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Comment by colpabar | Hacker News Reader

fyi - there is no checkbox to click on the page, so prepare to be disappointed.

Seriously, without an actual implementation this is the least satisfying checkbox I've ever wanted to check.

There is actual implementation in the app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/not-boring-habits/id1593891243). And there is a video of it in the linked blog post.

Yeah but there's nothing satisfying about watching a video when the satisfaction is supposed to come from the actual interaction. I assume though it is only available in a mobile app. Would be good if there was a website you could easily create interactive simulations from apps (e.g. it would somehow replicate what the app showed and what sounds it made in response to mouse interactions on a web page - seems technically feasible with some sort of smart recording facility).

(PS yes I know of https://www.browserstack.com/, but haven't used it, and having to install the app and go through everything necessary just to experience what's being described in the article would still be annoying).

And I found it disappointing how far down into the article I had to scroll just to see the result.

I found the result itself disappointing as well. It's way too big and flashy for such a simple and common interaction.

The checkbox shouldn't be any bigger than the "boring" version, and any animation simple and last no more than 0.2 seconds. I really don't like the sound effect used here. If your UI elements are going to make noise when interacted with, I prefer something far more brief and tactile.

It's exactly the right amount of big and flashy for a once-a-day interaction that's supposed to motivate and reward you to do a difficult IRL thing, just so you can come check the checkbox and release a bit of happy reward chemicals in your brain.

I can see that. It could be useful for something like a daily diet or exercise tracker. I still don't care for the specific sound presented here, but for this use case I'm not opposed to something this long and flashy.

watchOS has really satisfying sounds and animations that trigger when you fill your fitness rings and meet goals.

Exactly this. Context is everything. This checkbox would be terrible for most use cases of the checkbox, but seems like it would work well in this example.

That being said, I think the approach could be really useful for a lot of interfaces. UX design often overlooks the little details that happen when a user interacts with something. A little extra zing can go a long way.

And after wasting enough time to find out what it actually looks like, it left me with this opinion: The "Simple Checkbox" they started with is 10,000 times better - although it seems silly to me to have one checkbox be the only thing on the screen (usually they occur on the left of items in a list).

They know enough about checkboxes to know this would torture the reader.

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