I'm pretty sure that Microsoft uses Office, in part, as a way to develop and refine new UI elements. At some point the API got pulled out of Office and made pa

I'm pretty sure that Microsoft uses Office, in part, as a way to develop and refine new UI elements. At some point the API got pulled out of Office and made part of Windows proper, with the Windows Ribbon Framework[0]. Built in applications, Explorer being the most visible, have now started using it. [0] https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd316910(v=vs.85).aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd3...