Microsoft recently released another build of Windows Vista to members of their developers network. A flurry of screenshots ensued. The system appearance, if not its feature set, is starting to stabilize and shows signs of having had input from graphic designers for this go-round. <a href="http://www.only4gurus.com/v3/longhorn.asp" source="Only4Gurus">Windows Vista Screenshots</a> provides the latest batch in what they show to be a long line of screenshots from the various Blackcomb/Longhorn/Vista incarnations from over the years. <h>Initial Impression</h> <div align="center"><img attachment="windowsvista5342_control_panels.jpg" align="left" class="frame" caption="Control Panels"> <img attachment="windowsvista5342_gadgets.jpg" align="left" class="frame" caption="Gadgets!"></div> The basic structure doesn't diverge that much from XP, but the emphasis is on soothing pastels rather than on the jarring reds, yellows and blues of XP. Users of Mac OS X will get a nagging feeling that they've seen this look before, but that's a <i>good thing</i>. There's no need for Microsoft to re-invent the wheel when they can just cadge off of Apple---especially when there are so many Mac users stuck using Windows in their day jobs. There's no need to be snarky by pointing out that the windows kind of look like brushed steel<fn> as if that's a bad thing. It's better than XP's blue, by far. Most importantly, the screenshots above show that Microsoft has gotten their act together: the icons are much more soothing than in previous releases and the orgy of controls in previous incarnations of the file browser seems to be gone. The by-now-famous "Aero Glass" look that will only work on newer graphics cards<fn> can be seen in the blurry semi-transparence in the title bar of the foreground window. With effects like this, we can only hope that Windows has moved to a clean window server model, as OS X did over 5 years ago. <h>Gadgets! Yawn.</h> The OS X "homage" edges closer to what some would call "ripoff" in the other screenshot, <i>Gadgets</i>, which shows the small always-on applications available for desktop placement. If it's a ripoff, then it's a crowded field of ripoff artists, from Apple to Yahoo to Opera to Microsoft. Widgets/Gadgets are the feature people are thought to want; it's not surprising to see them in there. <h>Standard Apps</h> <div align="center"><img attachment="windowsvista5342_solitaire.jpg" align="left" class="frame" caption="Games and Internet Explorer"> <img attachment="windowsvista5342_start_menu.jpg" align="left" class="frame" caption="Start Menu and Programs"></div> Games and Internet Explorer shows that the graphic overhaul---one of the few remaining features in Vista---is at least more than the skin-deep pittance found in XP. All the games have gotten a going-over and they've even included new ones! Various articles have mentioned that even the vaunted MS Paint is new! How many more reasons do you need to upgrade? Seriously, it's nice to see that Microsoft is finally making the effort expected of such a large company and delivering a cohesive system that doesn't jar the user with a frankenstein-like combination of styles from systems past. even XP still sported some 16-color icons from the Windows NT days. In the background is the new Internet Explorer 7, which will also be available for XP. Not much to see here, except that the additions of multiple tabs seems to have pushed the designers into a madness whereby they sprayed controls all over the top of the window willy-nilly: <ul> Want to go back? Top left. Want to stop? Right. Add a bookmark? Bottom left. Search? Right again. RSS? Right bottom. Old menus? Press "Alt"; they magically appear. </ul> The look has <a href="http://rentzsch.com/suck/stopStopStopHurtingTheInternet" title="Stop Stop Stop Hurting the Internet">inspired others</a> to comment: <iq>Is it just me, or does this look like a GUI widget test demo?</iq> <h>Final Words</h> The Start Menu looks better organized than in past incarnations, with Microsoft tentatively embracing the non-rectangular look by adding a jutting icon to the top. This brings hope to developers that the non-rectangular window API will finally be fast enough to use without having to consider the performance drawbacks. Since absolutely everything on screen is semi-transparent and systems like OS X have been doing it for years, one would hope this to be the case. All-in-all, Vista will at least look pretty good, a minor though important victory for Microsoft. What's still in the air is just when people will actually get their hands on it and which machines will be able to run the version pictured above. <ft>A look that Apple has all but abandoned in their most recent releases for iLife and OS X.</ft> <ft>Lest we forget, Apple doles out goodies specifically for purchasers of high-end hardware, too. The most famous example is the "ripple" effect when dropping widgets onto the Dashboard.</ft>