How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7(windowsteamblog.com)
windowsteamblog.com
How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7
http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/11/11/how-we-really-designed-the-look-and-feel-of-windows-7.aspx
5 comments
I don't hate Microsoft. I have lots of fun watching them.
I didn't take the original guy's quote like that. He said, is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. That doesn't mean they copied the mac, it means they tried to make the graphics really good -- like the mac.
This seems to be the relevant original quote:
One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 whether it's traditional format or in a touch format is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.
Interviewer: So you've taken the style of the Mac platform and built it on the more solid foundations of Vista?
We've taken everything that's good about Vista, along with the core infrastructure of the operating system, and we've made it faster and slimmed down the code to make it more effective.
We've also tried to listen to what customers want in terms of a much slicker user interface and the ability to engage with it far more intuitively. That's the product that we're delivering.
You would think that Redmond "talking to the press 101" would cover stuff like this.
One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 whether it's traditional format or in a touch format is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.
Interviewer: So you've taken the style of the Mac platform and built it on the more solid foundations of Vista?
We've taken everything that's good about Vista, along with the core infrastructure of the operating system, and we've made it faster and slimmed down the code to make it more effective.
We've also tried to listen to what customers want in terms of a much slicker user interface and the ability to engage with it far more intuitively. That's the product that we're delivering.
You would think that Redmond "talking to the press 101" would cover stuff like this.
Why? The guy essentially said 'we made it like Mac . . . just better'
Let's give some more credit to Microsoft. More than anyone else, they worked with 3D chip makers to ensure that we all have hardware capable of running the eye-candy we see in Windows 7, OS X, and Linux.
They were extremely late in releasing it to the public, so it looks like they copied other people, but from what I remember, they started working on it before everyone else did.
They were extremely late in releasing it to the public, so it looks like they copied other people, but from what I remember, they started working on it before everyone else did.
"We used OS X for a day."
Don't be unfair. The eye-candy seems lifted from Compiz, so, obviously, they have used some Linux for about a day or two too.
RTFA, it specifically says that the quote about Win 7 copying OSX floating around the net for the last few days is wrong. It also goes further and says the MSoft employee offering up that quote didn't even work on the Windows 7 design team and then points to several sources about the real design inspiration.
Exactly what does this article address? All it does is declare (by fiat) that the quote floating around the internet is wrong, and then link to articles that are completely irrelevant in describing 'inspiration'. To summarize each link:
1) AP - Discussion on the victory (Office Ribbon) that led to Julie Larson-Green being made head of UI Experience
2) WSJ - Fact-less story about how Windows 7 is fixing the failings of Vista. No discussion about UI-inspiration. The closest was a hint to "quieting the system" that is directly addressing the UAC-faults that everyone griped about with Vista.
3) Fast Company - An overview of features that is devoid of anything but marketing information
The only thing 'useful' in this blog post was a link to the Windows 7 Design Blog. And in there, it describes how they highlighted items to improve, Except there's no reasoning behind why they thought these items were necessary, and the requirements they did identify seem to lead directly to their final solution... an indicator that the requirement was actually thought of after the solution.
Debunking, this is not. It's a collection of irrelevant posts and a link to an encyclopedia. It does not address the point it attempts to make and is frankly, a waste of time to read.
1) AP - Discussion on the victory (Office Ribbon) that led to Julie Larson-Green being made head of UI Experience
2) WSJ - Fact-less story about how Windows 7 is fixing the failings of Vista. No discussion about UI-inspiration. The closest was a hint to "quieting the system" that is directly addressing the UAC-faults that everyone griped about with Vista.
3) Fast Company - An overview of features that is devoid of anything but marketing information
The only thing 'useful' in this blog post was a link to the Windows 7 Design Blog. And in there, it describes how they highlighted items to improve, Except there's no reasoning behind why they thought these items were necessary, and the requirements they did identify seem to lead directly to their final solution... an indicator that the requirement was actually thought of after the solution.
Debunking, this is not. It's a collection of irrelevant posts and a link to an encyclopedia. It does not address the point it attempts to make and is frankly, a waste of time to read.
Exactly. Also, it cannot help that most people that have used both systems immediately think of the concepts that appear in the Mac operating system. I have noticed improvements in the Windows 7 interface where they have enhanced the Mac OS style interfaces, and that employee should not have been discussing a product on which he did not even work unless he was in marketing; however, the similarities are enough to make most people think it is more than coincidence.
As for my issues with Windows 7, removing the email client, requiring users to sign up with Windows Live just to use their Windows Live Mail address book (when the Windows Address Book is perfectly fine), and making interface changes that require more clicks to accomplish the same tasks are my reasons for not caring for the changes... not some incremental innovations that appear similar to other operating systems if those other operating systems have good interfaces.
As for my issues with Windows 7, removing the email client, requiring users to sign up with Windows Live just to use their Windows Live Mail address book (when the Windows Address Book is perfectly fine), and making interface changes that require more clicks to accomplish the same tasks are my reasons for not caring for the changes... not some incremental innovations that appear similar to other operating systems if those other operating systems have good interfaces.
"I may make jokes about Microsoft at times, but at the same time, I think the Microsoft hatred is a disease." -- Linus Torvalds