Why are computer UIs going back to the 1980s and 90s?

[nickdalzell]

forget televideo, i remember when teletype output was on a line printer. remember lp0 on fire? that was the origin of it, if the line printer was unresponsive and would not respond to a stop command or was running away (printing gibberish) it could build up enough heat to cause a fire, hence lp0 on fire. as in line printer 0 on fire. linux still uses that old UNIX error when a printer refuses to respond.

when i worked in dad's medical office years ago, it was like the Price is Right--it was the 21st Century but everything was stuck in the '70s, including the computers.

 

[Codegerm]

I do agree this tendency toward a CGA looking UI needs to go. It is a waste for our nice displays. What's next, going back to the text display of a VAX/VMS?

 

[mikedt]

I do agree this tendency toward a CGA looking UI needs to go. It is a waste for our nice displays. What's next, going back to the text display of a VAX/VMS?

I really have no objection to it on a small device like a phone or tablet. In fact I actually quite like the look of the new iOS7. I think it's clear and just shows you what you need. But you up-scale that to a large desktop monitor, it kind of becomes childish and clunky IMO. I don't really wish to see my desktop with 3 inch squares with "email" or music notes in the centre...ahem 1990s AOL. Which is basically the Metro UI in Win 8.

 

[mikedt]

The explanation I heard, at least for Windows 8, is because it increases performance and battery life.

With tablets becoming more popular they have to focus on better performance with less powerful processors. The Aero look apparently was a waste of resources so they made Windows 8 look more simple.

I'm sure it is actually. In Vista and 7 one of the power saving options in Control Panel is to turn Aero off when running the laptop on battery. To make the Aero UI, it's using the GPU more intensively to render the flashy transparencies and defocusing. Flip 3D was also removed from Win 8 and was replaced by a more modest 2D version, presumably in the interests of power saving on mobile devices.

 

[Codegerm]

Maybe on a small display phone, but on a phone with a large display like the Galaxy S2 that I have I don't care for CGA squares. I can't begin to imagine going back to that on the hi def display of my laptop.

 

[zuben el genub]

I've got 7 on traditional, and a plain gray screen. I don't like all the bells and whistles as I don't always maximize the browser or other programs and having junk in the background is distracting. Besides, if a program is open, you don't usually see the background anyway. I also turn off all sounds. I hate the damn computer beeping at me.

The Vulcan uses photos of Moab on his desktop.

I like my own photos on the tablet and phone as I remember the feeling of the day, whether is was super hot, peaceful, or whatever.

Since the phone uses icons rather than a menu, a good wallpaper is OK

I have a solitaire game I bought years ago that has those old style menus. I dragged it over to 7 and it runs. But the menus are that block style

Someone used to have a theme changer for 98SE. You could change all the screens.
I wouldn't mind having that now. I had a couple of rather rude ones.

 

[Metroid Prime]

Ack! That should go hide in the sewers and be ashamed of what it is.. LOL

Quick! Kill it before it lays eggs!

 

[Revenant Ghost]

^ That UI looks like Windows, Android, and IOS all had a baby.

I guess it's a little too late to use one of these against it.

 

[Metroid Prime]

I guess it's a little too late to use one of these against it.

Nah, we may have to use this.

Spoiler

 

[mikedt]

On my phone I've just got a fixed wallpaper, no animations, no 3D. And as a result i'm sure I enjoy improved battery life as well. What the icons looks like, as long as they clearly tell me what they do and launches the apps OK, then they've done the job.

I've seen a few flashy themes and icon sets, some of them it's not obvious what they are, like which one is the camera, which one is the radio, which one is the music player, which one is email, and so on.

Going back to what I posted earlier about subway and airport signage, the last thing I want to see is confusing but pretty looking signs.

 

[nickdalzell]

Problem is that the new look translates to the entire interface including any app optimized for iOS 7. Which means it isn't just the icons that change. None of my wallpaper works with pastel.

 

[mikedt]

Problem is that the new look translates to the entire interface including any app optimized for iOS 7. Which means it isn't just the icons that change. None of my wallpaper works with pastel.

Your wallpaper is too dated and square, you'll probably have to find some new trendy wallpaper that co-ordinates with it then. :smokingsomb: ...think Swiss Style, which is clean and uncluttered, rather than Steampunk or Victorian or whatever.

 

[nickdalzell]

No, I'm currently attempting to downgrade it as we speak. I have an old backup ipsw file on my laptop to restore. I'd rather be Tony Stark over Suzie Sunshine. Hell I still need to downgrade Play Store on the Nexus 10--so far i have Play Store disabled and just side-load everything. iOS 7 is ten times worse than Play but that does not mean i like looking at Google's take on Metro/whitespace/pastel any more. i can't even look at my iPad PERIOD though. if i cannot downgrade it i'll just bin it and get a new one and never upgrade it. i still use the Apple products once in awhile.

 

[zuben el genub]

What I will never understand is -
you change the interface, you change the background.
If you are in an office, you spend 90% of your time in either Office or a special program for your work.
At home, you might be on FB, Twitter, shopping, gaming or searching for an answer.

