Let me clear things up for you: Elements of Metro are unique (and I'd say crap, but that's just my opinion), but this article isn't about Metro, it's about iOS-like icons that Microsoft is layering over the top of Windows 7 to make it touch friendly. Microsoft's successes have come largely from elements it took from Apple/NeXT. Microsoft has coined a lot of unique ideas (or arbitrary changes, like using Start to shut down) but they were overwhelmingly not good and unpopular.
That's why, despite rebranding Office and Windows with new looks and new logos EVERY release, there isn't anything to carry forward because its all disposable crap fashion, like H&M. Immediately dated because its just flashy bling noise appealing to unsophisticated clients. Apple has tended to build things with some taste, so it doesn't radically depart from its style every time it releases a product.
Even things that people now say looked bad in retrospect were original and kind of cool at the time, like the brushed metal look or the original aqua. It's hard to think of nice looking things Microsoft has produced over its monopoly period. It's only been in the last few years since the Vistapocalypse that it has produced some attempts at good looking stuff (Metro/Bing), but those aren't the company's most popular products.
If you ever looked at original Windows Phone 7 pass the tiled home screen, you would see that all the icons on app list (settings, mail, explorer...) are monochrone white on dark icons that look almost exactly the same as icons on Windows 8 - only difference they were not showing on home screen, at least not all of them.
If you ever looked at original Windows Phone 7 pass the tiled home screen, you would see that all the icons on app list (settings, mail, explorer...) are monochrone white on dark icons that look almost exactly the same as icons on Windows 8 - only difference they were not showing on home screen, at least not all of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz
Ive never seen such a thorough multipartied pwning of such typical "everyone copies Apple" logic. Such a beautiful sight to behold. I wonder if anyone has changed their minds.
"Icons should be clear and understandable, using real-world metaphors that are familiar to users. The best icons are monochromatic with simply geometry."
It is sad reality for DED, but laugh-at-MS time has passed it's prime with slow demise of long-in-a-tooth Windows XP and release of Windows 7. MS is entering their up!-phase, and I expect their incoming products to be harder and harder to laugh at.
i work in enterprise that has thousands of desktops. 3/4 of them are now Windows 7.
hey...those icons are from Zune HD and Windows Phone. nice try. :-D
I'm not usually one to care if someone bashes Microsoft but this is a bit ridiculous. Maybe MS gets some of their ideas from the Apple interface but I used to give Windows similar looks long ago using various skinning programs so sorry but Apple didn't think of all these looks first.
I agree with the folks who are saying MS is not copying Apple here. MS's metro UI design in Win8 and WP7 is refreshing in that it is doing things a different way. Don't know if it is successful, but it is refreshingly different.
As for the grayscale icon design, it's convergent design. If it is good design to have grayscale icon design, then all OS UI should use. It's only copying if they use the exact same icons.
i applaud MS for not copying apple down to the letter. but they still follow apple's lead. and no matter how shiny you polish Windows gui its still shite underneath.
i applaud MS for not copying apple down to the letter. but they still follow apple's lead. and no matter how shiny you polish Windows gui its still shite underneath.
As a active member of an Apple forum you're far more likely to prefer Apple products over Windows.
So in one way, it's kind of pointless to post your opinion of Windows because it can be safely assumed the other members already know... however in another way you're helping to confirm the statistic.
This is, of course, all irrelevant and has nothing to do with the topic at hand... but then again neither did you comment, so we've kind of come full circle... no?
As a active member of an Apple forum you're far more likely to prefer Apple products over Windows.
So in one way, it's kind of pointless to post your opinion of Windows because it can be safely assumed the other members already know... however in another way you're helping to confirm the statistic.
This is, of course, all irrelevant and has nothing to do with the topic at hand... but then again neither did you comment, so we've kind of come full circle... no?
on this forum your 'argument' fails. lots of 'anti-apple' posters here. you might even find a tiny few from me that aren't supportive of apple....
Fact: This is not a copy at all and DED is delusional.
Another Fact: This does not mean Microsoft is "re-entering their gold era", as the under-the-hood stuff is still windows and Ballmer strategy is absolutely retarded. YES FIREFLY, I KNOW WINDOWS 7 IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SHIT AND ALL, but it IS NOT. Just because it regained the semblance of sanity Windows had before Vista, it doesn't meant it fixed any of the issues Windows had before it. I know it. I used to be a windows user, and there's a WP7 partition on my MBP which sees daily usage.
Now and opinion!: While overall OS X is way ahead of Windows interface-wise, I very much prefer the pure-black chrome to the weird gray OS X uses.
