Hacker News with Generative AI: User Experience

Ask HN: How to turn off Gemini crap in Gmail? (ycombinator.com)
After months of saying no to gemini popup, Evil google has finally shown it on my mailbox. I don't like it. Anyone has found how to turn it off?

Gmail, Google, User Experience, Email

12 points by nancyp 8 hours ago | 6 comments

Let the user help solve their own problem (boredzo.org)
I wish we had a maps app like Apple Maps or Google Maps that let you order up a travel itinerary using public transit between two points, and explicitly pick the transit routes involved. Or, ideally, multiple sets of routes, for comparison.

User Experience, Public Transportation, Mobile Apps, Travel

13 points by zdw 3 days ago | 3 comments

Show HN: Making AR experiences is still painful – had to make my own editor (ordinary.space)
With Ordinary Objects, ideating, designing and testing true spatial experiences is faster and more fun than ever before. Discover novel use-cases, create variants and fine tune prototypes until they excite and are intuitive to use.

Augmented Reality, User Experience, Software, Tools, Design

14 points by boriskourt 4 days ago | 1 comments

Engineering "home-cooked" software (ownerofhappy.org)
Can you believe the pyramids have had 100% up-time with no human maintenance? If the pyramids can do it, why can't your notes app?

Software Engineering, Reliability, User Experience

48 points by kookiburra 4 days ago | 27 comments

I Switched to Firefox and Never Looked Back (howtogeek.com)

Web Browsers, Firefox, User Experience

603 points by Vinnl 4 days ago | 512 comments

Ask HN: Will HN ever have a dark mode? (ycombinator.com)
It's one of those sites that I frequently visit and get a glaring screen in my face when switching tabs. Just wanted to know if this feature is ever going to be available. I mean it's 2025!

User Experience, Web Design, Hacker News

13 points by anthropodie 5 days ago | 27 comments

What's involved in getting a "modern" terminal setup? (jvns.ca)
Hello! Recently I ran a terminal survey and I asked people what frustrated them. One person commented:

Terminal Emulators, Productivity, User Experience, Command Line

14 points by zdw 6 days ago | 3 comments

Making Beautiful API Keys (agentstation.ai)
Since developers are our customers, we wanted them to have beautiful API keys.

API, Design, User Experience

63 points by savannahkc 8 days ago | 103 comments

Lines of code that beat A/B testing (2012) (stevehanov.ca)
A/B testing is used far too often, for something that performs so badly. It is defective by design: Segment users into two groups. Show the A group the old, tried and true stuff. Show the B group the new whiz-bang design with the bigger buttons and slightly different copy. After a while, take a look at the stats and figure out which group presses the button more often. Sounds good, right? The problem is staring you in the face.

A/B Testing, Web Design, User Experience

375 points by Kerrick 8 days ago | 173 comments

Not every user owns an iPhone (perfplanet.com)
As software engineers and technologists its common to have access to some powerful devices and super fast bandwidths. It’s highly likely that you will be developing/testing on a high end Mac (or similar) or pulling out an expensive mobile device such as an iPhone from your pocket.

Software Engineering, Mobile Development, User Experience

59 points by todsacerdoti 9 days ago | 100 comments

Magic/tragic email links: don't make them the only option (recyclebin.zip)
The term “Magic Links” once meant a futuristic PDA. Nowdays, companies like Auth0 use it to refer to the slightly-magical feat of including a login link in an email.

Security, Email, User Experience, Authentication

706 points by gepeto42 10 days ago | 504 comments

In a cold day of late winter a new search experience came out (lexy.uno)
What can I help you find?

Search, User Experience, Technology

20 points by deniscartin 10 days ago | 26 comments

Ask HN: "can't live without" AI tool stack? (ycombinator.com)
Are there AI tools you use daily that you cannot live without?

Artificial Intelligence, Tools, User Experience, Recommendations

5 points by haliskerbas 11 days ago | 2 comments

Magic Links Have Rough Edges, but Passkeys Can Smooth Them Over (rmondello.com)
Independent media venture 404 Media recently published a post titled, “We Don’t Want Your Password”. The piece is a cogent explanation of the problems with password-based accounts online followed by a defense of the website’s login strategy, magic links, in the face of feedback about them being inconvenient and difficult to use.

Web Security, User Experience, Passwords, Authentication, Magic Links

50 points by mooreds 12 days ago | 57 comments

How to Debounce a Contact (2014) (ganssle.com)
The beer warms a bit as you pound the remote control. Again and again, temper fraying, you click the "channel up" key until the TV finally rewards your efforts. But it turns out channel 345 is playing Jeopardy so you again wave the remote in the general direction of the set and continue fiddling with the buttons.