None of the resulting pages agree with your UI. These pages design for themselves. So why make a fuss over it when you rarely look at it?

It's just a technique to either brand, or sell.

Add good security to it, and I'd prefer something that looked like old Netscape 2 rather than have to dork with about:config to get rid of the crap. It's just a means, not an end.

It's the same thing as the old "aerodynamic" appliances. (Rounded corners) I intend to make toast in the thing, not freaking launch it. The innards were mostly the same so it was just a "look" to make me want a new toaster.

 

[nickdalzell]

yeah the era of 1990s 'bubbles'. that aerodynamic look made all cars during that time look like jelly beans (no offense)

 

[rabidhunter]

Short answer, because Computers are returning to 80's 90's hardware...

Commodore USA released a set of "sneak peek" images today of its prototype of a brand-new Commodore 64. One of the most beloved home computers of all time--and part of the group of machines, including the Commodore Vic-20, Atari 800, Apple II and IIe, and Commodore Amiga, that forever changed the way people interacted with computers.


Although 29 years have gone by since the C64's 1982 release, Commodore USA says it is releasing a new version of the venerable computer, complete with a new version of the Commodore OS that has been updated for modern day and which includes a Web browser and a Microsoft Office-compatible suite of productivity tools.
The company isn't saying when--or definitively if--the new machine will be released, but since the pictures were released days after April 1, we can only hope that this isn't a joke.
And remember, Commodore implores, "The new Commodore 64 is a fully functional PC compatible, so you can even install and use the latest versions of Windows if you really feel you need to. We provide a beautiful graphical boot menu at start up from which Windows can be selected to run, so you needn't lose any of the functionality of the new C64's included Commodore operating systems."

EDIT: source The Brand-New Comodore 64

 

[dan330]

Think the whole inspiration for the Metro UI and similar came from subway and airport signage. That's why it was called "Metro" i.e. you don't need 3D, shine and fake leather stitching to tell you where the WC is or which gate you need to go to. ...and its presence could actually obscure or detract from the information.

EDIT

Can give what I think is an example between subway style signage and what I think could be a 3D version.

Which one is the "disabled" sign?
View attachment 62056View attachment 62057
A simple blue and white ideograph or a detailed 3D rendering of a wheelchair?

BTW I keep the posh 3D dock on my Macbook hidden, don't need it in view all the time. It appears when moving mouse to bottom of screen. I'm not staring admiring it and thinking how beautiful it looks, it's there to launch software, and nothing else.

The icons you see on Android or iOS are there to tell you what the apps do, rather like signage in a subway or an airport IMO. And so I think they should be clear and obvious.

yes.. i agree.. that is what they are trying to acomplish with the new look.
simpler.. easier.. faster..but PLAIN.

so boring!!! i personally dont like flat 2-D monotone graphics.

i predict.. next major changes to UI..
revolutionary!!!!
add 3-D "effects" to the flat icons. ohhhh.. the letters look rasied from the background.

 

[Codegerm]

I had a C64, when it died I got the Commodore 64c which was styled like the Amiga 500.

 

[kate]

Commodore USA says it is releasing a new version of the venerable computer, complete with a new version of the Commodore OS

Last I heard, Commodore USA went out of business last year after the founder died.

Reviews were mixed since their updated Commodore OS was actually Linux, not based on the original OS.

 

[zuben el genub]

We still have our 64. We ran it with a cassette deck and a black and white TV.

BTW - 3D TV isn't selling.
3-D isn't big selling point for HDTV buyers, but smart TVs may get hot - NBC News.com

Just one of a whole series of articles written about it not selling.

 

[mikedt]

We still have our 64. We ran it with a cassette deck and a black and white TV.

BTW - 3D TV isn't selling.
3-D isn't big selling point for HDTV buyers, but smart TVs may get hot - NBC News.com

Just one of a whole series of articles written about it not selling.

I'm sure 3D TVs are actually selling. Many modern TVs are 3D capable. It's just that hardly anyone is bothering with the optional extra glasses to make use of it. Let alone trying to find some 3D worth watching, apart from demonstration stuff that is.

It's same with the comments about internet connected smart-TVs. Just about all new TVs are smart and have internet capabilities, in fact many of them are Android. It's whether people choose to use them or not.

 

[nickdalzell]

Well it won't let me downgrade iOS 7 back to iOS 6. tried and it says 'firmware not compatible' even though i have the correct IPSW file. unless someone wants this iPad i'm throwing it into the garbage. i can't stand iOS 7.

 

[mikedt]

Swap it for a Windows RT Surface?

 

[nickdalzell]

i doubt that even Best Buy would trade a year-old iPad for one of those tablets. and need i go on how much i hate kiddy flat UIs? a Surface tablet is essentially Windows 8. now, if i could trade it on a big discount on a new Mac, or some killer Android tablet (although i already have a Nexus 10, is there a better one?)

The best I can do to make deer themes and iOS 7 work together.