Longhorn Pre-Beta 1 Released. OoooOO [Archive]

furryrabidbunny

Jul 9, 2005, 02:02 PM

Here are some screenshots of the "next generation" operating system http://xerocool.innereyes.com/general/longhorn_5203_screenshots.php Man this thing keeps getting worse and worse looking. Anyone else find that translucent effect on every window annoying looking. How could that possibly be usable? Typing in an address on a text box that is sitting on multiple translucent windows? Whoever thought it would be great for windows in windows to be seethrough should be shot. Lets only hope you can turn that off... or 95 percent of computer users will be blind from squinting too much.

eva01

Jul 9, 2005, 02:13 PM

i agree on the windows i don't like that, other than that it looks ok, but looks are decieving

Fukui

Jul 9, 2005, 02:32 PM

Hmm, well anyone remember the annoying transparent title-bars in 10.0?
I don't know why MS is wasting thier time copying that!
Well, I don't know yet what is so amazing about longhorn from a user's perspective... MS Paint, whether in a transparent window or not is still the same damn paint since Win95...

I have a feeling though, like XP, they're holding the final "look" for the RC1.
Lets hope (for apple) like XP it looks worse than the beta. :)

killuminati

Jul 9, 2005, 02:36 PM

mlw1235

Jul 9, 2005, 02:39 PM

Whoever thought it would be great for windows in windows to be seethrough should be shot. Lets only hope you can turn that off... or 95 percent of computer users will be blind from squinting too much.

**nods head in agreement**

I hate it. Totally hate it.

And lets do hope you can turn that off.

ham_man

Jul 9, 2005, 02:41 PM

THe only visible difference I can see between it and XP is the different task bar and menu bar, as well as a few updated icons. Other than that, it looks like the same ol', same ol'...

Dagless

Jul 9, 2005, 02:42 PM

hah, transparent windows. how kitsch.

that certainly is a nice Apple-style X button too XD

how can Media Player say "more music, more choices" when iTunes has more music than them? (IIRC)

anyone notice the Apple-styled desktop images too? ROFL. looks like those ever so cheesy Windows flag desktops are gone.

wonder why that shot of the Computer Management window has 2 sets of minimize/close buttons? surely M$ are after a less confusing GUI?

to be frank that does look like somebody took XP and splashed a new theme over it. i know its real, but it looks baaad. M$? no thanks :)

furryrabidbunny

Jul 9, 2005, 02:42 PM

One thing I find stupid about windows is that they are still using the same icons that they have been using since Windows 95. Like in this image (http://xerocool.innereyes.com/longhorn_5203/lh2.png) the icons look so outdated and so out of place.
Microsoft said they are going to be changing all the icons... updating them to 256x256, but i doubt they will go that deep.

Phat_Pat

Jul 9, 2005, 03:04 PM

that search bar in the start menu feels so out of place....

Daveway

Jul 9, 2005, 03:26 PM

Remember that the new UI will not be released until Beta 2.

tech4all

Jul 9, 2005, 03:31 PM

What's up with the recycle bin? Last time I checked recycled bins more "cubed" shaped. This one looks like OS X's trash can only glass.

I think the transparent title bar things is a neat idea, but isn't really working well, IMO.

wdlove

Jul 9, 2005, 03:33 PM

Very interesting, they have the report bugs icon right on the desktop. Most of the rest of it does look very familiar to prior Windows.

dubbz

Jul 9, 2005, 03:37 PM

anyone notice the Apple-styled desktop images too? ROFL. looks like those ever so cheesy Windows flag desktops are gone.

They changed that a long time ago. Windows XP default desktop are green fields and a blue sky with clouds...

Flying Llama

Jul 9, 2005, 03:46 PM

that search bar in the start menu feels so out of place....

