What is Digg?176 Comments
- floppypond, on 10/12/2007, -14/+55Great side-by-side comparison.
Its gonna suck for the people stuck using "Vista Basic", looks terrible - underthewether, on 10/12/2007, -10/+41this shows just how minor an improvement the Aero interface is, the whole transparency thing is overrated.
- MadEnvoy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+34Windows Classic all the way! Woohoo!
- neoknight, on 10/12/2007, -5/+32http://www.duggmirror.com/software/Windows_Vista_The_choose_your_own_adventure_UI/
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -5/+27Yar....those screenies do be looking very different from each otherrr.
I kind of like Vista Basic the best. - picciano, on 10/12/2007, -14/+35It's nice, almost MacOS-like. Really.
(Oh, crap, I'm gunna get dugg down for this...) - meez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+22Yarr.
It's funny how even after all these years, Windows classic is still the best windows UI. Arr! - Ubermensch423, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23i think the vista standard and basic look better than the aero, the transparency seems to be an eyesore after the initial novelty wears off
- tsunamisteve, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21I hope it's not like the choose your own adventure books where you can get eaten by crocodiles if you choose the wrong UI.
- webcrumb, on 10/12/2007, -5/+24"Its gonna suck for the people stuck using "Vista Basic", looks terrible"
It's actually not that bad in use. I have it on a Dell Dimension D505 with Intel 855GM, which by most standards is a crap graphics adapter. However, the theme is much more usable than the standard Windows XP Blue. The lack of huge buttons and title bar, which always got in the way for me, makes the whole thing look and feel much more slick and less TellyTubby.
I normally use Classic, but in Vista the Basic theme works. In most ways I actually prefer it to the Aero theme (running on one of my other machines): it's much less intrusive, and the constant fade in and out gets on my nerves after about five minutes. Plus Command Prompt windows still use Classic. :D
"figuring out where to go to change settings is more difficult than ever"
Agreed. How the hell do I connect to a wireless network? How do I set up a VPN? It's all hidden away. - KingPhallus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21AAARRRRGGGHHH, tis pirate day!!!
- KingPhallus, on 10/12/2007, -9/+24@EXreaction:
I realize it's hard for you to believe, but the majority of the people who are looking forward to the UI don't even know how to sign up for a beta key. I talk to people everyday at school who are excited for the new UI, not the little pieces of functionality that the O.S. adds, but how it looks. That's the reason these people will buy Vista and these people are in CIS.
The Aero garbage is impressive for literally 2 seconds. Then you hold the windows key and press the tab key, that's equally impressive, for about 2 seconds. Then you realize that's not what an OS is for and if you had saved your money and stuck with XP you could still do all of the things you already do. Not to mention the little shimmer effects are completely distracting.
Why people get so impressed over an OS is beyond me. - javajawa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23@Topher
Just because Windows is used by "95% of the world's desktop computers" doesn't mean you can conclude from this that "Microsoft is one of the few companies that know how to do good UI". If it was a UI contest for marketshare, do you really think Microsoft would be the winner?
And the comment about Microsoft inventing the Start button? Somehow this makes a computer user friendly? Start is the "one" entry point? "Several dozen" entry points for OSX and Linux? Care to share some examples? - DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -20/+33Topher, I disagree with this with prejudice. I have been a very long time Windows user and also now a OS X user. I have test driven Vista as well and figuring out where to go to change settings is more difficult than ever. Perhaps I am in the minority but I think Vista is a less user friendly OS than XP.
- DaffyDuck, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Speaking of the UI, has anyone else that has actually used it been annoyed by all of the fade in/out effects of dialogs? I like eye candy and animations as much as anyone but in certain instances it's unwanted. I don't want to wait for the fade effect everytime I have to respond to a security dialog (which is often in Vista).
- RealAct, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16Very nice comparison.....
- malevolence2002, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14There ARRRRGHREht to be a compiz comment here so here goes...
I've tried vista beta and me thinks I must be preferin' xgl/compiz. But there in lies the hook, me scallywags. If erebody used free software, what would we pirates do for a livin'. Ay, tis harsh waters ahead! - Arramol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"It makes sense in the Enterprise world, where you don't want distractions"
I don't think Windows Classic will save MadEnvoy from distractions...he's already found Digg.com, what else do you need? - dwemer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13It's certainly a welcome change from the WinXP playskool theme.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -13/+23Are they getting rid of the XP Style? I hate those thin close/minimize buttons on the vista style.
