Accordingly, Windows Explorer in Vista allowed scaling icons dynamically to non-standard sizes based on the user’s personal preference.Īs with XP, many of Vista’s main app and utility icons received a sleek, glossy Aero-style redesign as Microsoft attempted to match the modern, resolution-independent look of Mac OS X. The set wasn’t complete, however, and smaller icons could be automatically scaled up to match. For the first time, Windows shipped with a set of 256×256 pixel system icons. In Windows Vista, Microsoft included a new Aero interface that emphasized glossy translucent effects and drop shadows. Even so, many icons for lesser-used apps and utilities carried over from earlier versions of Windows. As with Windows 2000, most XP system icons were either 32×32 or 48×48 pixels in size.ĭesign-wise, XP’s icons offered a fresh start, with rounded corners, more color depth, and the use of smooth gradients, noticeably moving away from Kare’s Windows 3.0 icon style for the first time. This allowed for translucent shadow and glassy effects as well as for smoother icon edges, thanks to improved anti-aliasing. Windows XP supported 32-bit icons (16.7 million colors and an alpha channel for transparency) for the first time. RELATED: Remembering Windows 2000, Microsoft's Forgotten Masterpiece Windows XP (2001) Windows Me used many of the same new icons as Windows 2000, including a new “My Computer” icon. Several major desktop icons received facelifts again, gaining more detail and color depth. Like Windows 98, Windows 2000 shipped with 256-color system icons, which were available in 32×32 and 48×48 pixel sizes. Many icon designs (such as My Computer and the Recycle Bin) received updates, but Windows 98 also relied on many legacy icons from Windows 95 and even from Windows 3.1, in some cases. These were ideal for accessibility purposes and for use with high-resolution displays (although their usage was generally rare at the time). And for the first time, Microsoft offered many system icons in a larger 48×48 pixel size. Windows 98 shipped with 256-color icons by default in 32×32 pixel size. RELATED: Windows 95 Turns 25: When Windows Went Mainstream Windows 98 (1998) In fact, with the Plus! add-on pack (or a registry hack), you could enable 65,536-color icons (called “high color” at the time), although not many Windows 95 users used them. However, the Win32 API used in Windows 95 introduced support for 256×256 pixel icons with 16.7 million colors for the first time. Most Windows 95 system icons shipped as 32-by-32 pixel 16-color images by default. In Windows 95, many icon designs got a graphical overhaul, although some still carried over from Windows 3.1. Artists at Microsoft achieved this by using dithering effects in the icons to simulate more color depth as well as by improving shadow effects in the illustration style. Icons in Windows 3.1 resembled Windows 3.0 icons with more detail, despite still being 32×32 pixels and 16 colors. RELATED: Windows 3.0 Is 30 Years Old: Here's What Made It Special Windows 3.1 (1992) She set archetypes in Microsoft icon design that would filter down through future Microsoft apps and versions of Windows alike. With 3.0, Windows icons used color for the first time, and Kare imparted them with the right mix of playfulness and business sense that made them very appealing. Kare had previously designed icons and fonts for the original Macintosh. Windows 3.0 introduced the capability to display 16-color icons that were 32×32 pixels in size, and they featured a new “3D” look (as it was called at the time) with simulated shadows, courtesy of artist Susan Kare. RELATED: 35 Years of Microsoft Windows: Remembering Windows 1.0 Windows 3.0 (1990) In those days, Windows ran as a basic graphical shell over MS-DOS, so the basic list of files made sense-even if it wasn’t as visually appealing as later approaches. To run apps in Windows 1 or 2, you’d pick a file name from a list in a program called “MS-DOS Executive.” MS-DOS Executive didn’t show icons, only the names of the files (as if you typed the “dir” command in DOS). Icons were simple black-and-white illustrations that were 32×32 pixels in size. In the first two major releases of Windows, application icons only appeared if you minimized a program to the taskbar at the bottom of the screen (in Windows 1.x) or to the desktop (in Windows 2.x).
0 kommentar(er)