And where did I see that magnifying glass icon? Oh yeah.

llama :rolleyes:

mac-er

Jul 9, 2005, 04:01 PM

Comparing ONLY to prior Windows...I think this is a huge improvement. It looks a lot cleaner and a lot less Fisher Price looking.

Though they do seem to be blatantly copying OS X even more with the plastic task bar, reflective icons, new recycle bin icon...don't be surprised if this will be called "Windows X" when it comes out.

There is something about the way the windows are now that reminds me more and more of Apple Finder windows...

mpw

Jul 9, 2005, 04:15 PM

Flying Llama

Jul 9, 2005, 04:43 PM

One thing I notice that appears to have changed, and for the worse IMO, is the menu short-cuts aren't displayed anymore making it more Mac-like.

I personally LIKE the way the menu lets you know the keyboard shortcut by underlining it ie File, now they seem to have gone all ctrl+X.

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to say. The shortcuts are still there what are you talking about? And why would removing them make it more mac-like, macs have the shortcuts displayed to...

llama :confused:

anubis

Jul 9, 2005, 04:46 PM

Personally I like the system font they picked. Looks a lot better than every other system font they've ever used.

Otherwise it just looks like the same old thing. Doesn't look much different than XP. In fact I bet you could install system themes in XP to make it look exactly like those screenshots, minus the uglyass transparency

mpw

Jul 9, 2005, 05:09 PM

I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're trying to say. The shortcuts are still there what are you talking about? And why would removing them make it more mac-like, macs have the shortcuts displayed to...

llama :confused:

In Win95, 98, XP etc. the menu bar had
File
without touching my mouse or remembering a shortcut I could hit Alt+F, bingo I got me a menu with one option that is
File As
which I can invoke by hitting A etc. in OSX I do not know by looking at the screen how to get the File menu to drop down.

It's the top feature from MS WinXp I miss and would love to see in MacOSX.

dotdotdot

Jul 9, 2005, 05:16 PM

Just so people here know, this is pre beta. And while the transparent title bars look bad right now, Beta 2 will include Microsoft's promised advanced image technology which should make the windows look better.

My main complaint with all the shots - the taskbar (bottom bar w/ start, etc.) looks HUGE! AND the dark look looks HORRIBLE! I prefer the whiter look like XP Silver or Mac OS X. Also, releasing a black taskbar vs. OS X's White Finderbar will help people say, "I switched from the dark side!"

snkTab

Jul 9, 2005, 06:11 PM

It seems to microsoft UI is built by UI fanboys that like including everything into the actual GUI.

Operating systems should be simple.

treblah

Jul 9, 2005, 10:43 PM

Anyone notice the borders of the windows are transparent? How ***** ridiculous is that? Thats using transparency just because you can. Why not use border-less windows? I know this is 'beta 1' but most of MS's 'beta 1' become RTM. ;)

iAlan

Jul 9, 2005, 10:53 PM

I hope Microsoft doesn't cruise the Mac forum sites, if they do they will get a lot of expert opinion on their beta versions and be able to change to meet the needs of Mac users :p

mad jew

Jul 9, 2005, 10:55 PM

I hope Microsoft doesn't cruise the Mac forum sites, if they do they will get a lot of expert opinion on their beta versions and be able to change to meet the needs of Mac users :p

Yeah, that'd be horrible.

Anyone wanna post the images, I'm not getting through to the site. :(

Thanks in advance.

Orlando Furioso

Jul 9, 2005, 11:04 PM

And where did I see that magnifying glass icon? Oh yeah.

llama :rolleyes:

oh wow. you are right. The icon is just flipped and the handle is a little longer. The colors are swapped as well. Though a magnifying glass is a somewhat generic icon choice related to "searches", the styles of these icons are strikingly similar.

snkTab

Jul 10, 2005, 01:20 AM

oh wow. you are right. The icon is just flipped and the handle is a little longer. The colors are swapped as well. Though a magnifying glass is a somewhat generic icon choice related to "searches", the styles of these icons are strikingly similar.

