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Windows 3.1 had window minimization. Confusingly, programs became icons in your "desktop" (which you could only see when minimizing everything).
by thanatropism 9y ago
Windows 3.1 had window minimization. Confusingly, programs became icons in your "desktop" (which you could only see when minimizing everything).
- amiga-workbench 9y agoAmiga Workbench did the same thing, the minimize button was labeled as "iconify" instead.
- jaclaz 9y agoA lesser known program for Windows 3.1/3.11 was at the time the Norton Desktop, see: http://toastytech.com/guis/ndw.html http://toastytech.com/guis/ndw.html that provided, even on Windows 3.1/3.11 roughly the same UI of the Mac OS of the time, very similar, for some aspects, to the later Windows 9x one.
- interfixus 9y agoFor some aspects, yes. For the over-all experience, not similar at all. PC Tools for Windows was another lternative shell. Finicky and prone to crashes, but better UI design than the Norton Desktop. Windows 95 obsoleted them both.
- thanatropism 9y agoI remember someone who had an all-in-one Compaq PC with a version of Win 3.1 that had a shell with tabs on the top, not too unlike the "ribbon" of modern MS Office.
- jaclaz 9y agoPossibly a Contura Aero with TabWorks? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TabWorks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TabWorks http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum/Compaq/Contura/Aero%204-25/030-S19-TabWorks.png.html http://www.supervinx.com/OnlineMuseum/Compaq/Contura/Aero%20...
- cesarb 9y agoEven better, on Windows 3.1 a minimized program could draw to its "icon" (it's actually a tiny window). For instance, a minimized clock could still show the current time. That was one of the things lost with the Windows 95 UI changes. And don't forget MDI, best shown by the Windows 3.1 Program Manager: a MDI program would have several inner windows within it, and each of these inner windows could be resized, moved, minimized or maximized, all within the boundaries of the main program window.
- rocky1138 9y agoI know it's not popular, but I actually like MDI apps.
- Too 9y agoConfusingly? This is exactly how iphone works.