WINDOWS/OFFICE: Take 'Em to the Woodshed - Why Uncle Bill is About to Get Spanked

Ladies and gentlemen, it was with much disbelief, but little surprise that I watched the recent demos of Windows Vista (post-Beta 1) and MS Office 12 today. When I first saw some of the live demos over a year ago, I expected boorish color schemes and unpolished icons. As late as this summer I was still unfazed as I gazed upon the hideous behemoth that was Longhorn (now Vista). But today, I have little hope of Windows Vista being the next major leap in OS technology (ala Windows 95).

My eyes transfixed upon the unseemly colors and icons in Vista (click here for video), and my heart sank. I couldn't believe the audience was cheering the updated alt-Tab and 3D Window cascade--it actually looked more like a police line-up than anything near Mac Expose.

I had hoped that the MS Office 12 demo would lift my spirits, but instead it nearly caused me to faint--gone are my menus, replaced by happy, animated icons of productivity. Graphical choice usually equals less choice. See the video for yourself here.

It seems to me that where the Apple folks have captured stylish simplicity, my Microsoft friends have delved deeper into the Fisher-Price toy box. Simplicity should not mean ugly. There's still time, in fact quite a bit of time, to fix these things. I'll be watching for better behavior on Uncle Bill's part. If there's no improvement, he can expect a BIG whoopin' next year. Ouch!

- A Disappointed Hutch

You can read more and watch Billy's keynote here--but why?