OMG Don't you know Apple copied this from Microsoft. I bet right now Cupertino is sending an elite team to crack open the secrets of Redmond. I hear there's a secret entrance in the girl's bathroom.

tech4all

Jul 10, 2005, 01:29 AM

But it appears as though Internet Explorer now has tabbed browsing?

Jedda

Jul 10, 2005, 01:34 AM

FredAkbar

Jul 10, 2005, 01:46 AM

But it appears as though Internet Explorer now has tabbed browsing?
Yeah, IE 7 (which will also be released for Windows XP) has tabs.

dornoforpyros

Jul 10, 2005, 02:08 AM

meh it's windows. Little more polished than XP with some more eye candy. That's about it.

SilvorX

Jul 10, 2005, 02:19 AM

I actually thought until now that windows couldnt get any UGLIER, I was wrong

homerjward

Jul 10, 2005, 02:25 AM

imo windows xp looks much better. looks like it's going to be a real resource hog, have a bunch of useless crap built in and not improve functionality one iota. looks like crap...

furryrabidbunny

Jul 10, 2005, 03:47 AM

I doubt much is going to change in beta two... it is microsoft. If anything does change they will just add more transparency!!! In early alpha videos (the ones of microsoft demonstrating longhorn) everything was transparent, including their start/task bar. It seems like a total rip on the dock, but there is one problem... the dock is nothing but BIG icons, not a 16 pixel high bar displaying text and micro status icons. Poor windows users, I really hope no one ruins their vision. If Longhorn is good, I might buy a pc for the first time as a second computer, but only if i can turn off the see-through craptackular experience.

iMeowbot

Jul 10, 2005, 04:20 AM

Personally I like the system font they picked. Looks a lot better than every other system font they've ever used.
It's an improvement but it still looks a little jagged. It has the same almost-but-not-quite-right look that recent GUIs on Linux have.

Nickygoat

Jul 10, 2005, 04:25 AM

Very interesting, they have the report bugs icon right on the desktop.
That's going to make it to the final release :p

furryrabidbunny

Jul 10, 2005, 04:46 AM

That's going to make it to the final release :p
LOL... that icon will be present in every application. It is kinda funny though that you guys are making fun of it... it is a prebeta, and safari has a report bug button.

cwedl

Jul 10, 2005, 05:59 AM

I actually thought until now that windows couldnt get any UGLIER, I was wrong

I know, I just hope they improve it! Does anyone know if they have that expose copy feature?

law guy

Jul 10, 2005, 06:13 AM

As far as I can tell, this is just Windows with a slightly improved skin.

Im sure that there will be some rewrites of the core windows technoligies, but i highly doubt that what will be done will be enough to offset the security and integration problems that promise to plague Longhorn.

I am aware that the 'new super spanking' UI will not be implemented until Beta 2, but i can assume that it will still contain the dated "Start Bar" and overdone transparency, just like in this build.

Windows will always suffer from the same fate until they make the leap, chuck their existing code in the garbage, and start over. You will never get a brand new car if you build it out of old, rusting parts.

I do actually like transparency effects - nice and light - but I agree that looking at these it looked like Win XP with a downloaded skin re-do. Still so similar to Win 95, as someone mentioned above, esp. the system icons. Some of the newer icons are nicely rendered, but seem like the exception.

Stefanlod001

Jul 10, 2005, 11:04 AM

Windows will always suffer from the same fate until they make the leap, chuck their existing code in the garbage, and start over. You will never get a brand new car if you build it out of old, rusting parts.

Microsoft can see this and I'm sure they would like to start afresh, but the fact remains that while Apple suffered a lag in its customer base during the OS 9-X transition, the Mac OS still has a very small customer base compared to that of the Windows user base. If Microsoft were to change platform, they would be potentially crippled by businesses, which are their majority customers - why? Because Windows using businesses want to natively run all their apps without having any perfomance lag from an emulation layer. Those businesses don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars in licenses for new apps, and espescially even more of that for Windows licensing schemes for Longhorn. The fact remains that Microsoft wants to get the 49% of businesses still using 2000 to get to XP, let alone a major transition to a new platform.