FACT: Apple needs to redo their UI and will probably do so when they unite iOS and OS X. I'd say it'll mostly be iOS-y (which is awesome), but they'll have to freshen up things from iOS that are looking stale (super-glossy black bars and pinstripes, we're looking at you)
Fact: This is not a copy at all and DED is delusional.
Another Fact: This does not mean Microsoft is "re-entering their gold era", as the under-the-hood stuff is still windows and Ballmer strategy is absolutely retarded. YES FIREFLY, I KNOW WINDOWS 7 IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SHIT AND ALL, but it IS NOT. Just because it regained the semblance of sanity Windows had before Vista, it doesn't meant it fixed any of the issues Windows had before it. I know it. I used to be a windows user, and there's a WP7 partition on my MBP which sees daily usage.
Now and opinion!: While overall OS X is way ahead of Windows interface-wise, I very much prefer the pure-black chrome to the weird gray OS X uses.
FACT: Apple needs to redo their UI and will probably do so when they unite iOS and OS X. I'd say it'll mostly be iOS-y (which is awesome), but they'll have to freshen up things from iOS that are looking stale (super-glossy black bars and pinstripes, we're looking at you)
the next generation of Mac and iOS is going to be beyond epic.
I wish Apple would just hire Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini. His criticisms of OS X's GUI are still valid. Of course, many of his points also show why OS X is and always has been vastly superior to any Windows GUI.
Now which one of these looks like it's evolving and which looks like it's standing still?
Since the Lion is the king of the jungle, I hope next year we get OS XI with a radically new interface. It's time that we moved on from the 1984 desktop.
You are comparing the Windows 8 launcher (and some apps) to the Mac dock with a modal app. Windows 8 still has the old UI for the majority of apps:
Apple's fullscreen apps and Launchpad are a move in the iOS direction but there can't be a radical change without allowing developers to get their apps ready for it. There's no way that all apps will work fullscreen for example.
Imagine a fullscreen calculator app on a 27" screen. It doesn't work because you'd want to use it alongside another app. Windows 8 allows you to snap items next to other apps but you don't always want to have to do that. Just open an app quickly, do your thing and close it.
I expect they will keep evolving the UI but I think most of the big changes have been made in Lion.
"Icons should be clear and understandable, using real-world metaphors that are familiar to users. The best icons are monochromatic with simply geometry."
I can save to a floppy disc on a WP7? Wow. 'Right on my phone!"
No more than you can edit with a pencil, send a letter, open a filling cabinet, put something in the trash or investigate with a magnifying glass.
Abstract concepts Mr Boogie, abstract concepts... all displayed with simply geometry and monochromatic.
You have to admit, we need a better intuitive icon for the concept of saving.
We're almost entering a second generation of people who have never once used a floppy disc. Keeping its symbol in modern computing (where devices haven't been compatible with them for nearly a decade) is the equivalent of calling the brakes on a car "the reins" and calling the process known as "putting on the brakes" "pulling on the reins".
Driving Instructor: Now just pull on the reins and bring her to a stop.
Kid: Uh, reins?
*Kid pulls the lever to open the hood. Everyone's effectively blinded*
You have to admit, we need a better intuitive icon for the concept of saving.
We're almost entering a second generation of people who have never once used a floppy disc. Keeping its symbol in modern computing (where devices haven't been compatible with them for nearly a decade) is the equivalent of calling the brakes on a car "the reins" and calling the process known as "putting on the brakes" "pulling on the reins".
Driving Instructor: Now just pull on the reins and bring her to a stop.
Kid: Uh, reins?
*Kid pulls the lever to open the hood. Everyone's effectively blinded*
*horrible crash*
I don't think so. As we are moving into the second and third generation of users that have never used a floppy disk the majority of users are no longer going to think that they are clicking on a "floppy disk" to save, they are going to think they are clicking on the culturally recognised symbol for "save".
When you think about it, it doesn't really matter what the symbol represents. The "play", "pause" and "stop" icons have a history that goes back to the days of tape reels... I've got no idea what they represent; I just know them as "play", "pause" and "stop".
In your example if the student had no cultural reference to go by they would have had no idea what the instructor meant by "put on the brakes".
The first instinct would be to look for a switch or for something to put on, not "depress the brake pedal".
I'd even hazard a guess that the saying "to put on the brakes" comes from the days before brake pedal existed (trains, horse and carriage, early cars) when the brakes were essentially an on/off switch controlled by a lever.
