Introduction

The user interface is the first experience people get when seeing a new operating system release, especially when the default out-of-the-box look and feel appears to be as radically different as Windows XP does. Emotions tend to run high and the initial impressions that a new interface design can create can be quite important to the acceptance of a new product. I remember when I first installed Windows 95 that was quite a departure in terms of interface than anything previously released by Microsoft. When the installation screen was installing, there were sarcastic comments such as Animated bitmaps, that s really clever! I suppose that this statement shows that some people aren t adaptable to change, so when a change occurs, hopefully it is for the better.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that the user interface is how we interact with our operating environment and the applications that run from within it. In fact, Microsoft spends millions of dollars each year on usability labs to deliver an environment that helps you carry out this interaction in the most easy and efficient way. Some of you may remember, perhaps fondly as I do, of CLI (Command Line Interface) to the operating system. In fact, to automate tasks and quickly carry out a process such as starting and stopping services, for example, sometimes there is no substitute. However, for the majority of everyday users the graphical element of the environment is something that they will have to deal with day-by-day. My...