←back to thread

Free software scares normal people

(danieldelaney.net)
917 points cryptophreak | 2 comments | 30 Oct 25 15:07 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
andreldm ◴[30 Oct 25 16:12 UTC] No.45761642[source]▶
If handbrake scares them, don’t you dare to demonstrate how to use ffmpeg. I remember when I used handbrake for the first time and thought “wow, it’s much more convenient than struggling with ffmpeg”.
replies(7): >>45761715 #>>45761913 #>>45761996 #>>45762179 #>>45762626 #>>45762929 #>>45764672 #
phoronixrly ◴[30 Oct 25 16:18 UTC] No.45761715[source]▶
Handbrake's UI is in the uncanny valley for me -- too complicated for use by laymen, and way too limiting for use by people who know what they're doing...
replies(2): >>45761770 #>>45761778 #
fellowniusmonk ◴[30 Oct 25 16:23 UTC] No.45761778[source]▶
ffmpeg with disposable or llm backed dnd interfaces.

for certain types of tooling UIs should be cheap, disposable and task/worlflow specific.

replies(2): >>45761937 #>>45762131 #
1. jraph ◴[30 Oct 25 16:49 UTC] No.45762131[source]▶
The last thing we want for a user-friendly interface is nondeterminism. Some procedure that works today must work tomorrow if it looks like you can repeat it. LLMs can't be the answer to this. And if you go to the lengths of making the llm deterministic, with tests and all, you might as well code the thing once and for all and not ship the local llm to the end user at all.
replies(1): >>45762542 #
2. fellowniusmonk ◴[30 Oct 25 17:22 UTC] No.45762542[source]▶
Sorry, I see how my post lacked sufficient clarity.

The idea behind a cheap UI is not constant change, but that you have a shared engine and "app" per activity.

The particular workflow/ui doesn't need to ever change, it's more of a app/brand per activity for non-power users.

This is similar to how some apps historically (very roughly lotus notes springs to mind) are a single app but have an email interface/icon to click, or contacts, or calendar, all one underlying app but different ui entry points.