We can defend things even if we don't agree with them 100%.
IMO Windows 95/98 era UI was peak of Microsoft design, XP was a small step backwards. Windows Vista/7 even more so. The great flattening started really with Windows 10. The great rounding with Windows 11. https://t.co/XHh6Bi4vLP
— U.S. Graphics Company (@usgraphics) August 27, 2025
Back then, UI was intended to make the operating system more usable and discoverable for the end users. It was not intended as a resume-builder for UI/UX types and was not aimed primarily at looking pretty for 15 seconds on a PowerPoint slide shown to MBAs.
That’s all changed. Additionally, modern OSes and applications are explicitly designed to steer you to ads and away from useful functionality.
Enshittification fully in action.