- SacredMickey, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13I have been using Aero on RC1 for almost a week, and I have to tell you that for people like me who just hated the normality and dryness of Windows, this is a welcome change. I have found no real errors in the system, and love the looks of it, yes a bit "OSX-ish", and there is nothing wrong with that. For those eyebrow scrunching farts who will say negative things about this system, it is obviously because they can't afford the upgrade, or still think David Hasselhoff is cool.
- cduquette, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I have to agree with DaffyDuck's first comment. Although I haven't used Vista I have used the latest betas of IE7 and WMP11 for Windows XP. Even if you can justify them taking away the File/Edit/View/Help/etc. menu the interface is isn't consistent with these two applications. To access the settings on WMP the icon is on the lower right hand corner, and it's just an icon, no text. On the other hand to access settings in IE7 it's on the top right arrow, then access the appropriate submenu. This is frustrating for both a first time user and a teacher. Before all you had to say for any application was look at the top of the window, click the Edit menu and go to Preferences. Now it's "look around the window and try to find an icon looking like a window with a hammer or find something that says settings. Consistent layout for different applications makes the learning curve for a new user that much easier.
- dwemer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Hey! Don't hassle the Hoff.
- MikeCerm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I don't get why people are so in love with Classic. Are you that nostalgic for Windows 95? Do you really think that your system is going to run 300% faster because you run the Classic theme? When you moved into your new apartment, did you paint all the walls gray?
I understand that you may not like the default Windows theme, but there's plenty of other great themes out there. There are themes that are even more minimalist than Classic, and there're themes that emulate Vista (w/transparency and everything).
Personally, I use Luna Elements 5. It has a simple elegance - It's not flashy, just slightly more visually interesting. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Tell me this isn't the best Redmond has to offer. This was beaten ten years ago by the Enlightenment desktop environment, to say the very least.
- noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -8/+15Why is DaffyDuck being modded down? I agree with him completely after switching I discovered that I hated the MS UI. Apparently a lot of people are happy with it but that can also be attributed to a lack of experience of other UIs and, in people who aren't as tech savvy, the fact that they were more than likely introduced on a Windows machine.
I think there are a lot of things to consider in judging a UI and I don't think central access to everything is a good one to go by. It narrows down the places to start looking forsomething but it still masks a complex structure. Mac and linux UI's are far better at breaking that into logical manageable chunks of related functions. - joe90210, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6oooooooooooor they made 4 different UIs each one to be used depending on the level of hardware you have?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You would think by now, Digg would have added a "duggmirror" link next to the title in case it goes down. Not hard at all.
- KingPhallus, on 10/12/2007, -5/+11@homestar:
"I can say this because I have an opinion!"
Sorry man, just had to point that out. - BigKoi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8"but once you consider that your entire computer is exposed from a single button (Microsoft invented the start button),"
Yeah, then you scroll over the "All Programs" button to actually launch a program. Have you ever used a desktop that has a lot of application installed? It's a mess. - Davorin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Very good comparison, I was just wandering what the difference will be, and if Windows Classic theme would be still there ;)
- Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Wow, there are 3 separate craptastic visual styles in Vista? And Classic, of course.
I suspect that the eye candy is a significant factor in why Vista is taking so long. MS has been looking at OSX for years and needs to see that ante. And now they've apparently split their hand twice, trying to match it with 3 different styles.
I run 2k, but when I have to use an XP box for any amount of tiem, I turn off the default Fisher-Price interface. It looks bad, childish, and MS shouldn't be allowed to mix graphics and interface elements, they're horrible at it.
Of course, 5 years on, MS seems to have picked up some sophistication in the UI department. Nothing says "Not for children under 3, choking hazard" because it looks like cheap plastic. Just more expensive plastic.
But, like many other visual gimmicks, MS is playing up transparency too much. This is going to have a more drastic result on most users than MS realizes, and the results won't be what MS expects.
At least MS is still being consistent on one way: certain "high usage" Windows addons get to ignore the UI. In UI design, exceptions are bad, m'kay.
Generally, windows need transparent chrome or drop shadows, not both. Those shadows are too dark, also. If someone has that much trouble identifying where their windows are, they need to switch to Classic and explore the accessibility control panel.