I still disagree with the mess of code still laying about in XP today - they should at least spend time removing a lot of that spaghetti code that hasn't changed since 3.1. Just my thoughts.

idea_hamster

Jul 10, 2005, 01:39 PM

furryrabidbunny

Jul 10, 2005, 02:07 PM

I could understand the window transparency as an effect for non-active windows, but the status bar seems to show the Control Panels window as the active one. Oh, well -- I'm sure that they realized that they could do this, so they did, regardless of whether it's usable in the long run.

By the way, what exactly is "pre-beta"? Alpha? I thought that this would be further along by now... ;)
I dont think Microsoft considers it an Alpha anymore. They are actually refering to it as a "pre-beta," but yeah, thats the first time i've ever actually heard that term before.

Fukui

Jul 10, 2005, 02:56 PM

I still disagree with the mess of code still laying about in XP today - they should at least spend time removing a lot of that spaghetti code that hasn't changed since 3.1. Just my thoughts.
I don't think thats really possible to refactor it anymore as you suggest. Most people don't even know what any of that spagetti does anymore. I remember reading a comment somewhere, an ex developer remembered seeing a comment in the code saying "What the ***** does this do??" So, I think its hard to refactor and clean up something you know almost nothing about... thats why there's so many security holes.

Flying Llama

Jul 10, 2005, 03:07 PM

I don't think thats really possible to refactor it anymore as you suggest. Most people don't even know what any of that spagetti does anymore. I remember reading a comment somewhere, an ex developer remembered seeing a comment in the code saying "What the ***** does this do??" So, I think its hard to refactor and clean up something you know almost nothing about... thats why there's so many security holes.

Ya, Windows is just so darn bloated, I really wish they would just start clean, then we'll see a huge improvement. But oh well!

llama :rolleyes:

dejo

Jul 10, 2005, 03:12 PM

But it appears as though Internet Explorer now has tabbed browsing?

Is it just me or do the new tabs in IE7 look kinda goofy?

tech4all

Jul 10, 2005, 03:18 PM

Is it just me or do the new tabs in IE7 look kinda goofy?

Well I did notice a little gray block to the right of the right tab. Seemed kinda odd to me. Link to IE screen shot (http://xerocool.innereyes.com/longhorn_5203/lh5.png). And are those arrows on the right side of the address bar the refresh button?

dotdotdot

Jul 10, 2005, 03:21 PM

Well I did notice a little gray block to the right of the right tab. Seemed kinda odd to me. Link to IE screen shot (http://xerocool.innereyes.com/longhorn_5203/lh5.png). And are those arrows on the right side of the address bar the refresh button?

The box looks like the Apple Podcasting button in iTunes 4.9

treblah

Jul 10, 2005, 03:25 PM

I dont think Microsoft considers it an Alpha anymore. They are actually refering to it as a "pre-beta," but yeah, thats the first time i've ever actually heard that term before.

According to this http://www.extended64.com/blogs/ajerman/archive/2005/07/09/971.aspx the build 5203 shots are post 'Beta 1'. I really hope this is the case :D

gangst

Jul 10, 2005, 03:43 PM

I think the whole Longhorn GUI is very similar to OS X aqua/vaseline look just in black. The enu bars remind me of the skins on certain widgets (clock and weaather in particular), and also it reminds me slightly of the menu bar in Tiger due to the plasticy, reflectivey look, but just in black.

hob

Jul 10, 2005, 07:55 PM

A lot of good points in the thread - many things exactly what I was thinking as I was looking at the screenshots...

At the risk of repeating other people, firstly UGH! It's obvious from the "Computer Management" console that Windows hasn't changed significantly since Windows 2000! (Or maybe NT but I try to block that era of my computer usage from my memory!)