Electronics, User Experience, Humor

150 points by user_7832 13 days ago | 79 comments

Ask HN: How Do Recruiters Still Have Jobs? (ycombinator.com)
Candidly, it doesn't make sense for recruiters to do "screen" calls to "go over" stuff that's already on my resume and re-confirm that I don't require a visa, despite indicating that I can work legally in the US (US Citizen) in my application on Lever or Workday.

Recruiting, Hiring, Technology, User Experience

12 points by b8 14 days ago | 8 comments

Wildcard: Customize HN using a spreadsheet view (2020) (geoffreylitt.com)
Wildcard is a browser extension that empowers anyone to modify websites to meet their own specific needs, using a familiar spreadsheet view.

Browser Extensions, Web Development, Customization, User Experience, Productivity

115 points by vortex_ape 15 days ago | 11 comments

Ask HN: Google login has circular dependency (ycombinator.com)
I just changed to a new iPhone. After setup, the gmail app requires me to confirm using two factor authentication using one of the following methods: <p>1. Tap Yes on a notification on my iPhone, which I don't receive because I am not logged in into any google accounts <p>2.

Google, Authentication, Mobile Devices, iPhones, User Experience

11 points by darth_avocado 15 days ago | 10 comments

Safety Filters make LLMs defective tools (woolion.art)
When working with LLM-based applications, you quickly realise that trusting the LLM output without a second thought is not the best idea. Unreliable LLM answers is something developers must address, to ensure a smooth user experience.

AI, Software, User Experience

24 points by woolion 15 days ago | 12 comments

Ask HN: Does the Framework laptop stand the test of time? (ycombinator.com)
3-4 years ago, several HN submissions of the Framework laptop got 1k-2k+ upvotes. I'd like to ask those of you who got the laptop: does it live up to the hype? Will it last you longer than any other laptop? Did any paint points emerge? If you had no laptop today, would you buy the Framework laptop again?

Hardware, Laptops, User Experience, Longevity

106 points by encroach 17 days ago | 82 comments

Why Linux is not ready for the desktop, the final edition (altervista.org)
The previous iteration of this article was too technical, too long, and contained a lot of controversial points, so I've been thinking for a long time about rewriting it completely, making it accessible to the non-technical folks, and exposing the deeper core issues that still make Linux a questionable match for the modern desktop PC.

Linux, Operating Systems, Desktop Computing, User Experience

122 points by itvision 18 days ago | 459 comments

Passkey technology is elegant, but it's most definitely not usable security (arstechnica.com)
It's that time again, when families and friends gather and implore the more technically inclined among them to troubleshoot problems they're having behind the device screens all around them. One of the most vexing and most common problems is logging into accounts in a way that's both secure and reliable.

Security, Technology, Passkeys, User Experience

377 points by Flimm 19 days ago | 361 comments

Annoying Security Prompts (annoying.technology)
Security prompt annoyances are kind of a low hanging fruit these days, but I will never understand how Apple decided that this experience after an upgrade is acceptable.

Security, User Experience, Apple

12 points by hold_and_modify 21 days ago | 4 comments

Ask HN: GPT o1 pro users, was it worth the $200/month subscription? (ycombinator.com)
Would love to hear some real world experiences of o1 pro subscribers.

GPT-3, AI, Subscription Services, User Experience

14 points by hubraumhugo 25 days ago | 10 comments

Ask HN: Anyone Work at Bitbucket/Atlassian? (ycombinator.com)
I'm kinda stuck in limbo with my account and unable to contact support

Bitbucket, Atlassian, Support, User Experience

13 points by chrisan 25 days ago | 1 comments

Cognitive load is what matters (minds.md)
There are so many buzzwords and best practices out there, but let's focus on something more fundamental. What matters is the amount of confusion developers feel when going through the code.

Software Development, Cognitive Science, User Experience

1766 points by zdw 26 days ago | 718 comments

Whither Dashboard Design? (surfingcomplexity.blog)
It’s true: the dashboards we use today for doing operational diagnostic work are … let’s say suboptimal.

User Experience, Design, Dashboards

37 points by gpi 26 days ago | 11 comments

Bot detection is no longer working – and just wait until AI agents come along (theconversation.com)
You’re running late at the airport and need to urgently access your account, only to be greeted by one of those frustrating tests — “Select all images with traffic lights” or “Type the letters you see in this box”. You squint, you guess, but somehow you’re wrong. You complete another test but still the site isn’t satisfied.

Security, Artificial Intelligence, User Experience

5 points by gpi 28 days ago | 0 comments

'Yes, I am a human': bot detection is no longer working (theconversation.com)
You’re running late at the airport and need to urgently access your account, only to be greeted by one of those frustrating tests — “Select all images with traffic lights” or “Type the letters you see in this box”. You squint, you guess, but somehow you’re wrong. You complete another test but still the site isn’t satisfied.