

giantg2
Workday.

They have a flashy new interface. compared to our older system. However, it's slower, takes more clicks/screens to do things, and buries some stuff in multilevel menus.

high_byte
DEFINITELY Unity3d, possibly Unreal. compared to the amazong UI Blender has, it's just unbearable to work in Unity.
GoldenMonkey
Every mobile app made by google. And especially gmail.
joshxyz
A little larger font for HN because fat fingers
ajjbones
I just realized I've been browsing HN at 150% zoom this whole time. 100% looks ridiculously tiny.