I'm not particularly impressed! IE is a BIG ripoff of the Safari and Firefox layouts, (which come to think of it, does Firefox rip off Safari or the other way round?) - except the stupidity of having centered the Home/Refresh etc. icons but put the Back/Forward icons (only!) at the top!! Strangeness...

I quite like the font, but not THAT much - and what's happened to the File, Edit etc. menus? What do they have instead?!

And does anyone have an answer to the question that someone asked earlier about Alt+F bringing up File in windows... the equivalent for OS X? I'd be interested in finding out!

Hob

thevessels

Jul 10, 2005, 08:10 PM

dubbz

Jul 10, 2005, 10:36 PM

my favorite part is the old dos terminal window thing . i guess thats one thing thats not changing any time soon . DOS .. mwahaha .. that and as mentioned microsoft pain , the exact same crap id play with as a kid 10 years ago .. mwahaha

It's just a command prompt/terminal. No DOS involved. That died a long time ago.

Think they're working on some kind of Pain replacement. Was released as an Alpha some time ago, IIRC... except it wasn't even alpha quality. Doubt they'll get it ready for LH.

rockthecasbah

Jul 10, 2005, 10:47 PM

tech4all

Jul 10, 2005, 10:54 PM

i love how even in the next gen photos that are supposed to be impressive and show the raw greatness of Longhorn, "cannot find server" callout boxes are still in the window tray...classic. ;)
Link (http://xerocool.innereyes.com/longhorn_5203/lh1.png)

Are these screen shots from Microsoft? I thought they were from someone who had a pre release or something.

rockthecasbah

Jul 10, 2005, 11:06 PM

Are these screen shots from Microsoft? I thought they were from someone who had a pre release or something.
It doesn't matter, to me it's still windows being, well, windows :D

Abstract

Jul 10, 2005, 11:42 PM

Oryan

Jul 10, 2005, 11:47 PM

that search bar in the start menu feels so out of place....

Yeah, and I bet the Start menu will decide to close itself in the middle of your search.

Wow, this looks like crap.... XP with a facelift.

me_94501

Jul 11, 2005, 04:31 AM

WinXP is an example of a team of designers at Microsoft trying to capture the essence of ugliness and bring it to the masses. I don't think anything could possibly look worse than WinXP, so this is an improvement. ;)

And all these criticisms of the aesthetic of the icons and fonts and so forth are pointless. The criticisms seem unfair when we know they're not releasing Longhorn looking like this. It just makes you critics of Longhorn's current appearance appear ignorant, like you don't have the slightest clue. Why bother criticising the appearance now? Criticise it a year from now, or whenever the new UI is released. There's time for criticism later, when it may actually be valid.
Okay, let's criticize other parts of the UI. ;)

What's up with the position of the menubar in IE? it just introduces (even more) unpredictability with menus in Windows.

Why are multi-row tabs still there? Haven't they got the idea that it's a bad idea by now?

If I understand this right, clicking "all programs" in the Start menu causes the list of all installed apps to replace the pinned items until you click "back." I'm sure MS could have come up with a better way to handle that.

It's hard to see the titlebar text on a dark background. Also, it's hard to see which window is frontmost. I would suggest that MS make the frontomst window opaque and the background windows a little less transparent so that text is easier to read.

These are all things I hope MS addresses before Longhorn is released.

tfh1013

Jul 11, 2005, 08:11 AM

And does anyone have an answer to the question that someone asked earlier about Alt+F bringing up File in windows... the equivalent for OS X?

Its not very efficient, but you can hit control+F2 and press the right arrow key twice and hit enter.

