jr conlin's ink stained banana

i'm really not a big fan of Microsoft's latest User Interface meme, which seems to consist of "Hide things from you". Ok, granted, it's not really all that "new" but it's becoming more and more of an issue.

Perhaps it started when they created the "Start" button. Personally i would have called it "Do Shit", because if you have to press it if you want to "Do Shit", but that's just me.

No, the latest bit of ire is directed toward Microsoft's latest innovations in design: Office 2007 which bring the whole "Hide Things From You" meme to it's rational, homicide inducing next step. Let's look at the top window, shall we?

Were you expecting to see the same "File, Edit, View" litany of menus that you've grown accustomed to since Windows 2.0? was released over a decade ago? Silly human! Why should you use things like muscle memory and established behavioral patterns when you've got New Things! It's the future, you know.

Right so how do you save a document as something other than what it is right now? (Hint: it was "File: Save As…")

[Insert theme from Jeopardy here.]

Yep, that's right! you click the large icon in the top left corner! The one that used to display the menu about moving and resizing the window (you know, like it has since Windows 3.0). What do you mean that's not painfully obvious? i'll have you know that tested very well with Peruvian yak herders who we pumped full of LSD.

No, we're going to waste huge amounts of real-estate with new versions of the billion odd toolbars you used to be able to turn off or hide. Nope now you get the damn things whether you want 'em or not since they're pretty and full of pretty gray options since they're disabled.

Oh yeah, and if you have some sort of "custom" theme because you think rounded corners on windows are the digital equivalent of safety scissors in the workplace, TOUGH! You're going to get our windows even if they're hideously different then your carefully crafted, zen like desktop because our designers are smarter than you and you're so called "efficiency".

We deem it so that you can make things either blue, silver or black, though since having programs look like home stereo equipment from walmart is just the bestest thing evar!!!

*groan*

And folks wonder why i run OpenOffice most of the time.