5 ms·

This design seems just fine: https://www.navidrome.org https://www.navidrome.org Try live: https://demo.navidrome.org https://demo.navidrome.org One often won

This design seems just fine: https://www.navidrome.org https://www.navidrome.org Try live: https://demo.navidrome.org https://demo.navidrome.org One often wonders how an obscure open source project with a minimal amount of commits can achieve the same or better as these multi billion dollar publicly traded paragons of innovation.

contravariant 4y ago
Do we really need to wonder that long why a tight knit group of people is able to outperform a big corporation on design?
- recuter 4y ago
  This thing is not only better designed it has all the same functionality as Spotify and a few other things. It is a complete replacement. What do all the people at Spotify do?
- karaterobot 4y ago
  Agreed that (ceteris paribus) a discrete open source project can have an edge on design, because it it's generally going to have a smaller scope, a more crisply defined mission, and fewer stakeholders to put their grubby fingerprints on the vision. As a designer, my most hated enemy is a system that cannot be simplified, because there is some arbitrary requirement that it remain as bloated as it's always been, plus let's keep shoveling more features on top of it because a VP said so. An additional advantage a FOSS project has, in theory, is that it probably doesn't have shareholders that demand growth and increased engagement all the time. So many bad product choices can be explained by the observation that companies with a huge market share still have to keep growing somehow, so they're going to try to keep users in the app longer, or just throw out a bunch of new features they hope will stick, whether anybody wants them or not. Or, the cargo cult method: redesign the app to copy whatever is currently growing, hoping that will work. Obviously, not all open source projects are well designed, and not all bloated unicorn products are badly designed. There are other factors.
  - recuter 4y ago
    Sutor, ne ultra crepidam.
bruce343434 4y ago
Warning: https://demo.navidrome.org https://demo.navidrome.org hijacks the back button, open it in a new tab
dijit 4y ago
I quite liked that, but I have to say that this is an exception. Most FOSS UI/UX is pretty poor. (and I say that with affection as a person who generally prefers FOSS). If I had to speculate though, it's that sometimes things with fewer opinions can end up being better than things that have many opinions. Think of all the benevolent dictators in tech, or the cult of personality around certain people like Hideo Kojima and Quentin Tarantino. A large part of that can be attributed to them taking every detail into consideration and micromanaging. Certainly not advocating for that, but a strong resolute singular opinion, if good, can be better than corporate consensus.
paxys 4y ago
Would be more helpful if the site had a single screenshot or video of how it works without needing to create an account.
- recuter 4y ago
  You're not creating any accounts, it clearly says: "Please login with username demo and password demo".
  - elaus 4y ago
    I challenge the 'clearly' in your comment: It's a saturated blue text on a blueish, gray background. I would not have seen it without your comment :)
  - throwaway884466 4y ago
    [flagged]

contravariant 4y ago

Do we really need to wonder that long why a tight knit group of people is able to outperform a big corporation on design?

recuter 4y ago
This thing is not only better designed it has all the same functionality as Spotify and a few other things. It is a complete replacement. What do all the people at Spotify do?
karaterobot 4y ago
Agreed that (ceteris paribus) a discrete open source project can have an edge on design, because it it's generally going to have a smaller scope, a more crisply defined mission, and fewer stakeholders to put their grubby fingerprints on the vision. As a designer, my most hated enemy is a system that cannot be simplified, because there is some arbitrary requirement that it remain as bloated as it's always been, plus let's keep shoveling more features on top of it because a VP said so. An additional advantage a FOSS project has, in theory, is that it probably doesn't have shareholders that demand growth and increased engagement all the time. So many bad product choices can be explained by the observation that companies with a huge market share still have to keep growing somehow, so they're going to try to keep users in the app longer, or just throw out a bunch of new features they hope will stick, whether anybody wants them or not. Or, the cargo cult method: redesign the app to copy whatever is currently growing, hoping that will work. Obviously, not all open source projects are well designed, and not all bloated unicorn products are badly designed. There are other factors.
- recuter 4y ago
  Sutor, ne ultra crepidam.

bruce343434 4y ago

Warning: https://demo.navidrome.org https://demo.navidrome.org hijacks the back button, open it in a new tab

dijit 4y ago

I quite liked that, but I have to say that this is an exception. Most FOSS UI/UX is pretty poor. (and I say that with affection as a person who generally prefers FOSS). If I had to speculate though, it's that sometimes things with fewer opinions can end up being better than things that have many opinions. Think of all the benevolent dictators in tech, or the cult of personality around certain people like Hideo Kojima and Quentin Tarantino. A large part of that can be attributed to them taking every detail into consideration and micromanaging. Certainly not advocating for that, but a strong resolute singular opinion, if good, can be better than corporate consensus.

paxys 4y ago

Would be more helpful if the site had a single screenshot or video of how it works without needing to create an account.

recuter 4y ago
You're not creating any accounts, it clearly says: "Please login with username demo and password demo".
- elaus 4y ago
  I challenge the 'clearly' in your comment: It's a saturated blue text on a blueish, gray background. I would not have seen it without your comment :)
- throwaway884466 4y ago
  [flagged]