For me, I think i'll stick to clicking the file menu... :rolleyes:

rockthecasbah

Jul 11, 2005, 08:32 AM

Everyone here is bashing this as just an XP facelift, which it is. But all we can tell now is prettiness, its not like WE can use the beta version...I think it looks very pretty anyway :) . Now I would never BUY it, but judging from those screen shots, its very very pretty. Yes copying Mac or whatever, regardless i still like how it looks.

michaelrjohnson

Jul 11, 2005, 09:48 AM

One thing I find stupid about windows is that they are still using the same icons that they have been using since Windows 95. Like in this image (http://xerocool.innereyes.com/longhorn_5203/lh2.png) the icons look so outdated and so out of place.
All of the icons were updated in XP. The Iconfactory was contracted to redesign them. (See below)

My biggest concern is how they choose a dark background and reverse the type out of the form. In this example, the taskbar is black and the normal, sans-serif type is white. This is incredibly difficult to read... add translucency on top of that and it's strains the eye horribly (previously mentioned). Our beloved Mac OS uses a 0-10% grey background and black type. It's much easier on the eyes. There are some reasons (See Universal Access pref pane) why people need to invert the colors, but it's not the majority. Poor design choice in XP, carried over into Longhorn.

jayscheuerle

Jul 11, 2005, 10:28 AM

All of the icons were updated in XP. The Iconfactory was contracted to redesign them. (See below)

My biggest concern is how they choose a dark background and reverse the type out of the form. In this example, the taskbar is black and the normal, sans-serif type is white. This is incredibly difficult to read... add translucency on top of that and it's strains the eye horribly (previously mentioned). Our beloved Mac OS uses a 0-10% grey background and black type. It's much easier on the eyes. There are some reasons (See Universal Access pref pane) why people need to invert the colors, but it's not the majority. Poor design choice in XP, carried over into Longhorn.

I'm a little confused here. My OSX desktop has white type with black drop shadows just like the Longhorn grab and I haven't changed any settings.

michaelrjohnson

Jul 11, 2005, 10:50 AM

I'm a little confused here. My OSX desktop has white type with black drop shadows just like the Longhorn grab and I haven't changed any settings.
Yeah, on the desktop.

I was refferring to the Mac OS Menubar vs. Windows Taskbar. I should have clarified. :)

jayscheuerle

Jul 11, 2005, 10:52 AM

Yeah, on the desktop.

I was refferring to the Mac OS Menubar vs. Windows Taskbar. I should have clarified. :)

My problem is with their ugly system font rendering. The font looks like it was designed with legos by an eight year old...

michaelrjohnson

Jul 11, 2005, 10:59 AM

Also, with Mac OS X (Apple's "Revolutionary" OS) they weren't afraid to make big decisions. everything about the OS changed. File structure, system structure, etc. But perhaps one of the biggest UI changes was how Apple modified system preferences. It's was a big jump from individual panels in a folder to a single "app" that manages all properties.

On a very similar note (not exact), this is perhaps one of the more disturbing things about Longhorn, and possibly part of why people call it "a dressed-up XP". Microsoft is refusing to innovate it's properties panels, which are by far one of the most cumbersome parts of the OS. The fact that there are multiple rows of tabs, and that they shift based on selection is very confusing conceptually. But in Longhorn, the same old system exists.

michaelrjohnson

Jul 11, 2005, 11:03 AM

All of the icons were updated in XP. The Iconfactory was contracted to redesign them.
Speaking of icons... they turned the folder icons sideways!

Thomas Veil

Jul 11, 2005, 11:32 AM

Let me comment on those desktop screenshots individually:

Picture 1: The desktop icons are a HUGE improvement. And I may be alone in this, but I actually find the translucent background windows kind of nice.

Thank God they're finally going to use a new system font! It even looks anti-aliased, and hey, for Windows, that's a huge technical innovation. OTOH, look at the WiMP window in the background: same old clunky font. It may be anti-aliased now, but it's still hard to read, and it's still the same damn font they've been using since Reagan was president.

That Start menu is STILL terrible. After seeing OS X's dock, this is the best they could do???

