4 ms·

I always get a kick out of how modern design has decided to finally coalesced on a hybrid of Watercolor XP and Encarta 2000. Microsoft could have just stick wit

by basch 7y ago

I always get a kick out of how modern design has decided to finally coalesced on a hybrid of Watercolor XP and Encarta 2000. Microsoft could have just stick with that and saved 2 decades of redesigns, but then XP/OSX came out with everything covered in shiny plastic. Oh Luna/Aqua how you set us back. The lost decades. http://www.intelliadmin.com/index.php/2007/04/forgotten-windows-xp-theme-watercolor/ http://www.intelliadmin.com/index.php/2007/04/forgotten-wind... http://www.shoplack.com/detail.aspx?id=1305 http://www.shoplack.com/detail.aspx?id=1305

TomJansen 7y ago
It really is remarkable how far ahead of it's time Watercolor really was, and then they just killed it.
- fenwick67 7y ago
  In an alternate timeline, they used watercolor and now XP-style guis are in fashion.
  - basch 7y ago
    If they had a consistent gray/white/tan everywhere, and modern icons, it would look en vogue today. https://www.deviantart.com/rainingskies/art/Windows-Whistler-Build-2296-106558116 https://www.deviantart.com/rainingskies/art/Windows-Whistler... Imagine that with these, something they absolutely could have accomplished at the time. https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21146028/microsoft-windows-10-new-icons-colorful-design-changes-updates-fluent-design-system https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21146028/microsoft-window...
rmsaksida 7y ago
Watercolor was my favorite XP theme! I would never have remembered it if not for seeing it mentioned here. I used to find it elegant compared to other themes. On the Linux side, my favorite theme was Red Hat's Bluecurve. People still port it to modern DEs, and it still looks good. I think it was ahead of its time, but it never really caught on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluecurve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluecurve https://cn.pling.com/img/hive/content-pre1/148927-1.png https://cn.pling.com/img/hive/content-pre1/148927-1.png
- PetitPrince 7y ago
  My teenage self spent a significant amount of time using custom-made Windows XP theme ("Visual Style") (by hacking UXTheme.dll ; me being an ignorant teenager I probably followed this guide [1] ). Most of them were gaudy [2] but some of theme I still find attractive even nowadays [3][4]. [1] https://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-custom-windows-visual-styles-5056544 https://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-custom-windows-visual-styl... [2] https://www.deviantart.com/unr3al/art/Classix-10k-2-1883531 https://www.deviantart.com/unr3al/art/Classix-10k-2-1883531 [3] https://www.deviantart.com/fugacious/art/HmmXP-2-0-1-5514034 https://www.deviantart.com/fugacious/art/HmmXP-2-0-1-5514034 [4] https://www.deviantart.com/b0se/art/Codename-Opus-3-0-9240396 https://www.deviantart.com/b0se/art/Codename-Opus-3-0-924039...
  - basch 7y ago
    There was also the never released Royale Noir, Royale Blue, Embedded, and Zune themes, which were even signed and didnt need uxtheme.dll patched. https://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/ https://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/ https://www.askvg.com/download-official-windows-xp-themes-no-uxtheme-patching-required/ https://www.askvg.com/download-official-windows-xp-themes-no...
kalleboo 7y ago
Watercolor was a fantastic theme. I've been a Mac guy since birth, but at the time I used a Watercolor theme on my Mac because it was just that nice

by basch 7y ago

TomJansen 7y ago

It really is remarkable how far ahead of it's time Watercolor really was, and then they just killed it.

fenwick67 7y ago
In an alternate timeline, they used watercolor and now XP-style guis are in fashion.
- basch 7y ago
  If they had a consistent gray/white/tan everywhere, and modern icons, it would look en vogue today. https://www.deviantart.com/rainingskies/art/Windows-Whistler-Build-2296-106558116 https://www.deviantart.com/rainingskies/art/Windows-Whistler... Imagine that with these, something they absolutely could have accomplished at the time. https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21146028/microsoft-windows-10-new-icons-colorful-design-changes-updates-fluent-design-system https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/20/21146028/microsoft-window...

rmsaksida 7y ago

Watercolor was my favorite XP theme! I would never have remembered it if not for seeing it mentioned here. I used to find it elegant compared to other themes. On the Linux side, my favorite theme was Red Hat's Bluecurve. People still port it to modern DEs, and it still looks good. I think it was ahead of its time, but it never really caught on. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluecurve https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluecurve https://cn.pling.com/img/hive/content-pre1/148927-1.png https://cn.pling.com/img/hive/content-pre1/148927-1.png

PetitPrince 7y ago
My teenage self spent a significant amount of time using custom-made Windows XP theme ("Visual Style") (by hacking UXTheme.dll ; me being an ignorant teenager I probably followed this guide [1] ). Most of them were gaudy [2] but some of theme I still find attractive even nowadays [3][4]. [1] https://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-custom-windows-visual-styles-5056544 https://lifehacker.com/how-to-use-custom-windows-visual-styl... [2] https://www.deviantart.com/unr3al/art/Classix-10k-2-1883531 https://www.deviantart.com/unr3al/art/Classix-10k-2-1883531 [3] https://www.deviantart.com/fugacious/art/HmmXP-2-0-1-5514034 https://www.deviantart.com/fugacious/art/HmmXP-2-0-1-5514034 [4] https://www.deviantart.com/b0se/art/Codename-Opus-3-0-9240396 https://www.deviantart.com/b0se/art/Codename-Opus-3-0-924039...
- basch 7y ago
  There was also the never released Royale Noir, Royale Blue, Embedded, and Zune themes, which were even signed and didnt need uxtheme.dll patched. https://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/ https://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/ https://www.askvg.com/download-official-windows-xp-themes-no-uxtheme-patching-required/ https://www.askvg.com/download-official-windows-xp-themes-no...

kalleboo 7y ago

Watercolor was a fantastic theme. I've been a Mac guy since birth, but at the time I used a Watercolor theme on my Mac because it was just that nice