Comments
Let me clear things up for you: Elements of Metro are unique (and I'd say crap, but that's just my opinion), but this article isn't about Metro, it's about iOS-like icons that Microsoft is layering over the top of Windows 7 to make it touch friendly. Microsoft's successes have come largely from elements it took from Apple/NeXT. Microsoft has coined a lot of unique ideas (or arbitrary changes, like using Start to shut down) but they were overwhelmingly not good and unpopular.
That's why, despite rebranding Office and Windows with new looks and new logos EVERY release, there isn't anything to carry forward because its all disposable crap fashion, like H&M. Immediately dated because its just flashy bling noise appealing to unsophisticated clients. Apple has tended to build things with some taste, so it doesn't radically depart from its style every time it releases a product.
Even things that people now say looked bad in retrospect were original and kind of cool at the time, like the brushed metal look or the original aqua. It's hard to think of nice looking things Microsoft has produced over its monopoly period. It's only been in the last few years since the Vistapocalypse that it has produced some attempts at good looking stuff (Metro/Bing), but those aren't the company's most popular products.
If you ever looked at original Windows Phone 7 pass the tiled home screen, you would see that all the icons on app list (settings, mail, explorer...) are monochrone white on dark icons that look almost exactly the same as icons on Windows 8 - only difference they were not showing on home screen, at least not all of them.
such a beautiful sight to behold. I wonder if anyone has changed their minds.
If you ever looked at original Windows Phone 7 pass the tiled home screen, you would see that all the icons on app list (settings, mail, explorer...) are monochrone white on dark icons that look almost exactly the same as icons on Windows 8 - only difference they were not showing on home screen, at least not all of them.
Ive never seen such a thorough multipartied pwning of such typical "everyone copies Apple" logic. Such a beautiful sight to behold. I wonder if anyone has changed their minds.
It gets better...
Direct from the Windows Phone 7 design guidelines...
"Icons should be clear and understandable, using real-world metaphors that are familiar to users. The best icons are monochromatic with simply geometry."
It is sad reality for DED, but laugh-at-MS time has passed it's prime with slow demise of long-in-a-tooth Windows XP and release of Windows 7. MS is entering their up!-phase, and I expect their incoming products to be harder and harder to laugh at.
i work in enterprise that has thousands of desktops. 3/4 of them are now Windows 7.
I get to 'laugh' at that waste of bits every day.
hey...those icons are from Zune HD and Windows Phone. nice try. :-D
I'm not usually one to care if someone bashes Microsoft but this is a bit ridiculous. Maybe MS gets some of their ideas from the Apple interface but I used to give Windows similar looks long ago using various skinning programs so sorry but Apple didn't think of all these looks first.
I agree with the folks who are saying MS is not copying Apple here. MS's metro UI design in Win8 and WP7 is refreshing in that it is doing things a different way. Don't know if it is successful, but it is refreshingly different.
As for the grayscale icon design, it's convergent design. If it is good design to have grayscale icon design, then all OS UI should use. It's only copying if they use the exact same icons.
i applaud MS for not copying apple down to the letter. but they still follow apple's lead. and no matter how shiny you polish Windows gui its still shite underneath.
i applaud MS for not copying apple down to the letter. but they still follow apple's lead. and no matter how shiny you polish Windows gui its still shite underneath.
As a active member of an Apple forum you're far more likely to prefer Apple products over Windows.
So in one way, it's kind of pointless to post your opinion of Windows because it can be safely assumed the other members already know... however in another way you're helping to confirm the statistic.
This is, of course, all irrelevant and has nothing to do with the topic at hand... but then again neither did you comment, so we've kind of come full circle... no?
As a active member of an Apple forum you're far more likely to prefer Apple products over Windows.
So in one way, it's kind of pointless to post your opinion of Windows because it can be safely assumed the other members already know... however in another way you're helping to confirm the statistic.
This is, of course, all irrelevant and has nothing to do with the topic at hand... but then again neither did you comment, so we've kind of come full circle... no?
on this forum your 'argument' fails. lots of 'anti-apple' posters here. you might even find a tiny few from me that aren't supportive of apple....
'pointless' is your middle name.
Another Fact: This does not mean Microsoft is "re-entering their gold era", as the under-the-hood stuff is still windows and Ballmer strategy is absolutely retarded. YES FIREFLY, I KNOW WINDOWS 7 IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SHIT AND ALL, but it IS NOT. Just because it regained the semblance of sanity Windows had before Vista, it doesn't meant it fixed any of the issues Windows had before it. I know it. I used to be a windows user, and there's a WP7 partition on my MBP which sees daily usage.
Now and opinion!: While overall OS X is way ahead of Windows interface-wise, I very much prefer the pure-black chrome to the weird gray OS X uses.
