Should be called vista.css.
A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
71–80 of 129 posts
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#72Windows 2000 was the peak of practical and usable GUI design. It all went downhill from there.
I too see Windows 2000 as Microsoft's peak for usability, at least for the GUI controls it supported. We seem to be in the minority though. You hear far more people praise XP or 7 as the best.
I recently went back and installed 2000 to make sure I wasn't forgetting something bad for usability in the UI about 2000 that others remember. Nope. I then installed XP to be sure with today's eyes it wasn't really better than 2000 and I just didn't realize it. Nope.
I didn't continue the experiment after that. I very clearly remember 7, since I still have to use it occasionally.
I see 2000s UI as being from a time when (for the most part) they weren't trying to impress you with the gloss on the UI. They were just trying to make it clear and usable. More modern iterations of Windows has some advancements in interactions but not much in the GUI controls themselves.
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#73Interesting idea.
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#74Should be called vista.css.
Why?
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#75I'm beginning to have the feeling Windows 7 is the last Microsoft OS I'll ever feel good about installing.
I've been feeling that way, but I can't tell if it's rational. Windows XP and 7 were the versions of the OS I used the most growing up. Nostalgia? Ever since Windows 8, the OS has felt a lot slower and the UI isn't consistent. I was running something the other day that needed privilege escalation and I had this realization that I would have no idea if a particular UI was cobbled-together-Microsoft-UI or if it was cob…
I think it’s rational. I started using Windows with… DOS 6. Of all my lifetime Windows installs, probably 70% are 98, 2k and XP. Yet I also agree that Windows 7 was peak Windows UX, probably because it was the final version designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse.
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is such a hacker news comment. Somehow a group of people supposedly good at using computers struggle to work out what a button is while the average user seems to have no problems.
Oh the average user does very much have problems. They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count. Windows 7 had the last good, properly-desktop UI before the existence of touchscreen laptops ruined everything. And then came the plague of borderless everything.
> They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count.
The average user assumes it’s their own inability to use technology, while the average HN commenter gets annoyed because they know it doesn’t have to be so difficult.
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is such a hacker news comment. Somehow a group of people supposedly good at using computers struggle to work out what a button is while the average user seems to have no problems.
Oh the average user does very much have problems. They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count. Windows 7 had the last good, properly-desktop UI before the existence of touchscreen laptops ruined everything. And then came the plague of borderless everything.
>They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud
Laypersons wouldn't even know what the problem is in the first place.
Even if they do, they might not know the right terms to use when communicating. Thus, listening to feedback can be misleading.
Nothing beats watching people in real life using your products.
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#78What I love about these old designs is how obvious everything is. You just can't miss the button or the tabs. Now after all this skeuomorphic design revolution it's so hard to tell, is it a button, text, link etc. It probably looks better but it is at the cost of extra thinking for the user.
This is such a hacker news comment. Somehow a group of people supposedly good at using computers struggle to work out what a button is while the average user seems to have no problems.
"(...) Do you see this big red circle on the bottom of the window? Now next to it there is a circle with a little square in it. No, don't click it just yet! You have shared your screen with me. It is used when... You know what, it doesn't matter. Find three dots on the bottom of the window. Yes, three dots, in a line. Now click it and select 'Stop sharing'. Higher. Higher. Yes, now click it! Brilliant. Now, do you remember the red circle? Next to it, on the left side, I believe, there should be another circle with a square and a less than sign, you know like from math. It is striked out? Yes, that would be it. Click it. Yes, that should do it. Splendid! It works. It is supposed to be "a video camera". I am as lost as you are. Honey! Your dad is back. Please, don't click anywhere else. Oh, shit he froze. Maybe I'll call him from Hangouts? Oh, forget it, they shut it down lately. Why? I don't know, they just did. Can't we just call him on the phone? (...)"
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh the average user does very much have problems. They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count. Windows 7 had the last good, properly-desktop UI before the existence of touchscreen laptops ruined everything. And then came the plague of borderless everything.
>They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud Laypersons wouldn't even know what the problem is in the first place. Even if they do, they might not know the right terms to use when communicating. Thus, listening to feedback can be misleading. Nothing beats watching people in real life using your products.
Interestingly, sometimes this manifests as nostalgia. Yes, they can't put their frustration into precise words like we do here, so they just say "I miss when %something% was easier/better/more respectful". Or "could they just for once stop changing stuff around". Or "I hate this redesign".
Re: A CSS framework to recreate Windows 7 GUI
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh the average user does very much have problems. They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count. Windows 7 had the last good, properly-desktop UI before the existence of touchscreen laptops ruined everything. And then came the plague of borderless everything.
> They just don't have a place to talk about them out loud. With modern design, people get confused all the time whether something is clickable. Seen that happen so many times I lost count. The average user assumes it’s their own inability to use technology, while the average HN commenter gets annoyed because they know it doesn’t have to be so difficult.
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