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Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

lobste.rs

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Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#41

Post by throwawayaway »

Even though this point is irrelevant to the article, when you are on the Desktop, you can use a commandline.

When you use a commandline the UI and Workflow geniuses do not get to have any input, and then you get less surprises of this nature.

When you use a Desktop application, it is easier to keep the software at a version with a UI you like. The trend towards storing your data on other's computers leads to empowering the authors of web programs, so that they don't have to respect your taste in UI as much(among other things).

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#42

Post by [deleted] »

chuckcode wrote: post #26

I think it is just a fact of life, it's the same reason that I can't ever figure out how to really use a microwave. They have to make it different this year to "differentiate" the brand. I've learned to live with a lot of churn and reach to buy the products that were built with more care and last.

[deleted]

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#43

Post by viraptor »

tomp wrote: post #15

If only every application was just a backend with a well-defined API and a default UI, then we could have independently sourced UIs that every person could choose (and customize) on demand!

In this case - isn't it? Samsung is happy to almost completely change the whole look and feel. HTC has its own additions. Components like keyboards are completely separate apps. Nokia released their launcher.

What's missing apart from people actually writing and releasing those independent UIs?

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#44

Post by fla »

This is becoming pretty annoying. When buttons disappear or keyboard experience changes, it gets me angry. Not because I hate changes, but because I have no choice and no warnings. I will now think twice before updating my Android system.

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#45

Post by hyperpape » 

  "There are a bunch of new ‘transitions’ between elements. I don’t know what the battery cost actually is for this, but as a user I just don’t care about cute transitions between elements. I want fast interaction with my mobile device."
This is poorly phrased at best. Transitions exist to make it obvious what is happening: e.g. you minimize a window and it zooms into the taskbar/dock, as a visual reminder that it's not gone, just stored there. This kind of thing is even more important with an unfamiliar interface.

Are the particular transitions he's complaining about bad? I have no idea, since he just wrote about transitions in general, without specifying any. Not all transitions are good, but writing like they're all pointless suggests that you just don't understand UI (and I'm not a UI person, just someone who reads a tiny bit about it).

Edit: Just looked at the formatdoc. Is there a way to quote text without getting those scrollbars?

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#46

Post by throwawayaway »

shawnwall wrote: post #30

Google is making a huge amount of progress in UI and UX; the company has historically been rather mediocre in terms of it's UI and UX, while Apple was always the star. Over the past year or so the roles have reversed, and Google continues making strides towards unifying their applications in a single user experience and ui paradigm that allows for simpler app use, particularly for new users. It's easy to get upset wh…

The new gmail interface combined with the fact it logs me in to youtube to watch a video, made me install a cli mail client. Haven't looked back.

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#47

Post by untog »

exelius wrote: post #8
TeeWEE wrote: post #2

I thinks this guy is missing the point. Google did uix research and come up with a more usable design philosophy, which makes all apps more consistent. They are now executing those grand-design rules. In the end, apps should be more familiar, and easier to use. The change itself is always frustrating, people who are used to an uix (by learning it), hate change, even if the new uix is simpler.

Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page. Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products. This is yet another case of where if you're not paying for it, you're not the customer. So they're not designing it for you.

Google sucks at UI. Period. They had one good UI: the original Google home page.

That was a textbox. You can't build an OS around that.

Everything since then has not been about making their products more usable, it's been about finding ways to cram more advertising into their products.

Err, no. How does the left version cram more advertising in than the right version here?

http://indonetworksecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/An...

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#48

Post by arcosdev »

Meh. New UIs are a game that we all get to play. It is as much about marketing and sales "and staying fresh" then anything. It is just more distraction so we can ogle our devices from a new perspective. You don't want to get stale now.

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#49

Post by computerjunkie »

smackfu wrote: post #38

I find the new Google Maps UI to be frustrating. The number of taps to just find directions to something after you search for it seems to be increased, for no good reason. I think it's mainly because there are multiple paths through the app to do the same thing, and some of them are optimized flows and others are not. So tapping the search bar is not the most efficient way to get directions anymore... you should tap…

I agree. I've been traveling into London for the past couple of days and I always feel annoyed just navigating through Google Maps

Re: Stop Changing UIs for No Good Reason

#50

Post by PMan74 »

remon wrote: post #28

The problem with arguments like these is that there being "no good reason" is highly subjective. Excessive change is generally better than no changes at all. Things have to evolve and even if we miss the mark every now and then it should always improve over time on average when new ideas are tried and tested.

> The problem with arguments like these is that there being "no good reason" is highly subjective.

Not only is it subjective it's almost certainly incorrect. If you read anything about Google it's clear that they don't make UI decisions without looking at a ton of data, making the changes and testing those changes. What does the author of that post think? A Google designer updated a load of designs on a whim?

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