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MicroLLM Lab – Try 7 tiny LLM's in the browser

283 points · 113 comments · logicallee

  1. demibabs · · focus · HN ↗
    Cool project, but I'd really suggest looking at the UI.

    The text is too small and it's way too dense with information in general. Considering how simple this product is to use, it's kinda crazy that I have to scroll through over a page length of (mostly useless, AI-generated) information before getting to the actual interface.

    Also what is going on with the footer (why does it link back to the site itself, why is it telling me to "serve over HTTP").

    1. logicallee · · focus · HN ↗

      [dead]

      1. askjdfksdbfhk · · focus · HN ↗
        >Since this submission has been on the front page of HN for hours now, clearly people like it as it is. I don't think I need to change anything about it.

        That's not really how it works. People like it in spite of the bad vibe coded UI. That doesn't mean that the UI is good. The criticism was clearly correct. I don't feel bad about publicly criticizing the UI to your face, either, because it's not like you were the one who designed/created it anyway--by the same reasoning, I don't see any reason to get defensive about it, since you have not invested very much of yourself into it either.

        This has become a bit of a pet peeve of mine in general. Over the last six months or so I've been inundated with all kinds of lazy, bad vibe-coded UIs via my normal internet usage. It feels paradoxical in a way, because AI tooling should make it easier than ever to fix obvious problems, and yet UIs have gotten worse.

        I have two theories for why this is: (1) usage of AI tooling conditions people into engaging with their creations in a certain hands-off, uninvolved, low-attention surface level way; or perhaps (2) those who care about their UIs were the people who were already creating UIs pre-AI, and so the marginal effect of AI tooling has been to increase UI creation amongst precisely the population who cares the least about what they are putting out.

        I've also been developing a very strong personal revulsion towards the Claude default design language, including and especially the gold-on-black color scheme, although I admit that this is entirely by association and not because of its inherent qualities per se.

        1. logicallee · · focus · HN ↗
          In this particular case it used to not have any text at the top. Just click a model, chat.

          I decided that that wasn't very user friendly. It doesn't tell people what it is. Or how to use it. It doesn't explain any of the concepts or vocabulary.

          So I asked it to add those things, above the main interface, including the steps people need to take to use it. I think it did great, and I think the small text sizes with a clear title let people who need it, read it, and people who don't can just scroll down. Even with the text it's 600 words.

          I like the effect of what it's done. It's better than I would have done if I had written those intro words myself.

          Clearly it resonates with people, this thing has been on the front page of HN for 4 hours and with 110 points is by far the most popular thing I've ever posted here.

          1. Vaslo · · focus · HN ↗
            Someone flagged your original comment here, not sure why
            1. logicallee · · focus · HN ↗
              They probably flagged it because they thought an LLM wrote my comment, perhaps because of the disconnect between my initial reply and the edit. Together with the whole comment, the first part of my reply sounds like it could have been written by an LLM.
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