Not everything was perfect in 1995, but I think we've lost something on the way. Some remarks:
1) Underlined letters indicate keyboard shortcuts. How handy!
2) Design clearly says: "We are buttons!". It's easy to find the wanted button, because they have some color.
1/3
3) Column titles look like buttons, since they are buttons.
4) The divider resembles window frame, giving a clue of resizability.
5) Always visible scroll bar immediately tells there's more to it, and how much.
2/3
6) The ellipsis hints that this button opens a dialog, instead of immediately executing an action.
7) The handle tells that this window can be resized.
3/3
Late to my own party, let's clarify:
i) I'm not claiming that beveled buttons or underlined letters are perfect metaphors. The point: today, few of these clues even *exist*, in *any* form.
ii) This isn't about Windows. All platforms suffer from the same lack of discoverability.
Lately, I've often returned to think of this post. It's certainly not about Windows versions or a feature you can enable. It's about discoverability and accessibility in general. Common guidelines that make UIs usable, predictable, natural and don't-make-me-think. 1/5
More and more of the software we use are something else than native Windows (or Mac or Linux) programs. We use web apps. Buttons, menus and other controls look different in each app. And not all software follow things like Material UI, either. 2/5
For most people, using most software is mostly ok. But not everyone can see well, or use pointing devices, or whatever. How do assistive technologies work in practice with today's diversity of UIs and UI technologies? 3/5
Whenever I try to use a new app (or website) without a mouse, the results are mixed at best. How to select items? How to push buttons? How to open a dropdown menu? Tab-tab-tab. Dude, where's my focus? 4/5
OTOH... back to the Windows 95 screenshot once again. Not every software complied with Windows 95 HIG or used its components. AFAIR, software actually felt quite random back then, too. Whether it really whipped the Llama's ass or not. 5/5
Here's a related post on the same subject:
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