Nice UI Mockup for Vista

I take no credit for this at all, I found this thread while surfing the Neowin forums and thought this would be cool to share with the C9 community.

What do you guys think?

Link to source

Hey Guys!, Take a look at my Start Menu Mockup

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Like the new and redesigned Start Menu?

I hope you do

Ok, there is my Mockup of Windows Vista tm Start Menu. But, I didn't do it just cause I felt like doing a mockup, I've got my reasons that I would like Microsoft to look at (feedback):

First off, let's say that Vista will ship with Avalon graphics environment and the other stuff, blah blah yeah, let's not be so technical here now (We are exited woohoo! ); so for some reason, I was looking at all the nice glassie effect within the Windows and Icons and all other, and I said "why not having a totally NEW and redesigned Start Menu with Glass effects?"

So I had numbered a few questions users ask everyday: (even went to bed late just cause of working on this )


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- Why the Windows Start Menu keeps being so complicated today?

- This Excellent Mockup could be the answer to this!





Q: - It'd be good to have the Start Menu Simplified. First off there is no more "Right Click/ Properties / Start Menu / Customize / General "Programs" > Clear List" way. That is A PAIN in the arse. Simplified:

Don't you feel like you get bored with all the recent softwares in your start menu "recent applications list" ?

A: Well, that's why the new Start Menu has this button:







It's simplified, right next to the Search bar. You just have a few pixels to walk to get there, click on it, it would ask "Are you sure you want to delete your recently opened applications history?" "Yes" PUFF! done Goodbye long long bored old way...

Q: - What about having a much simpler StarMenu, by remembering how old Windows like 98, or even 2000 had? What about that long way to change from my "XP Start Menu" to a good old "Classic Start Menu"?

A: - Well, there is no more long runs for that anymore either.... Do you remember how you had to "Right Click / Properties / Start Menu > select "Start Menu" or "Classic Start Menu" ? That is over:

There won't be any switch from new to classic. "Classic" has been there, waiting for you, along with "New". They have just united each other to simplify your things. Once you click on the "start" button, you will get a nice looking "Classic Version" of Start Menu, which is at the same time the newest and much nicer version ever! - Why this? There will be a bar at the edge of the "classic-New Start Menu" for you to just click and "expand" the new Menu options. Something like this:







And what do you get when you open up the expansion panel? Well, all of the Windows XP Start Menu options, including "My Computer", "My Network Places", "My Documents", "Control Panel", "Printers and Faxes", "Help", and a few others that you might be able to "add" by right clicking on "that panel" and just checking the Icons you would want to show up there. nice huh?

So then, that panel would be fixed, meaning there won't be ways it would get bigger if you add more icons... why? well we don't like huge things, so it would show up a tiny "navigation button" just below the last showing icon, so you can scroll down/up the other ones that are not visible in the panel. Something like this:





Another option along with this "expansible" extension will be the "Quick Action Buttons"






(however it could be called lol)


located in a little nice taskbar looking-like panel, in where you will have easy access buttons like "log off", "shut down", "restart"... there is no more "shut down / Open Window with differen options to choose / Shut down.."; all what you will see is A BUTTON TO SHUT DOWN. A BUTTON TO RESTART, ANOTHER TO LOG OFF, AND SOME OTHERS TO HYBERNATE/STAND BY... Right, there won't be more weird "Shut down Window / Choose what you want to do". You just click the button of the action you want to take, it would ask you if you are sure you want to do that (maybe something like "Are you sure you want to "Restart"? If you click "Yes" your computer will restart inmediatly; please save all your data and documents before procceding.")

Now, in case you want another buttons to appear in that "Quick Action Buttons", you can just right-click "that panel" and choose within the options which button to enable and which one not to... just as if they were checkmark options... then the panel resizes itself to fit the buttons of your choise

Q: - And what about that Top Part option of the Windows XP Star Menu in where you can add your own programs so they stay there as if they where "Favorites" along with the Default ones that you use to do simple things like "Navigate online", "check my e-mail" and stuff?

A: - That is so easy with this newest and simplified version of the Start Menu

Here let me explain this:





See that image? Ok, that's what the new "Top Part" as you call it, would look like. Let me call it "New Quick Launch Buttons". There might won't be "application drag n drop" in that panel as it is in the current Windows XP start menu version... why? Because it would come with like up to 5 positions to configure. Let's say you will have up to five icons showing up in that panel that you can configure, either throught right-clicking them, or by the Control Panel applet > "Set Program Access and Defaults". Once you are on the configuration part of let's say, the "Internet Quick Lauch Button" a list of currently installed "Web Browsers" would show up so you can choose which of the Web Browsers that you have installed will be used as the DEFAULT one for all of your Internet Navigation stuff. Then that Icon can again, show up there in the new "Quick Launch Buttons", thus replacing the icon of the Web Browser you had as default before. (ex: the Mozilla Firefox Icon would show up instead of the Internet Explorer icon...).

Now, you still have four more icons left, what would they be used for?

Well, simple things that users like doing a lot everyday once they sit in front of their computers; things like "Checking the Calendar for Meetings and other stuff", "Reading and writing e-mails", "Loggin into their Instant Messenger application to talk with their friends/families"... those are simple things that user would like to have in that part of the New Start Menu... Wouldn't it be great?

But that is not all.. Back to the neat effects found in Windows Vista, it will have scroll left/right buttons so you can navigate throught all of your "Quick Launch Buttons" options; again applying there one of the nice and unique Windows Vista effects!

Q: - Ok, there is one more thing I would like them to get rid of:

The User Image showing up on the Start Menu.

A: - Oh even you would like that option to go away! Nice so here is what the new Start Menu would include:



the newest and simplest way to let the user know "he is who he think he is"... So whenever you are wondering if it's you who is logged in your windows, you can go to start menu and open the expand panel; right on top of the main icons, you can find your Username, in a even nicer and simpler way, without the picture junk that only takes useful space in the Start Menu bar.

Now, if for some reason you still wanna see your user picture, you could easly do it by toggling "on" an option within the Start Menu Properties, that would act like this:

"Show my User Picture when I pass the cursor over my Username in the Expandable Panel".

Good huh? that would apply for those who still want to have user picture showing up on the Start Menu.


Now here are a few full previews:







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What do you all think about my Mockup? Please feedback and rate if required, thank you!


(I wish this could be interesting, and that if it turns to be that way, that MS could get interest in doing something like that... cause it does looks better than the old XP fashioned Start Menu...)


Note:

None of these information, names, images, and brandnames if any, are Microsoft products, unless it's name is registered under their copyrights (such as Windows, Vista, Windows Vista, Windows Start Button, the Start Menu, and the Windows® Logo). This is not direct Microsoft Information, and such information should not be used to give any further information to users over the internet, as such information is not true or actually being used for ANY Microsoft Product Development Project. This is just a custom creation from a Windows User, like any other, and it's under its own rights to delete and/or modify. None of the "features" mentioned in this Topic, are actual Microsoft Products being developed, unless they are undisclosed Projects. Should this information from this Topic not be taken as real facts and/or any future Windows ™ Vista™ upcoming Feature. This is just a CUSTOM DESIGN. MICROSOFT has not worked on this and this is not any user interface advance feature on ANY Windows™ Code-name "Longhorn" current, older, or newer released build.