FACT: Apple needs to redo their UI and will probably do so when they unite iOS and OS X. I'd say it'll mostly be iOS-y (which is awesome), but they'll have to freshen up things from iOS that are looking stale (super-glossy black bars and pinstripes, we're looking at you)
Fact: This is not a copy at all and DED is delusional.
Another Fact: This does not mean Microsoft is "re-entering their gold era", as the under-the-hood stuff is still windows and Ballmer strategy is absolutely retarded. YES FIREFLY, I KNOW WINDOWS 7 IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE SHIT AND ALL, but it IS NOT. Just because it regained the semblance of sanity Windows had before Vista, it doesn't meant it fixed any of the issues Windows had before it. I know it. I used to be a windows user, and there's a WP7 partition on my MBP which sees daily usage.
Now and opinion!: While overall OS X is way ahead of Windows interface-wise, I very much prefer the pure-black chrome to the weird gray OS X uses.
FACT: Apple needs to redo their UI and will probably do so when they unite iOS and OS X. I'd say it'll mostly be iOS-y (which is awesome), but they'll have to freshen up things from iOS that are looking stale (super-glossy black bars and pinstripes, we're looking at you)
the next generation of Mac and iOS is going to be beyond epic.
Now which one of these looks like it's evolving and which looks like it's standing still?
Since the Lion is the king of the jungle, I hope next year we get OS XI with a radically new interface. It's time that we moved on from the 1984 desktop.
You are comparing the Windows 8 launcher (and some apps) to the Mac dock with a modal app. Windows 8 still has the old UI for the majority of apps:
Apple's fullscreen apps and Launchpad are a move in the iOS direction but there can't be a radical change without allowing developers to get their apps ready for it. There's no way that all apps will work fullscreen for example.
Imagine a fullscreen calculator app on a 27" screen. It doesn't work because you'd want to use it alongside another app. Windows 8 allows you to snap items next to other apps but you don't always want to have to do that. Just open an app quickly, do your thing and close it.
I expect they will keep evolving the UI but I think most of the big changes have been made in Lion.
It gets better...
Direct from the Windows Phone 7 design guidelines...
"Icons should be clear and understandable, using real-world metaphors that are familiar to users. The best icons are monochromatic with simply geometry."
I can save to a floppy disc on a WP7? Wow. 'Right on my phone!"
I can save to a floppy disc on a WP7? Wow. 'Right on my phone!"
No more than you can edit with a pencil, send a letter, open a filling cabinet, put something in the trash or investigate with a magnifying glass.
Abstract concepts Mr Boogie, abstract concepts... all displayed with simply geometry and monochromatic.
No more than you can edit with a pencil, send a letter, open a filling cabinet, put something in the trash or investigate with a magnifying glass.
Abstract concepts Mr Boogie, abstract concepts... all displayed with simply geometry and monochromatic.
You have to admit, we need a better intuitive icon for the concept of saving.
We're almost entering a second generation of people who have never once used a floppy disc. Keeping its symbol in modern computing (where devices haven't been compatible with them for nearly a decade) is the equivalent of calling the brakes on a car "the reins" and calling the process known as "putting on the brakes" "pulling on the reins".
Driving Instructor: Now just pull on the reins and bring her to a stop.
Kid: Uh, reins?
*Kid pulls the lever to open the hood. Everyone's effectively blinded*
*horrible crash*
You have to admit, we need a better intuitive icon for the concept of saving.
We're almost entering a second generation of people who have never once used a floppy disc. Keeping its symbol in modern computing (where devices haven't been compatible with them for nearly a decade) is the equivalent of calling the brakes on a car "the reins" and calling the process known as "putting on the brakes" "pulling on the reins".
Driving Instructor: Now just pull on the reins and bring her to a stop.
Kid: Uh, reins?
*Kid pulls the lever to open the hood. Everyone's effectively blinded*
*horrible crash*
I don't think so. As we are moving into the second and third generation of users that have never used a floppy disk the majority of users are no longer going to think that they are clicking on a "floppy disk" to save, they are going to think they are clicking on the culturally recognised symbol for "save".
When you think about it, it doesn't really matter what the symbol represents. The "play", "pause" and "stop" icons have a history that goes back to the days of tape reels... I've got no idea what they represent; I just know them as "play", "pause" and "stop".
In your example if the student had no cultural reference to go by they would have had no idea what the instructor meant by "put on the brakes".
The first instinct would be to look for a switch or for something to put on, not "depress the brake pedal".
I'd even hazard a guess that the saying "to put on the brakes" comes from the days before brake pedal existed (trains, horse and carriage, early cars) when the brakes were essentially an on/off switch controlled by a lever.