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Comment by n0us | Hacker News Reader

I kinda miss when computers looked like this.

In a few years UIs will hopefully start looking like this again, as it's a good balance between the current ultra-flat trend and the previous "gradients and transparency everywhere" of Vista/7. The same sort of cycle appears earlier if you look at Win1.x/2.x(flat) -> 3.x(exaggerated 3D) -> 4.x/9x/2k(more subtle 3D) -> XP(pseudorealistic 3D, bitmapped UI) -> Vista/7(extravagant 3D) -> 8/10(flat). Whether the rest of the software will be less user-hostile, however, is still quite uncertain...

That'd be awesome. Heck after a lot of mobile use recently I've decided I'd be willing to start using a stylus instead of my finger again so that some of those gigantic [ w h i t e s p a c e ] buttons could give way to tight groups of actually helpful buttons.

There's a certain timelessness in the simplicity and purity of these old designs.

Slap XFCE on a Linux distro and go to town.

> Slap XFCE on a Linux distro and go to town.

I'd guess similar themes to be available to also KDE, not just Xfce. (Xfce also has modern looking themes, but the default is very dated.)

We too brother, we too.

I've seen this look achieved with the Classic95 icon pack and Mate, if you search for 'Mate95' something should come up.

Maybe if you picked the right browser and set up some user style sheets you could get things just right.

There was a window manager for RedHat that copied the look of 95:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FVWM95

really?

Yeah. I still use the classic theme in Windows 7. It's fluff-free. I like that Win 8/10 have gone simpler with the UI theme, but absolutely hate that hidden sidebar thing. Aero on Vista/Win7 is just too gaudy (though better than XP was).

Before you accuse me of being a curmudgeon, know that I love the Ribbon as well. :)

I've always wondered about people that like the old Win2000 or 95 look. And I am hoping you can answer some questions for me.

The actual OS aside, do you prefer the look of Win2000 over the look of Win8?

I get that Win2000 is minimalistic. But it's not too flat that you can't tell what is what. And I like that. But what I hate about it is the colours. Especially the grey, turquoise, and dark blue. They literally nauseate me sometimes. Do you not find the colours off-putting?

I actually prefer the Win8 look. It's cleaner and still simple. But all the other mystery navigation of Win8 makes it a non-starter for me.

I hate the turquoise. Don't mind the dark blue and grey.

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