Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#271

Post by upstill » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:00 PM UTC

porcoda wrote: post #35

iTunes/Apple Music. I use it to manage a huge collection, and the Ui is terrible. Examples: some file I can’t find has a bogus header or something, so every time the program opens or if I add something it spends 10 minutes doing some gapless playback analysis. None of the fixes suggested online address it. When it’s doing something like that or ripping/converting music, you can’t scroll around your collection since e…

It's not just niche users. I hated with a burning righteous rage every single release of iTunes. The overhead of all kinds that it imposed on access to my collection of music never made any sense.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#272

Post by upstill » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

Not just the app but the whole user experience: Amazon. Specifically, they should have figured out search by now, but no: the mapping from search terms to results is just a stab in the dark.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#273

Post by hlesesne » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

marto1 wrote: post #38

rchaves wrote: post #25

Jira, for sure, and it seems hard to run away from, almost everyone use it It seems like the only alternative is to fund my own startup, with me as a sole shareholder, just to forbid Jira forever

What about gitlab ? Why wouldn't that be an alternative ?

Lack of service desk in other applications has always been what keeps our org on Jira (on premises). Anyone have any suggestions on deeply integrating service desk tickets with engineering tasks?

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#274

Post by gaws » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

muzani wrote: post #231

riidom wrote: post #123

Discord. I basically don't use it, avery few months I'd say, but I still hate it, because it drains all the good Q&A's from the internet and puts it into its chatlogs, with a mediocre search ontop. Discord for gaming ramblings and chitchat may be okay, but I hate when software projects misuse it as a support channel. Give me some forum instead, I know many ppl here on HN dislike discourse, I don't get it though, for…

I actually prefer IRC over Discord. I'm not sure why. Discord feels a bit excessive in its features. I don't like the bots. It doesn't handle multiple channels well, not as well as Slack, and yet something about it makes people do so many, unlike IRC. There's the mess of roles/self roles. There's just something about it that encourages overcommunication. You have announcement channels that people just tell you to mut…

The problem with IRC is people can't find active networks. Which ones are you on?

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#275

Post by gaws » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:11 PM UTC

drcongo wrote: post #31

1Password. I hate it because Agile Bits are so user-hostile now. I can't replace it because the alternatives, if they meet our requirements, are even worse.

> I hate it because Agile Bits are so user-hostile now.

How? I've had zero problems with their desktop and mobile apps.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#276

Post by gaws » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:15 PM UTC

andrecarini wrote: post #159

fortysixdegrees wrote: post #126

GIMP. If it didn't exist someone would probably have started a fresh effort for an OSS Photoshop alternative which doesn't suck. I've tried soooo hard for decades to become comfortable in GIMP but I can never get close.

Have you taken Photopea for a spin?

> Photopea

Gimp, with all features, is free. Photopea charges a subscription.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#277

Post by hateconfluence » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 5:22 PM UTC

more_corn wrote: post #265

Confluence is absolute garbage. Atlassian uses the interrupt early and often design philosophy. It’s next to impossible to just write in flow with confluence. Formatting never works, it’s actively worse than simply composing in notepad. Also discovery is laughable. Confluence is where documentation goes to die. I’ve often found myself knowing that a document exists, some key words and what team owns it and I’m still…

I used https://github.com/kovetskiy/mark at my last job where I had to use Confluence. It wasn't perfect and some touchup was generally needed after a sync but it definitely helped me stay sane.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#278

Post by riidom » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 6:14 PM UTC

antifa wrote: post #266

riidom wrote: post #123

Discord. I basically don't use it, avery few months I'd say, but I still hate it, because it drains all the good Q&A's from the internet and puts it into its chatlogs, with a mediocre search ontop. Discord for gaming ramblings and chitchat may be okay, but I hate when software projects misuse it as a support channel. Give me some forum instead, I know many ppl here on HN dislike discourse, I don't get it though, for…

> I just think they are not true Whichever ones are true, will be worse under discord anyways!

Yes, when I talked about discord in the last paragraph, I actually meant "something like discord, with the same level of popularity" - which doesnt exist though. Discord itself would never implement such a feature, they are all about the lock-in effect.

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#279

Post by riidom » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 6:24 PM UTC

broknbottle wrote: post #264

riidom wrote: post #123

Discord. I basically don't use it, avery few months I'd say, but I still hate it, because it drains all the good Q&A's from the internet and puts it into its chatlogs, with a mediocre search ontop. Discord for gaming ramblings and chitchat may be okay, but I hate when software projects misuse it as a support channel. Give me some forum instead, I know many ppl here on HN dislike discourse, I don't get it though, for…

I can't put my finger on it but every time I have to use Discourse, it feels like something is 'off'. It feels like it's just a mashup of reddit + stack overflow + forums. I much prefer the older style phpBB forums setup. I would take that style just implemented in a newer tech stack over Disourse any day.

Do you mean content-wise, or from UX point of view? I try to understand the arguments against discourse, but to me it's simply not much of a difference when I watch "active topics" on a phpBB or a discourse-one, both feels like "forum" to me. Highly subjective ofc, not trying to preach, just want to understand, as I said :)

Re: Ask HN: Software you hate but can't replace?

#280

Post by twalichiewicz » Sun, Feb 06, 2022, 6:42 PM UTC

oz wrote: post #248

twalichiewicz wrote: post #161

I noticed most of the replies in this thread refer to mobile / desktop software, but nothing compares to the hell that is car infotainment system for me. Using the Audi MMI is painfully clunky, inconsistent, and riddled with subscription-locked features. At this point I just immediately wait for CarPlay and avoid touching anything in the car’s native OS. Honestly they could probably just save a lot of development tim…

For some reason, I can't get wireless CarPlay to work on my '21 Q5. Only wired.

I’ve had pretty serious connectivity issues with the ‘21 A4 as well: having to turn on and off the MMI, Airplane Mode the phone to try and reset, and even when it DOES work, there’s a noticeable delay between car on and CarPlay being available.

Let’s not forget the fun prompt of whether you want to use the car’s data plan, which if you haven’t subscribed will make your phone unable to stream music.