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How working with a blind client revealed invisible accessibility gaps
23 days ago
- Accessibility reviews for a workflow project took 18 hours, far exceeding the initial estimate of a few hours.
- The client had blind and deaf employees, requiring serious accessibility considerations beyond standard engagements.
- Platform limitations, such as Microsoft's browser apps and SharePoint's read-only tags, hindered screen reader usability.
- Workarounds included sending email updates instead of using inaccessible pages and creating tailored training materials.
- Using a screen reader revealed the noise and clutter that sighted users overlook, emphasizing the need for better design.
- The experience highlighted gaps in software accessibility when tools are built primarily for sighted and hearing users.
- Recommendations include integrating accessibility standards early, advocating for inclusive tools, and reporting issues to companies.
Small details in my Mastodon client that I wanted more people to notice
17 days ago
- Readable CSS classes: Uses readable class names via Svelte's component CSS scoping, CSS modules, and a custom preprocessor for styling child components.
- Global variables: Exposes global variables (e.g., _settings.display_accent, _api) for userscripts and debugging.
- Responsive design: Features a responsive layout with a sidebar that switches to icon-only mode at specific breakpoints to save space.
- Mobile navigation: Adjusts UI elements like the 'create post' button position for mobile vs. desktop, with navigation mimicking mobile tab switching.
- Thread representation: Displays posts as disconnected bubbles that connect only when threaded, with visual adjustments for self-replies to reduce clutter.
- Display names: Shows handles instead of display names by default to balance design, with special handling for replies and boosts.
- Media handling: Supports images, videos, and audio with carousels for multiple attachments, lazy loading, and custom lightboxes with alt text captions.
- Click-to-open: Makes entire post boxes clickable while avoiding text selection or interactive element conflicts for opening posts.
- Hover effects: Uses CSS hacks (e.g., ::before with z-index) to implement hover backgrounds without breaking reply layouts.
- Tree-style replies: Represents replies as a tree with indentation and color-coding to clarify conversation structure.
- Post positioning: Ensures posts with many ancestors appear near the center of the screen using spacers for consistency.
- User info display: Shows user information on the side when focusing on a post to improve awareness in conversations.
- Follow buttons: Limits follow buttons to user profiles only, avoiding clutter and encouraging profile review before following.
- Soft filters: Treats soft filters similarly to content warnings, displaying them with icons and grayed-out text.
- Timeline tweaks: Merges boosts and thread ancestors in the home timeline to reduce duplication and maintain chronological order.
- Mention grouping: Groups multiple mentions into a single clickable element to save space and clean up post text.
- HTML parsing: Parses incoming HTML to process mentions and hashtags, improving user experience despite backend inconsistencies.
- Hashtag handling: Removes inline hashtags and lists them at the bottom of posts, with special rules to clean up hashtag-heavy content.
- Grouped notifications: Groups notifications manually for backends without native support, inspired by Phanpy's implementation.
- Reaction management: Converts certain emoji reactions to favorites, displays reactions next to interaction buttons, and handles backend inconsistencies.
- Quote display: Shows quotes at the top of posts, flattening nested quotes, with intentions to encourage 'yes, and...' style interactions.
- Post box design: Adapts post dialog position for mobile (bottom-up) and desktop (top-down), though it has limitations like lack of file upload support.
Car touchscreens are cheap, not good
16 days ago
- Touchscreens are increasingly replacing physical buttons and knobs in cars, primarily because they are cheaper to manufacture and install, rather than being superior in safety or usability.
- While touchscreens can offer benefits such as simplicity, flexibility, and a modern appeal, they often lead to higher driver distraction and worse usability compared to physical controls, as shown in various studies.
- Automakers prioritize cost-cutting through part reduction, which touchscreens and capacitive buttons facilitate, saving significant money per vehicle, even if it compromises user experience and safety.
- Examples from companies like VW, Tesla, and Mazda illustrate a trend where physical controls are removed in favor of touchscreens or capacitive buttons, often justified by design or user preference but largely driven by cost savings.
- Despite some advantages, the shift to touchscreens is criticized for making cars harder to use safely, with manufacturers sometimes reversing decisions (like VW reintroducing buttons) after negative feedback, highlighting the tension between cost and usability.
See What's Next for Firefox
15 days ago
- Firefox design system (Nova) modernized for better user experience.
- Mobile tab groups introduced for organizing tabs by theme.
- PDF editor enhanced with splitting, merging, and reordering.
- Customizable hotkeys for built-in keyboard shortcuts without extensions.
