Longhorn

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
(got from MacNN)



Count the similarities!



http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/longhorn_aero.asp



For one: the GUI is called Aero, rather than Aqua. Wind? Water? Heart! Ahahaha, Captain Planet?



They've also made the "My Computer" icon a harddrive, and iTunes-like icons for music or media or whatever. So terrible.



(If this belongs somewhere else for whatever reason? well, oops.)



Discuss.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    fotnsfotns Posts: 301member
    You're really grasping here. The similarities are so few and they are trivial.
  • Reply 2 of 11
    No, they are obvious and in every shot.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    agent302agent302 Posts: 974member
    Man, those control panels are really visually distracting.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    malokatamalokata Posts: 197member
    What's really worrying about Longhorn is not the gloppy shinetastic buttons and Plex scheme, it's the file system and navigational revamps. Microsoft, although endowed with little aesthetic taste, has scads of money for R&D.
  • Reply 5 of 11
    You do realize that Longhorn isn't even in beta yet, right? They have over a year and a half of development left before it's even close to completion. Have you seen XP before it went to beta 2 (let alone alpha)? It looked very different and unfinished. You might want to let it mature before you judge.



    There are no similarities with Longhorn and OS X as those icons have been around since the XP launch (they just might make it more consistent and cleaner looking). It seems to me that many Mac Zealots think that if it doesn't look like Windows 95, it's automatically an OS X copy. Stop it now you're just being silly. We are approaching 2004 and GUIs will become enhanced whether you like the design or not. And NO, they all aren't copying Apple. OS 9 was not so hot and nothing better than Win 2000 as far as GUI is concerned. But, I guess we all see something different.



    I do like the look and feel so far. It's sort of like each window appears as a webpage but only drawing instantly. There's a lot of work to be done, but for an alpha build, it's not that bad at all. That sidebar is an option by the way. If you don't want to use it, you don't have to and you won't see it if it's not your thing. However, with wide screens becoming the norm and desktop real-estate becoming plentiful, a sidebar utility that's highly customizable may just come in handy without getting in the way at all.



    This is why I like to use both platforms. Two different kinds of computers and two different OSs to play with. To me, the only 'dark side' out there is the 'either or' mindset.
  • Reply 6 of 11
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Don´t you ****ing deconstruct our good/bad dichitomy
  • Reply 7 of 11
    Personally, I think the screenshots make Longhorn look like Windows. I don't hate it, actually. I'm sure some design choices were inspired by Aqua, but it is not a direct rip of Aqua.



    It's cozy. I mean, that UI makes me feel warm and fuzzy. But I'm finding that I don't want to feel warm and fuzzy anymore than I wanted to have the desire to 'lick' my operating system. I don't hate it though...
  • Reply 8 of 11
    adpowersadpowers Posts: 188member
    Quote:

    However, with wide screens becoming the norm



    I have to disagree with that. I have seen very few wide screen monitors on the PC side. When I was purchasing my monitor, I had to splurge for a 20" because every 17" or 19" I saw had the 5x4 aspect ratio. No thank you.



    Andrew
  • Reply 9 of 11
    Microsoft hadn't even thought of making a next-generation operating system until Mac OS X, so it is definitely inspired, at least. I never said it looked like OS X. I said it was trying to look like OS X.



    I find it flashy and garish as it is now. Looks like it's aimed at the absolutely computer illiterate Windows users and the disabled. Like it promises to hold my hand and walk me through everything. That is an unappealing user-experience to me.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    Saying that Microsoft had not even begun to ponder making a next generation operating system prior to the arrival of Mac OS X is just silly. I don't think they're trying to make Longhorn look like Mac OS X at all, either. The colour blue has been an ongoing theme in Windows ever since 3.11. In Windows 95 we had those clouds everywhere, and titlebars were still primarily blue. Because of this, you cannot very well state that the blue was influenced by Aqua. You can say that making the 'feel' of the UI, as it looks more silky, glossy, and what not, may have been inspired by Mac OS X. I mean, there are some things that are more obvious than others.



    You know what it's like? It's like someone performing a cover song. When you perform a cover, you tend to adopt it to yourself, make it your own; let it play through you as you, and not as an exact replica of the artist's original work. Well, the Longhorn UI is kind of like that. Microsoft has obviously observed that Apple has had some success with Aqua. that users seem to like the glossy, glass like UI. So Microsoft is taking what Apple has learned and making it their own. This happens all the time, and is quite the form of flattery. I cringe every time people people bring this up, as if there is still some holy war raging between Apple and Microsoft.



    As for the UI being friendly, well, most computer users are computer illiterate. Most of them want to be walked through all the steps. While that is unappealing to me as well, it isn't to the majority of consumers, most of which do not know as much as we do about their computers.



    I also don't see how the Longhorn UI is great for disabled users. Maybe those with vision problems, as the title bars and text seem to be large. But beyond that, I'm not sure how, from those screenshots, we can ascertain how it is particularly suited to disabled users. I'm quite happy with Apple's 'Universal Access' tools, but admittedly, I've never looked at what Windows has to offer.
  • Reply 11 of 11
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    someone here should point out that the initial icons for windows xp (back in the "whistler" days) were created by the gang at the iconfactory. if you look hard through their website, you'll even find the poster of their creations hanging on their office wall. i think the iconfactory has collaborated often with both apple and microsoft for gui element design, so you're bound to see some artistic treatments bleed from one side to another.
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