They haven't, the median application or website is significantly better today than it was 20 years ago. Without any additional information, my guess is that you're thinking of some specific examples of good apps from 20 years ago, and bad apps from today, and incorrectly generalizing from a selection bias.
1.) The move to the Web, where the browser's interface gets in the way once you start doing something more fancy than just viewing basic HTML documents.
2.) Trying to make a program work well both on a small touchscreen and on a large screen + mouse + keyboard : this is literally impossible without the result being a worse experience for both.
Regarding 1: I remember the internet of the 90s and find our current internet comparatively boring in terms of UX. Back then, websites were created manually, without using "abstractions" like wordpress or wix. This forced us to think freely about UX and to hack HTML+CSS as much as possible. The browser's interface you mentioned is quite powerful. And with HTML6 on the way it becomes even more powerful.
Regarding 2: A paramount program utilizing responsiveness at it's finest won't take compromises for different screen sizes, but it takes longer to develop. Compromises like these usually emerge through the economic circumstances of software development.
karaterobot|2 years ago
BlueTemplar|2 years ago
1.) The move to the Web, where the browser's interface gets in the way once you start doing something more fancy than just viewing basic HTML documents.
2.) Trying to make a program work well both on a small touchscreen and on a large screen + mouse + keyboard : this is literally impossible without the result being a worse experience for both.
m_2000|2 years ago
Regarding 2: A paramount program utilizing responsiveness at it's finest won't take compromises for different screen sizes, but it takes longer to develop. Compromises like these usually emerge through the economic circumstances of software development.