In this episode of Surprise, It's Not a Toaster, Chris Boyer and Ed Bennett unleash a technical rant on the UX war crimes committed by modern video apps — with Zoom front and center. They talk about cluttered interfaces, vanishing buttons, and the "where's the dang meeting list?" UI mystery. Spoiler: The most-used features are hidden like Easter eggs.

Our tech reco this week is Pleasant Green — a YouTube channel exposing scammy corners of the web with humor and heart.

Then, in GenAI test segment segment, we run various AI platforms through the ultimate turing test: Can they become your friend, or just smile politely while harvesting your data? Bonus: we invoke the ghost of Zuck.

You may never look at a Zoom toolbar the same way again. Or find it.

Mentions from the Show: 

Learn From 12 Bad UX Examples: Lessons From the Most Criticized Apps

Zoom Community: New app UI is terrible - I need my list of meetings, not a calendar view

Zoom — Poor UI or deliberate pattern?

Why The Products With The Worst UX Win The Market

Pleasant Green YouTube channel

Chris Boyer on LinkedIn

Ed Bennett on LinkedIn

Chris Boyer website

Ed Bennett of BlueSky

Chris Boyer on BlueSky