- Curated link sharing for collections of links and tab groups.
- On-device translation expanded to all Firefox-supported languages.
- Extensible Search/URL bar for faster access to search and navigation.
- Autofill improvements for easier autocomplete.
- Document Picture-in-Picture allows floating web content windows.
- Free VPN integrated into mobile Firefox.
- Redesigned private window with one-click cookie clearing.
- Containers separate online data and logins for site groups.
- Ad and tracker blocking added directly to Firefox for iOS.
- Settings redesigned for easier understanding and management.
- Passkey support for Firefox Sync logins.
- Smart Window introduces opt-in AI browsing.
- Quick answers feature via voice and AI for short text responses.
- Speed improvements with engine upgrades and QUIC/IPv6 prioritization.
- Resource monitor to track system resource usage by tabs.
- Power saving mode turns off battery-draining tabs on mobile.
- Breach alerts for sites involved in online data breaches.
- Anti-fingerprinting protections against device tracking.
- Blocked tracker widget dashboard shows blocked trackers.
- New web APIs like Wasm JS Promise Integration and WebTransport.
- New media features include HDR video on Windows/Linux and JPEG XL.
- New CSS capabilities with advanced attributes and animations.
Designing Firefox for the Future
15 days ago
- Firefox is being redesigned with a focus on privacy, speed, and customization, under Project Nova.
- Privacy features are prioritized, including easier access to VPN and private browsing, along with redesigned Settings for clearer data controls.
- Performance improvements enhance page load times by 9% and introduce productivity features like tab groups and compact mode.
- The design update includes softer tab shapes, rounded components, updated icons, balanced spacing, and a warm color palette inspired by fire.
- Customization options are expanded with new themes and wallpapers, while accessibility features like dark mode and contrast adjustments are emphasized.
- Firefox maintains its open-source ethos, encouraging community feedback and consistency across desktop and mobile platforms.
Vivaldi 8.1: Rowing in calm waters
13 days ago
- Vivaldi 8.1 release focuses on bug fixes and improvements, especially enhancing tab behavior and refining the UI auto-hide feature.
- Vivaldi maintains powerful features including a unified frame design, advanced tab management like tiling and grouping, and a built-in tracker and ad blocker.
- The browser prioritizes user privacy with no tracking, profiling, or data selling, and encourages community feedback for continuous development.
UI Degrades over Time
10 days ago
- Windows 95 UI had high contrast and clear shapes, making it instantly readable and functional.
- Windows 11 reduced contrast but maintained recognizable shapes.
- Windows 11 Insiders UI is confusing, with poor visibility, unclear elements (like duplicate 'Run' labels), and poor alignment.
- The text input is nearly invisible, with only a faint cursor hinting at its presence.
- Unlike Windows 95, which followed system conventions and worked for the user, the Insiders UI is puzzling and non-functional.
What's the deal with all the random weekly quota resets for agents lately?
4 days ago
- Subscription-based coding agents like Claude Code and Codex have usage quotas (5-hour and weekly) to manage server load and prevent abuse.
- Providers such as Anthropic and OpenAI sometimes reset weekly quotas for all users, often without announcement, as compensation or during competitive periods.
- Recent releases (e.g., Fable 5, GPT-5.6 Sol) have led to more frequent quota resets, with OpenAI resetting Codex weekly quotas six times in two weeks in July.
- Users, especially power users, try to maximize their quota usage but may feel frustrated when resets occur mid-cycle, perceiving it as wasted value.
- Frequent resets can shift from excitement to annoyance, forcing users to urgently use quota and potentially causing burnout.
- The cynical view suggests quota resets may aim to retain users by preventing them from switching to competitors when their quota runs out.
- If resets become too frequent, quotas may lose meaning, potentially incentivizing users to downgrade plans, contrary to provider goals.
Is software enshittified?
7 hours ago
- Cory Doctorow's concept of enshittification has become culturally sticky, suggesting software is intentionally getting worse due to economic forces.
- Network effects enable free services to exploit users by degrading experiences (e.g., more ads) since raising prices isn't feasible.
- Many complaints about enshittification reflect normal product evolution—software becomes more complex and less performant as it matures.
- Software complexity often arises from necessary features like legal compliance, accessibility, and platform changes, not just corporate greed.
- AI summaries in Google search may not be driven by dominance but by other factors, challenging the enshittification narrative.

Hasty Briefsbeta

#user experience

How working with a blind client revealed invisible accessibility gaps

Small details in my Mastodon client that I wanted more people to notice

Car touchscreens are cheap, not good

See What's Next for Firefox

Designing Firefox for the Future

Vivaldi 8.1: Rowing in calm waters

UI Degrades over Time

What's the deal with all the random weekly quota resets for agents lately?

Is software enshittified?