4 ms·

The fact that the calculator has a $#!"@ hamburger menu to switch between Programmer and "can do floating point numbers" mode is one of those asinine UX decisio

The fact that the calculator has a $#!"@ hamburger menu to switch between Programmer and "can do floating point numbers" mode is one of those asinine UX decisions that makes me fear any app update - "Oh hey, they're adding a neat feature, let's see how they mess up UX on it" is my default reaction nowadays. And yes, Notepad and Calculator take much longer to start now than they ever did - not sure if it's SmartScreen, a Store Update check, or if SEND_DIAGNOSTICS is enabled on production builds, but I bet it's some Program Manager making some idiotic decision because some useless KPI requires it.

3seashells 3y ago
Calculator is slow calculator now, for calculated promotion points.
bee_rider 3y ago
Wait, what is the difference between “programmer mode” and “can do floating point numbers” mode? The former implies the latter, right?
- MenhirMike 3y ago
  Programmer mode is useful if you need to convert Decimal/Hex/Binary, but if you try to enter e.g, 17.95 as a decimal number, you can't. (In fact, it'll display 17 NAND 95 - so the dot seems to be a shortcut for a bitwise operation) - it's Integers Only. (I guess one could argue that programmer mode should include IEEE-754 floats, but I'm fine with that mode being limited to integers, it's plenty useful already. But it does require switching to another mode if you need a calculator to calculate floating point numbers)
- godd2 3y ago
  You cannot enter fractional values in programmer mode. This is reasonable, but what is incredibly annoying is that when you type in a number while in Programmer mode, if you then change to Scientific mode, it blows away the number you typed in.
bluSCALE4 3y ago
After I found out that in GTA5, bad code loading a large JSON file made boot time jump from 2m to 6m, up to 15m. The JSON file was for in-game purchases, aka useless.
- zerocrates 3y ago
  Though I believe that was a delay specifically for GTA Online only, and those purchases are absolutely the key and only point of the online mode for Rockstar. Of course that doesn't mean it should have been loading so inefficiently regardless.
  - frenchy 3y ago
    The next verison of GTA should be a game where you get a gig with a corporation called Rockstar, and all your jobs are focused around making them money.
- rvba 3y ago
  Most companies not even bother to make their software usable what is baffling. Am I supposed to play a multiplayer game when it takes 10 minutes to open and another 5 in queue and then few before it starts? Blizzard launcher downloads 137 MB to launch some games EVERY time. In fact some game did not even start, probably due to mismatch of version on the patch server and game server. Nobody in Blizzard seems to notice nor care at all. The whole management board should be fired. I remember paying 10 dollars for starcraft remastered and it plain didnt work, because blizzard doesnt bother to fix their battle.net app (all they did was try to rename it to blizzard app). Now statcraft bw works, but it didnt for few weeks. You finish your work, want to start the game and it cant even start fast.
  - bluSCALE4 3y ago
    This happened with the Warcraft remake as well. Fans are trying to pick up the slack.
conductr 3y ago
> "Oh hey, they're adding a neat feature, let's see how they mess up UX on it" It still feels like they just break UX to support touch devices better than older UI would. I might just be showing my age, or out of touch, or perhaps because I only use Windows for work but I have no intention of ever using touch on a device running Windows. My laptop screen support touch and I turn it off as it's and unexpected behavior to me (if I touch my screen I'm probably just pointing at something/showing to another person).
MarkSweep 3y ago
The really damning UI feature of calculator, at least during the beginning of Windows 10, was the splash screen (aka loading screen). I understand that’s a standard feature of UWP apps, but the fact it was on screen long enough to be noticed was unacceptable.
- vxNsr 3y ago
  I’m sure there was a built in wait timer and it wasn’t because it was actually loading anything. Some manager needed to justify paying for the splash screen so created a ticket to make sure it always got shown
grishka 3y ago
> a $#!"@ hamburger menu Touchscreen-first design does this to apps ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- MenhirMike 3y ago
  There would be plenty of space for humongous buttons to touch and only use the hamburger when the app is really small. But yeah, it's not touchscreen, it's that everyone designs exclusively for 6" screens these days, which also explains why 60% of modern apps is just useless whitespace :/
  - grishka 3y ago
    > everyone designs exclusively for 6" screens these days Technically incorrect, I don't ;)
    - MenhirMike 3y ago
      I wish there were more people that also don't and still design for desktop screen sizes, but you seem to be a rarer and rarer breed :/
MikusR 3y ago
$#!"@ hamburger and ordinary menu take the same amount of clicks to switch modes. The one from Windows 7 and the one from windows 10 take about the same time to start. The last fast starting one was in Windows XP.

