Jan
25
Is Vista a product of Second-system effect?
Posted by Geeksinside.com - Code, Circuits, Projects
Did Microsoft fail the Second-system effect with Vista?
The Second-system effect was coined by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering and describes how an engineer's second project is the most dangerous he will ever design. Personally I think Windows Vista is a shining example of this.
While it is the ump-teenth version of Windows, Vista is the second in the series of Windows that focus on the enhanced UI aspects of the system. For those who remember, XP's Luna interface was a major selling point back in 2001; Windows XP: user interface by ZDNet. Well with Vista's new interface Aero the UI is a main focus point again.
Now looking at the broad picture, people over all liked the XP Luna look, businesses adopted it and people didn't really get confused with the green start menu. Now 6-7 years later Microsoft did it again but this time took UI design and went way over the top, redesigned everything from the networking to the file browsing. Soon after Vista's release it became clear that this totally redesigned UI was too much for the average user to handle, "Deny or allow?". Now some people will say, "Look at a Mac, it has a totally different UI from Windows". Yes you are right it does, however people know this, they try the Mac, they like it, loathe it, or they learn it. Microsoft Windows has (at least for the past 13 years) had the same desktop look and feel and people expect that. I know all the Windows boxes I work with I change over to the 'Classic Theme' just to get the same feel across all machines.
I wouldn't be surprised if the next version of Windows or the first service pack for Vista contains the option to dumb down the eye-candy back to a simpler version. And if this 'third-system' generates a better response I think it will clearly indicate Vista is Microsoft's Second-system. Tags: PIC
The Second-system effect was coined by Fred Brooks in his book The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering and describes how an engineer's second project is the most dangerous he will ever design. Personally I think Windows Vista is a shining example of this.
While it is the ump-teenth version of Windows, Vista is the second in the series of Windows that focus on the enhanced UI aspects of the system. For those who remember, XP's Luna interface was a major selling point back in 2001; Windows XP: user interface by ZDNet. Well with Vista's new interface Aero the UI is a main focus point again.
Now looking at the broad picture, people over all liked the XP Luna look, businesses adopted it and people didn't really get confused with the green start menu. Now 6-7 years later Microsoft did it again but this time took UI design and went way over the top, redesigned everything from the networking to the file browsing. Soon after Vista's release it became clear that this totally redesigned UI was too much for the average user to handle, "Deny or allow?". Now some people will say, "Look at a Mac, it has a totally different UI from Windows". Yes you are right it does, however people know this, they try the Mac, they like it, loathe it, or they learn it. Microsoft Windows has (at least for the past 13 years) had the same desktop look and feel and people expect that. I know all the Windows boxes I work with I change over to the 'Classic Theme' just to get the same feel across all machines.
I wouldn't be surprised if the next version of Windows or the first service pack for Vista contains the option to dumb down the eye-candy back to a simpler version. And if this 'third-system' generates a better response I think it will clearly indicate Vista is Microsoft's Second-system. Tags: PIC
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