This parallels a longstanding critique I have of many modern user interfaces compared to slightly older software in the field of what I would consider 'power user' engineering tools; programs like FE tools, CAD & other CAE, etc. These are the kind of programs that had a stride starting in the late 90's to 2007-ish where they just slammed tons of toolbars around the edges of the screen, sometimes nesting functions or contexting workbenches but ultimately allowing the user to have everything exposed to them at once if needed. As screen real estate grew with higher res and larger monitors, the icons got smaller which was even better for the power user- you could fit even more on the screen if you wanted!

But starting around 2008-2009 I noticed a trend, and it continues to this day- the power user oriented layouts started being replaced with more 'friendly', larger icon, children's game looking UI. Intuitive graphical icons were replaced with stylish, monotone shit that looks like a graphic design student's dream, but conveyed less instant information.

I blame some of this shift on the move in Office to the Ribbon system and developers trying to imitate that, but some software I've seen takes that and does it much worse.

I want all my functions laid out and accessible. Like this blog post mentions, sometimes I don't know what I am wanting to do until I see it. I want to be able to explore the entire space before I know what it all does, maybe.

Using natural language can be very powerful if it augments these systems, but for many tools it isn't a replacement. Often I think new software is designed around looking impressive and fast to upper level management at the expense of the usability of the power users who ultimately are the users that get things done.