DOS had it right all along with the one application at a time system when it comes to ease of use by the general public who is likely to think in one app at a time. The text GUIs were actually fine. It is no coincidence that it was as successful as it was.
On top of that there were clear things such as menus, status bar tips, shortcuts and help docs that were to be found in the same place across programs, one would have to understand the system once and they would be generally fine across various programs.
Now, of course, I am not suggesting we go back to DOS but I am suggesting we take the good principles out of it and consider standardization. Windows had it right as well up to Windows 8 when they made a mess with the tiles and all the push towards a confusing mess (to this day, the settings app still doesn't have proper navigation).
On top of that there were clear things such as menus, status bar tips, shortcuts and help docs that were to be found in the same place across programs, one would have to understand the system once and they would be generally fine across various programs.
Now, of course, I am not suggesting we go back to DOS but I am suggesting we take the good principles out of it and consider standardization. Windows had it right as well up to Windows 8 when they made a mess with the tiles and all the push towards a confusing mess (to this day, the settings app still doesn't have proper navigation).