Products · Broad category
Desktop applications
Raised as a usability problem by 40 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 38 threads.
This is a broad category rather than one product, so its issues aren't ranked on the home page.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads in the last 5 years.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Apps don't match the system look, forcing users to relearn the interfaceUnreviewed
20092026- Fancy custom GUIs make no two apps look alike, confusing users2024-07-12
- Apps don't match the system's look, so users lose familiarity and have to relearn the interface2021-06-15
- Each app's rich, colorful interface creates friction and distraction on the desktop2018-01-15
Mouse-designed desktop apps are unpleasant to operate by touchUnreviewed
20092026- Desktop apps designed for mouse are unpleasant to operate with touch2026-10-28
- Apps lack well-designed tab stops and keyboard shortcuts are inconsistent, forcing mouse use2026-06-05
- Apps designed for phones don't adapt well to large screens and precise mouse input2021-09-11
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 41 complaints
- Desktop apps designed for mouse are unpleasant to operate with touch2026-10-28
- Widget toolkits have lost usability while becoming prettier since the early 2000s2026-06-10
- Apps lack well-designed tab stops and keyboard shortcuts are inconsistent, forcing mouse use2026-06-05
- UI designers refuse to make apps configurable, so frequent users cannot adapt them to their workflow2025-12-14
- Settings are buried in hamburger menus and custom switches are hard to read as on or off2025-12-02
- Text in a dialog can't be selected or copied, forcing the user to OCR it2025-11-12
- Dropdown items cut off on phone screen and cannot be scrolled to2025-01-04
- Home button only responds to hover and clicks below the text; top crop handles not clickable or resizable2025-01-04
- Tapping feature icons stops scrolling and turns them blue, though they lead nowhere, and the rest can't be seen without deselecting2025-01-04
- Fancy custom GUIs make no two apps look alike, confusing users2024-07-12
- Users must search online and take handwritten notes to find needed functions2024-07-01
- Desktop app wrappers are clunky and hide right-click and the URL bar2024-05-01
- Webpage repeatedly reports it cannot reach the desktop app after setup, with no clear fix2024-03-27
- Desktop app is slow to respond on a fast Windows 10 PC2023-05-07
- Blocking the UI thread freezes everything, even the close button2023-03-18
- Apps ignore system text size and color settings, forcing users into app-specific theming2023-01-04
- Clicking the close X doesn't quit apps; they keep running in the background2022-11-17
- Each application has its own UI, so users must relearn how to perform tasks2022-03-25
- Apps are bloated, inefficient, low-information-density, and built like toys or tablet games2021-12-10
- Apps designed for phones don't adapt well to large screens and precise mouse input2021-09-11
- Users can't tell whether menu items like Find under Edit are destructive or safe2021-08-31
- Apps don't match the system's look, so users lose familiarity and have to relearn the interface2021-06-15
- Applications insist on file dialogs and pester-box prompts instead of convenient drag-and-drop2021-06-03
- Adding a stock to the watchlist takes too many clicks2021-02-03
- Non-web software and hardware are being forced into web-style models, degrading their usability2020-11-01
- Shortcuts are undiscoverable, with no guides, so users only find them by accident2020-04-18
- Typed file name loses first characters or goes into old tab unless user pauses2020-04-18
- Documentation is only online, so users can't look up how to use software offline2018-12-31
- Opening foreign-language documents or pages is hit or miss, and fixing it requires studying the software stack2018-07-27
- Each app's rich, colorful interface creates friction and distraction on the desktop2018-01-15
- Installing and updating desktop apps involves confusing prompts, risky checkbox choices, and incompatibilities2017-10-19
- Desktop apps are hard to use on touchscreens2017-07-26
- Every desktop app has a different, non-standard interface, so layouts are hard to predict2017-07-11
- Converter fails with an obscure error on Home edition, unclear why2016-10-02
- Applications have UI latency and slow startup worse than old Amiga software2016-09-12
- Modal dialogs block all other work until the user dismisses them2016-08-30
- Apps hijack text-editing shortcuts like option+arrows for their own commands, so users can't bind keys to word movement2014-10-29
- Installers require the user to click Next repeatedly, making every action slow2012-05-12
- Time wasted navigating non-intuitive interfaces and poorly laid-out common controls2012-02-20
- Customer clicked OK on the webpage screenshot instead of the real dialog2011-07-12
- Locale-based language choice mixes app language with OS language, confusing users in same dialog2009-08-04