3seashells 3y ago

Calculator is slow calculator now, for calculated promotion points.

bee_rider 3y ago

Wait, what is the difference between “programmer mode” and “can do floating point numbers” mode? The former implies the latter, right?

MenhirMike 3y ago
Programmer mode is useful if you need to convert Decimal/Hex/Binary, but if you try to enter e.g, 17.95 as a decimal number, you can't. (In fact, it'll display 17 NAND 95 - so the dot seems to be a shortcut for a bitwise operation) - it's Integers Only. (I guess one could argue that programmer mode should include IEEE-754 floats, but I'm fine with that mode being limited to integers, it's plenty useful already. But it does require switching to another mode if you need a calculator to calculate floating point numbers)
godd2 3y ago
You cannot enter fractional values in programmer mode. This is reasonable, but what is incredibly annoying is that when you type in a number while in Programmer mode, if you then change to Scientific mode, it blows away the number you typed in.

bluSCALE4 3y ago

After I found out that in GTA5, bad code loading a large JSON file made boot time jump from 2m to 6m, up to 15m. The JSON file was for in-game purchases, aka useless.

zerocrates 3y ago
Though I believe that was a delay specifically for GTA Online only, and those purchases are absolutely the key and only point of the online mode for Rockstar. Of course that doesn't mean it should have been loading so inefficiently regardless.
- frenchy 3y ago
  The next verison of GTA should be a game where you get a gig with a corporation called Rockstar, and all your jobs are focused around making them money.
rvba 3y ago
Most companies not even bother to make their software usable what is baffling. Am I supposed to play a multiplayer game when it takes 10 minutes to open and another 5 in queue and then few before it starts? Blizzard launcher downloads 137 MB to launch some games EVERY time. In fact some game did not even start, probably due to mismatch of version on the patch server and game server. Nobody in Blizzard seems to notice nor care at all. The whole management board should be fired. I remember paying 10 dollars for starcraft remastered and it plain didnt work, because blizzard doesnt bother to fix their battle.net app (all they did was try to rename it to blizzard app). Now statcraft bw works, but it didnt for few weeks. You finish your work, want to start the game and it cant even start fast.
- bluSCALE4 3y ago
  This happened with the Warcraft remake as well. Fans are trying to pick up the slack.

conductr 3y ago

> "Oh hey, they're adding a neat feature, let's see how they mess up UX on it" It still feels like they just break UX to support touch devices better than older UI would. I might just be showing my age, or out of touch, or perhaps because I only use Windows for work but I have no intention of ever using touch on a device running Windows. My laptop screen support touch and I turn it off as it's and unexpected behavior to me (if I touch my screen I'm probably just pointing at something/showing to another person).

MarkSweep 3y ago

The really damning UI feature of calculator, at least during the beginning of Windows 10, was the splash screen (aka loading screen). I understand that’s a standard feature of UWP apps, but the fact it was on screen long enough to be noticed was unacceptable.

vxNsr 3y ago
I’m sure there was a built in wait timer and it wasn’t because it was actually loading anything. Some manager needed to justify paying for the splash screen so created a ticket to make sure it always got shown

grishka 3y ago

> a $#!"@ hamburger menu Touchscreen-first design does this to apps ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

MenhirMike 3y ago
There would be plenty of space for humongous buttons to touch and only use the hamburger when the app is really small. But yeah, it's not touchscreen, it's that everyone designs exclusively for 6" screens these days, which also explains why 60% of modern apps is just useless whitespace :/
- grishka 3y ago
  > everyone designs exclusively for 6" screens these days Technically incorrect, I don't ;)
  - MenhirMike 3y ago
    I wish there were more people that also don't and still design for desktop screen sizes, but you seem to be a rarer and rarer breed :/

MikusR 3y ago

$#!"@ hamburger and ordinary menu take the same amount of clicks to switch modes. The one from Windows 7 and the one from windows 10 take about the same time to start. The last fast starting one was in Windows XP.