Products · Broad category
Desktop software
Raised as a usability problem by 28 people on Hacker News over 16 years (2011–2026), in 29 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.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Installing desktop apps takes confusing steps, searching and carries malware riskUnreviewed
20112026- Installing desktop apps requires many confusing steps, searching, and risk of malware2021-09-11
- Installing, locating, updating and uninstalling the desktop app takes many failing steps2020-10-14
- Installing desktop software involves many steps where people get lost or fail2020-09-09
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 29 complaints
- Sliders can't be operated by clicking, only dragging, so keyboard-driven mouse tools fail2026-07-15
- Apps take five seconds to launch and show spinners before content loads2026-02-03
- Desktop software feels slow to use2025-05-13
- Interface is extremely laggy and slow to respond2025-04-24
- Features get moved between updates, so learned locations no longer work2025-03-09
- Functionality buried five clicks deep, unclear icons, and hidden important information2024-12-26
- Desktop apps removed menus, shortcuts and customization, replaced by oversized mobile-style touch interfaces2024-11-21
- Page-change buttons are tiny and low-contrast; scrolling is ignored so users must click or drag2024-10-29
- Phone-style UIs make features hard to discover and behavior inconsistent on desktop2024-08-14
- Constant UI redesigns make users relearn software before getting comfortable with it2024-03-21
- Desktop computers got worse in usability and performance since 19982023-08-01
- Useful options are cluttered away or buried in tertiary menus, making power-user workflows harder2023-07-11
- Software versions aren't surfaced in the UI, so finding them takes digging2022-11-04
- Fields split across tabs hide which required field is missing, forcing hunting2022-04-29
- Poor feedback on pressed keys forces constant looking back and forth2022-03-08
- Commands buried in nested submenus, hard to find, sometimes in illogical places2022-01-12
- Desktop apps have inconsistent interfaces, no consistent keyboard shortcuts, and help that only works online2021-12-10
- Installing desktop apps requires many confusing steps, searching, and risk of malware2021-09-11
- Much free desktop software has poor interfaces, so people prefer commercial alternatives2021-08-27
- New note button opens a dropdown instead of creating a note, needing an extra click2021-08-09
- Must hunt through monochrome icons without tooltips, wasting minutes finding functions2021-04-17
- Hamburger menus and unlabeled icons hide functions, making them hard to find2021-02-02
- Interfaces have bloated and become slow to respond2021-01-23
- Installing, locating, updating and uninstalling the desktop app takes many failing steps2020-10-14
- Installing desktop software involves many steps where people get lost or fail2020-09-09
- Desktop software is too complex, with too many knobs, buttons and menu bars2019-01-08
- Everyday desktop applications respond slowly, with waits a 1984 Mac would not have had2017-11-17
- Error messages can't be copied, so users must retype them to search for the cause2017-11-07
- Desktop software is hard to design well, so much of it ends up cluttered and poorly usable2011-06-20