Picture 2: Nice to see the "Page cannot be displayed" page in IE remains unchanged *chortle* *chortle*. The "Computer Management" window is just as atrocious as ever. That branching system is and always has been clunky, and the icons are still on a par with Mac OS 8.

Picture 5: Oh, dear. That Start menu popup is just as terrible as it ever was. Look at the picture of the guy just to the right of it. He can't even bear to look at it.

Picture 6: Well, IE looks...different. Not better, but different. Wow, they've got tabs...but typically, they've managed to find a way to make it look uglier and clunkier than everybody else's. Hey: the popup dialog box has a drop-shadow. Now where've I seen that before...?

Picture 8: Same damn System Properties window, just looks a tad nicer. I still hate that two-layer tabbed look. The progress bars in the background are nice, but they sure have a, er, ah, OS X look.

Picture 10: Okay, now I've revised my opinion on the translucent windows. What's the point of making the FRONT window transparent? To confuse you???

Overall, it's just about what I expected: a clumsy attempt to imitate OS X. It just goes to prove that they are incapable of doing anything other than copying other companies' stuff -- badly.

I didn't expect to be impressed, and I wasn't disappointed.

jayscheuerle

Jul 11, 2005, 11:40 AM

I know this is old, but can't they kill the recycle bucket? YES, we realize that we are simply recycling disk space, but do these people not understand the concept of METAPHOR? You toss things in there to get RID of them...

Of course, a toilet metaphor would be more apt since everything sits in the bowl until you flush it. Maybe in OassX...

michaelrjohnson

Jul 11, 2005, 11:51 AM

I know this is old, but can't they kill the recycle bucket? YES, we realize that we are simply recycling disk space, but do these people not understand the concept of METAPHOR? You toss things in there to get RID of them...
I'm fairly certain they're stuck with it because Apple has most likely copywritten "Trash".

zap2

Jul 11, 2005, 12:05 PM

it looks like a new theme for XP, MS needs to do what apple did from OS9 to OSX, really change it up.

rockdog

Jul 11, 2005, 12:56 PM

It seems like the Longhorn experience will be very similar to XP. But it occurs to me that the reason probably isn't because Microsoft wouldn't like to do something radically different, if not better, than its previous GUIs. Heck, if I am tired of the windows toolbar, icons, ect., then at least some of the windows developers have to be as well I would hope.
The problem is the amount of users that have become accustom to the status quo of the windows GUI. If MS changes the GUI too much, half their userbase wouldn't be able to find their 'My Pictures' folder, which might possibly lead to some sort of chaos. :eek:

Hemingray

Jul 11, 2005, 01:52 PM

to be frank that does look like somebody took XP and splashed a new theme over it. i know its real, but it looks baaad. M$? no thanks :)

My thoughts exactly. A candy bar wrapper with a dog turd inside. :rolleyes:

jayscheuerle

Jul 11, 2005, 02:01 PM

it looks like a new theme for XP, MS needs to do what apple did from OS9 to OSX, really change it up.

If you think of OSX as not an evolutionary step from OS9, but as one from NextSTEP (it's direct predecessor), then it's not as great as a leap except in terms of eye candy.

All Microsoft really needs to do is stop the onslaught of bad press over viruses and security issues. If people hear that Longhorn has the type of security features that Windows SHOULD have had in the first place, they'll be happy to buy it regardless of what it looks like. If it can be shown that running Longhorn is less of a pain in the arse than XP is, then the majority of PC users will rejoice. Very few of the people that have dumped Windows in favor of OSX have done so because of eye candy alone. The eye candy is a lot of fun, but THAT can be achieved with skins to a high degree anyhow.

It does look like a shameless rip-off of Tiger's shiny plastic look, but since 99% of Windows users will never have seen Tiger, it doesn't really matter. Remember, they still think that Bill Gates invented the internet and the iPod... :rolleyes: