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For those of you who are unfamiliar with the process, Microsoft’s user interface guys and gals are never short on ideas for the next OS. As soon as development for one OS is wrapped up (which happens much sooner than when the OS hits the market), it’s on to the next. Here, we have a very early prototype video of ideas proposed for Windows 7′s user interface. Typically, there are many of these concepts churned out which ultimately gets widdled down to a handful of real-world considerations. Said handful of considerations are typically then presented to a select group of higher-ups at Microsoft, decisions are made and the UI elements of choice get filtered down to the appropriate teams and contractors to be developed.

As you can see, the ideas presented in this video were created over a Vista desktop (more than likely due to the Windows 7 UI not existing then), and though the visuals certainly get me all googly-eyed, I think they’re a bit too dramatic to ever see the light of day. You know, every time I see something like this, I can’t help but wonder just how many ideas like this get nixed… or, at best, “put on the shelf” until later, so to speak. Again, while these animations are certainly fun to look at, I doubt any Microsoft OS will ever contain animations quite like this.

In studying this video with a fine-tooth comb, here’s a list of some (but not all) things to look out for. I’ve included some screenshots to reveal certain details that fly by too quickly to notice without pausing the video (click on the images to see much larger and expanded versions):

Start Button Animations:

There’s a neat effect that you see happen when the user clicks on the start button. The first time you see it at 00:08, it almost appears to be a part of the Start Menu animation, but at 00:15, we get a look at the animation in-full just before the Start Menu flys out.

Start Menu Animations:

1. When Start Button is Clicked: There are two ways the UI designer has proposed how the Start Menu appears when the Start Button is clicked: The first starts at 00:08 and the second at 00:15.

2. User Tile Images: The animations for how the images change with Start Menu interactions are noticably different. These instances are self-evident throughout the video as the user interacts with the Start Menu.

3. Mouse Clicks: Watch the mouse pointer at 00:09 and 00:17 to see two individual animations (with the second being a bit more difficult to discern due to how it interacts with the window animation that begins on top of it).

Window Animations:

I really love this whole video, but the way the first window animates onto the desktop after the user clicks, “My Computer” from the Start Menu is absolutely beautiful. Personally, I think it would get old quickly if implemented, but that doesn’t detract from how neat it looks. The second window animation looks a bit more realistic, sans the swirly flare. The window animations start at 00:09 and 00:17, respectively.

Wallpaper Brightness/Contrast Aduster:

At 00:28, after the user sets a new wallpaper, we see an adjuster pop up on the desktop. We know what it is through the user making use of it via moving a sliding bar that adjusts the brightness. I’m only assuming the bottom sliding bar that isn’t used is a contrast bar. Regardless, I thought that was a pretty cool idea and something I would personally leverage just about every time I changed my wallpaper. Likewise, I thought the animations for the adjuster were perfectly feasible for real-world usage.

Taskbar Animations:

There are some subtle and not-so-subtle animations presented for the taskbar. My absolute favorite, though, is the aura animation at 00:36 (it took me a couple of watches of the video to see them, because my eyes were focused on the upper right-hand quadrant of the desktop for some reason, so make sure you watch the taskbar towards the end of the video). Keep your eyes peeled for the way items highlight in the Quick Launch bar, the animation that occurs in the taskbar when a new window is opened, and the thumbnail preview animations.

Shell Animations:

There are many other general shell animations to keep your eyes open for, such as the scrolling of information in My Computer when hovering over hard drives (occurring at 00:11 and in a slightly different manner in another window at 00:21), mouse click animations (separate from the Start Menu mouse click animations), etc.

Miscellaneous Mentions:

1. Though everything appears to be running fluidly through the span of the video, watch the clock for a little surprise.

2. Watch the system tray during the brightness adjustment for a minor glitch.

3. I apparently have too much time on my hands.

One final note to leave you with: Don’t be disappointed that this stuff isn’t in Windows 7. While most of what’s in this video looks cool, the actual usability and implementation of it just isn’t realistic. I mean, I’m sure there are people out there who would love to have every one of these features present, but even for a UI fiend such as myself, I can tell these animations would result in a lack of patience on my end (waiting that extra split-second just to have every single window pop up on the desktop with a bang). Likewise, the auras at 00:36 sure do look pretty, but I can’t help but imagine how ridiculous that animation would look with a full taskbar. Having said that, What do you think? Would you like to see some of this stuff be considered for Windows 8? Please feel free to discuss your thoughts and opinions!

And now, the video. Links to download the HQ version can be found below!

HQ WMV Download: Win7UI-www.uxevangelist.net.wmv

Backup Download Links:

1 – Rapidshare
2 – Rapidshare
3 – Rapidshare
4 – Rapidshare
5 – ShareBee
6 – ShareBee
7 – ShareBee

Feel free to serve this video and leave links in the comment section! Thanks!

-Stephen

P.S. – If you want to check out the band whose music I put to this video, click here. WEEEEEEEE!!!! =) Oh, and for the record, I hate tagging images, but it took me FOREVER to create those images in MS Paint and I didn’t want anyone (easily) ripping off the work I put into it. lol.

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