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ignorethecode.net
Personal blog · ignorethecode.net/blogdesignprogramming
ignorethecode.net is a personal blog at ignorethecode.net about design and programming. Since 2009, 112 different Hacker News readers have linked it 192 times, most often “Oberon (2009)”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-08-09, and you can follow it by feed.
Rarely recommended · 4 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link ignorethecode.net for its UI and design writing, especially its Oberon system overview and critiques of software interfaces such as Skype 5, Google Wave scrollbars and unsolicited redesigns.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- Oberon (2009)13 people · 21 mentions · first linked 2009-04-22
- Ignore the code5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2009-05-13
- Skype 5 for Mac4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2011-03-30
- /blog/2009/11/15/google_waves_scrollbars/3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2018-02-18
- Creating New Documents3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2009-06-02
- Invisible Scrollbars3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2011-08-19
- The Command Line Is the GUI's Future3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2023-03-18
- /blog/2009/04/22/oberon/2 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2024-02-13
- Horror Vacui2 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2014-11-25
- Unsolicited Redesigns2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2011-05-15
What Hacker News says?
Some relevant writing on unsolicited redesigns from last year, worth bearing in mind in this context, by - Lukas Mathis: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2011/05/15/unsolicited_redesig... - Khoi Vinh: http://www.subtraction.com/2011/07/28/unsolicited-redesigns - Andy Rutledge: http://andyrutledge.com/journalism.php
Comment linking /blog/2011/05/15/unsolicited_redesigns/
on “The Next Microsoft”Submitted Please Steal These webOS Features as a story · 385 points
HN discussion> maximizing to fill the whole screen makes less and less sense I guess that was the point of having "windows" in the first place. Per TFA: > Websites and documents usually end up with a lot of whitespace and padding around them This only happens if you needlessly maximise; windows are supposed to fit their content, not their container†. (Yes I realise that the article is in jest, yet I see so many people complainin…
Comment linking /blog/2014/11/11/horror_vacui/
on “Ideal Monitor Rotation for Programmers”Submitted Realism in UI Design as a story · 324 points
HN discussionObligatory Google Wave scrollbar mention... http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/11/15/google_waves_scroll... (Damn, it's already been over a decade already since it ended?)
Comment linking /blog/2009/11/15/google_waves_scrollbars/
on “The worst volume control UI in the world (2017)”Submitted Skype 5 for Mac as a story · 271 points
HN discussion> I wish desktop OSes could be more simple, i.e. without multi-user and file access rights. Have a look into Oberon and its successor A2/Bluebottle. http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/04/22/oberon/ https://liam-on-linux.livejournal.com/46523.html
Comment linking /blog/2009/04/22/oberon/
on “BeOS: The Alternate Universe's Mac OS X”Submitted The New iPad's Screen Under the Microscope as a story · 264 points
HN discussionI have to agree. Every version of Skype since 4 has been an exercise in a appalling design choices, in particular on the Mac. Whereas it used to occupy a tiny window listing contacts Skype 5 switched to a large obnoxious screen filling mess. Here is an excellent summary of the mess that is Skype: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2011/03/30/skype_5/
Comment linking /blog/2011/03/30/skype_5/
on “New Skype Update Is Horrible”Submitted Oberon (2009) as a story · 225 points
HN discussionIt is very interesting to see some comparisons you did. You mentioned Oberon[1], which has an explicit reference to Doug Engelbart. Seeing some TempleOS highlights reminds me a lot of those ideas, including LightTable[2]. [1]: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/04/22/oberon/ [2]: http://lighttable.com/
Comment linking /blog/2009/04/22/oberon/
on “A Constructive Look at TempleOS”Submitted The Problem with the iPhone's Home Button as a story · 219 points
HN discussionhttp://ignorethecode.net/blog/2011/03/30/skype_5/
Comment linking /blog/2011/03/30/skype_5/
on “Microsoft to buy Skype for $7 billion”Submitted Windows 8 and the Microsoft Surface as a story · 200 points
HN discussion> if you have some interesting links to share I'll skim them with pleasure. I do not advise skimming. I've been a full-time tech journalist for 2 & a half years now (I was in the 1990s as well but the 21st century is very different) and I find the majority of readers who angrily disagree with my articles did not in fact understand the article because they tried to skim it and they didn't get the gist. (In a previous…
Comment linking /blog/2009/04/22/oberon/
on “In the Beginning Was the Command Line (1999)”Submitted The Failure of the iPad as a story · 173 points
HN discussionHere are a bunch of blogs from my RSS reader that I think are worth reading. Some of them haven't updated in a while, but the archives may be worth a look anyway. * Blogs with a math focus: http://blog.sigfpe.com http://bit-player.org http://mathr.co.uk/blog/ https://www.johndcook.com/blog/ * Blogs with a programming languages focus: https://existentialtype.wordpress.com https://bluishcoder.co.nz http://blog.ezyang.…
Comment linking /blog/
on “Ask HN: What programming blogs do you follow?”Submitted Oberon OS Walkthrough (2009) as a story · 168 points
HN discussionFrom the same author as the parent article: http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2011/07/15/the_back_button_dil...
Comment linking /blog/2011/07/15/the_back_button_dilemma/
on “Please Steal These webOS Features”Submitted The Capacitive Button Cult Must Be Stopped as a story · 166 points
HN discussionIt solves one crucial problem of all current tablet UIs (iOS, Android, WebOS): http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2011/03/04/multitasking/ Please, Apple, Google and HP, blatantly copy the ability to see more than one app at once!
Comment linking /blog/2011/03/04/multitasking/
on “Previewing Windows 8 (Video)”Submitted Oberon, a delightfully insane system as a story · 128 points
HN discussionI'm surprised nobody has brought up the scrollbars yet. The original post mentions the bespoke UI, but only faults it for using MDI. The non-native scrollbars were smart and nifty, but, at the end of the day, they were jarring to use. I don't remember many single UI features that ever made me alternate so frequently between "neat!" and "WTH?!?". And I've seen lots of interfaces on many platforms. http://ignorethecod…
Comment linking /blog/2009/11/15/google_waves_scrollbars/
on “How not to replace email: lessons from Google Wave”Submitted Web App Speed as a story · 124 points
HN discussionMy blog and podcast feeds go around these few main interests of mine: software, art, design, music and Apple. Podcasts: Varieties, science, design. * This American Life. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ * Radiolab. http://www.radiolab.org/series/podcasts/ * Planet Money. http://www.npr.org/planetmoney * Stuff You Should Know. http://www.howstuffworks.com/ * The Infinite Monkey Cage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b…
Comment linking /blog/
on “Ask HN: What tech blogs, podcasts do you follow outside of HN?”Submitted Google Wave's Scrollbars as a story · 124 points
HN discussionIgnore the code is a pretty good design blog in general ( http://ignorethecode.net/blog/ )
Comment linking /blog/
on “Realism in UI Design”Submitted I've Written a Book as a story · 120 points
HN discussionI limit my subs to mostly tech and feeds that post infrequently but well. I go back and forth between enabling Hacker News and disabling it. It's too busy and distracting sometimes when I need to get things done and I don't want to get lost it some lengthy article somewhere. Here are my current feeds sans HN http://abstrusegoose.com http://xkcd.com/ http://cmurphycode.posterous.com http://acmel.wordpress.com http://…
Comment linking /
on “Ask HN: Apart from Hacker News, what else you read?”Submitted Switching to Windows as a story · 119 points
HN discussion
