With Windows 8, Microsoft recalls its Windows 1 roots

Windows 8 is a topic that we have been hashing on nearly every day since the BUILD event, but that does not mean that we have come close to concluding the discussion. In fact, as Microsoft releases more of Windows 8 over the coming weeks, expect the process to continue.

Recently on the Windows SubReddit, an image caused a spark of discussion by pointing out a few, perhaps overblown, but humorous similarities between the Windows 8 and Windows 1 user interfaces. You see, from one angle, the two appear to have been painted with the same brush (a few decades separated, of course).

How can that be the case? Check out the following image for the synthesis:

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I have to admit that even though I find the ‘live tile’ aspect of the ‘metro’ design aesthetic to be appealing, the colors can often make me want to claw my eyes out. For now, however, Microsoft appears to be content with the palette of what it is building. Your opinion may differ.

If you want to get a better look at the many different versions of Windows that have come out over the years, what is dismissed as ‘fumbling’ in the joke above, head here. In that post we take a trip back over 25 years of Windows lore and history. Many chapters, as you well know, are forgettable.

One final thought: the design choices that Microsoft is making at the moment affect far more than the PC, but also form the core of the company’s mobile and living room strategy. They will rise, or fall, as one.