2 ms·

I’m really sad that UI and backend are so tightly coupled usually... like, not a lot of value is in the UI (except for ads of course), and many web software and

by tomp 8y ago

I’m really sad that UI and backend are so tightly coupled usually... like, not a lot of value is in the UI (except for ads of course), and many web software and especially desktop software could just supply an API along with an open source, adaptable GUI that users could freely modify and adapt (or download/buy other themes). The old mIRC was mostly like this, a core/backend functionality with a very skin-able frontend.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
> not a lot of value is in the UI (except for ads of course) Almost all the value is in the UI. For the user, it's the place where they interact with the system, and in software tools, UI design can make orders of magnitude of difference in value delivered to the user[0]. For the vendor, the UI is where they shove ads at people, track them, and lock them into the product. The problem is that Internet companies today no longer operate under "earn money by delivering value" model. They operate under "extract as much value as possible from the customer", which means any value delivered is incidental. Examples of those two models in action: - "earn money by delivering value" - customizable interface with power-user features, and/or good API allowing users to interact with the product from third-party UIs and scripts; users pay for the product/service - "extract value from user" - dumbed down, shiny interface, no power-user featuers; locked down SaaS little to no API access; sometimes paid, but more likely free in order to maximize user growth, which leads directly to the company being acquihired, product being shut down, and users being left in the cold (Yes, I'm pretty bitter about the state of things, and I generally refuse to use most SaaS products because of the dominant approach of such companies.) -- [0] - as a real-world example, consider software for managing products in ecommerce. Take away batch-processing capabilities, and your user's productivity will drop hundredfold. Which directly translates to a) frustration, and b) the need to hire more people for the same task.

by tomp 8y ago

TeMPOraL 8y ago

> not a lot of value is in the UI (except for ads of course) Almost all the value is in the UI. For the user, it's the place where they interact with the system, and in software tools, UI design can make orders of magnitude of difference in value delivered to the user[0]. For the vendor, the UI is where they shove ads at people, track them, and lock them into the product. The problem is that Internet companies today no longer operate under "earn money by delivering value" model. They operate under "extract as much value as possible from the customer", which means any value delivered is incidental. Examples of those two models in action: - "earn money by delivering value" - customizable interface with power-user features, and/or good API allowing users to interact with the product from third-party UIs and scripts; users pay for the product/service - "extract value from user" - dumbed down, shiny interface, no power-user featuers; locked down SaaS little to no API access; sometimes paid, but more likely free in order to maximize user growth, which leads directly to the company being acquihired, product being shut down, and users being left in the cold (Yes, I'm pretty bitter about the state of things, and I generally refuse to use most SaaS products because of the dominant approach of such companies.) -- [0] - as a real-world example, consider software for managing products in ecommerce. Take away batch-processing capabilities, and your user's productivity will drop hundredfold. Which directly translates to a) frustration, and b) the need to hire more people for the same task.