I was looking today at a post on Engadget called “Desktop Evolution: Windows and Mac OS Visual Comparison Through the Years” and expected to see how, over the years, the desktop became more and more beautiful and usable. But I was extremely under-impressed.
Windows Vista looks nice but nothing really exciting (also, I can’t ignore the fact that the best looking Vista both costs a lot and requires super-new hardware.) The latest OS from Apple, Mac OS X 10.5, is supposed to be innovative but also looks like a slightly-more-beautiful clone of its old self. I mean eventually when you’re on a computer, your desktop is not a destination and as nice as it looks, nothing seems to have changed.
Where are the usability benefits? Considering all the great minds working on software today, is this the best we can do with the desktop?