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SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

sqlook.com

21–30 of 79 posts

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#21
The user experience is so (paradoxically) refreshing. Back then you could fit so much useful information and controls into a single screenful; interfaces responded instantly; it was easy to figure where things are and what I'm looking at. With "modern" UIs, you can't get a big picture of what you're working on because there is so much white space and scrolling; the application is slower than your fingers; with each application, you have to learn the designer's "vision" in order to figure out where things are and what you're looking at.

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#24
post #12

Strange how people are always so negative. Always with the nitpicking. Functionally of course 90s style UX and desktop productivity has always been far higher. Palantir's blueprint UI doesn't even specifically target mobile.

Yeah, seems many people can just moan online. At least I hope they aren't like this in daily life... It is pretty annoying how, while the HN audience grew steadily, from the 'wow great how you made this' went to 'this is crap and a joke' basically. Or maybe it's my memory and it was always quite bad, but then I don't really want to know; I find shooting down projects, unless they actually are super low effort (while asking money) or claiming blatant untruths (FOSS while it's not), is some kind of insecurity thing broken people do.

Of course reporting bugs is a good thing, but that's not just burning down someone's efforts willy nilly.

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#26
post #21

The user experience is so (paradoxically) refreshing. Back then you could fit so much useful information and controls into a single screenful; interfaces responded instantly; it was easy to figure where things are and what I'm looking at. With "modern" UIs, you can't get a big picture of what you're working on because there is so much white space and scrolling; the application is slower than your fingers; with each a…

Very well said, sometimes I feel the modern stack could re-learn and improve.

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#27
post #8

That is not an accurate reproduction of the classic Windows UI. The 3D bevels on buttons and other beveled elements are wrong and make it look more like Motif if anything.

They should have used 98.css, but with font-face: Tahoma. https://jdan.github.io/98.css/

Wow, I initially thought that the first dialog box was a screencap of a "real" one...

Impressive!

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#28
I think it's pretty cool that the source code is all in a single file called app.js, and it's just doing simple DOM manipulations, no React, no minification, no libraries. I like to think it's just written like that too, a gigantic file that the author just iterates on.

Re: SQLook – A free online SQLite database manager with a Windows 2000 interface

#29

Just out of curiosity, does any one find these sorts of retro gui appealing in saas-y type software? I personally am turned off by it. Unless of course I’m missing the point and it’s supposed to be ironic.

Some benefits I appreciate:

  * All the text is at a readable size, and had sufficient contrast with the background.
  * The clickable and interactive elements are easy to identify.
  * Text is selectable and can be copied.
  * There are no useless animations(there only to give a dynamic feel without having any function).
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