alt Hacker NewsThe minimalist approach is great until it isn't. You can cover 98% of use cases with a single button is a great motto, until you are in the other 2%. I often fail to find basic functionality in software today, because some smart product manager decided that nobody really needs it. For example, it is now often impossible to load all elements from a list and filter/sort it along basic properties.
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I wouldn’t call Apple style minimalist. It was more focused on being approachable, in a way that works for both beginners and advanced users. That means something consistent, discoverable. It looks easy to get started, but has depth when needed.
If you look at or used macOS 9 and the early OS X none of that expresses minimalism
yeah like i do find apple software is now full of ads, bugs and often feels very unpolished. but i also think they have recently increased complexity in a bunch of places and i like that a lot haha... like being able to customize your homescreen more or even the screenshot example! i def use like 3 of those options at least weekly...
this is a discussion we often have where I work, where we're debating removing a feature due to difficulties maintaining it and few people needing it. I usually fight to keep it, with the argument "we aren't doing it for the people that don't need it, but for the ones that do." But at the end of the day, I'm not the one who has to pay for it.
You can make something customisable
"links to show with screenshots"
I always want to either copy and delete or save and forget, so I'd select those two options (or rather have the old behaviour) and ignore the rest. You can choose other things.
Same with adverts. I would select "zero adverts", but you could select "upto six adverts" or whatever. After all adverts are for the benefit of the customer right - that's what advert apologists say.
Does it satisfy 98% of users always? Or does it satisfy each user 98% of the time?