I think MS' UI design is a microcosm of MS as a whole:
It tries to be cool, fails, and never understands why.
It learns a new trick and immediately gets hamhanded with it, even before they can study it.
It can't find a way to be consistent, no matter how much effort is put into this.
It copies its competitors far more often than vice versa.
It has no concept of subtlety. - totorototoro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5lithuin,
Stupid things to complain about? The article is ABOUT User Interface. Of course the close/max/min. buttons are important-Microsoft made a major change to them for Aero and Standard.Some of us do take UI seriously, even the little details. - TheTankengine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Just change "digg" to "duggmirror" in the address.
It's really not that complicated.
And what's with the screwed up comments? The total lack of threading is throwing off the placement. - PoserOfAllTrade, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6So great to see how Vista looks like complete and total ASS running in classic mode. It's like the dev team is telling us "YOU WILL USE AERO WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, BITCH!!!"
Everything just looks so out of place and poorly designed, a common theme for Vista, it seems. - edster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Personally, I thought Vista Basic looked the best in the screen shots. The other vista options I thought were much harder to read and too busy. I would probably stick with classic anyway just like I do on my XP box. The Aero looks wastes too much screen real estate.
- cgreer00, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Wow, makes me glad I switched 4 years ago :) I run XP in parallels to teach one of my classes, and running XP on a monitor right next to OSX really shows how bad the MS design team is. Looks like Vista will be no different.
- rkalajian, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7But the Hoff has that cool car...
- KCorax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4No it doesn't switch. Aero glass actually works faster because it is rendered by your graphics card. If some portion of the desktop hasn't been needed at the graphics card then it is not rendered End of story.
- Rabid_Llama, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I was gonna post this very thing. The sidebar is just a waste of screen real-estate in Classic mode. Why they couldn't make it shorter or something, I don't know, but having that bar taking up the right 20% of your screen is useless
- diagonalfish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Looks almost precisely the same as that from XP. But the amazing thing is, *people still use it*. Why? 'tis a mystery. Old habits die hard, I guess.
- bigtomrodney, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6It makes sense in the Enterprise world, where you don't want distractions and you don't want any extra resources wasted, be it 300% or just 0.03%. It's just not appropriate in the corporate world which is why Classic is still available.
- Xpiatio, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I am not kidding. As soon as I finished look at the site my eyes started hurting. Needed to put some eye drops in. My eyes actually hurt.
- ConceptJunkie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6> It is actually much easier on the eyes than XP...
Yeah, but XP was a nosedive from Windows 2000, so is Vista better or worse than Windows 2000 (minus the shiny)? - noahhoward, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Seriously, imitation is only flattery when done well.
- webcrumb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"I just don't see why they would offer both, if User Testing showed one was superior than the other?"
Most people don't know about double-clicking on the left icon. I tend to use it when my mouse is on that side of the window as it's quicker for me to double click than move the mouse and click. Though it is a throw-back to Window 3.1 days; perhaps it remained in Win95 simply to ease transition. However, by removing a feature more experienced users (perhaps 'expert users') use you're losing an aspect of usability for that user group. It's all very well focussing on novice users, but expert users need those multiple approaches to find one that suits them best. This is one reason I like the Linux WMs as most allow the user to hold Alt and drag the window around without having to resort to the title bar: whereas novice users would do as they're told, experts want to do as they want.
"I can't stand double clicks. Make it right-clicking."
Fair enough. You could even have just one control button, or the entire bar to control the window and use gestures. Click-drag up, maximise. Click-drag down, minimise. Right-click close. Or even use the scroll wheel instead. These additions are trivial (at least the scroll wheel) to implement, and novice users wouldn't even have to know about them. - Portside, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I'll be using classic, just like I am now.
- darkamster07, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3vista makes me want to puke! looks to me like those dreadful days when I was using 98, except now it looks like a horrible "OSX gone overboard" face plate was put over the same old crap, which you can tell by this comparison. The OSX UI is so much better, that look of gloss, glow, and smooth plastic that blends so well. I switched to Mac a while ago and couldn't be happier, it's always ahead of the competition.
- aznboi04k, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3windows classic still looks best. all the other crap takes up too much space and distracting.
- jsams81, on 06/26/2009, -2/+5those drop shadows are freaking HUGE.
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