Does anyone still prefer the Windows Classic UI to Aero Glass?


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On Windows XP I prefer the classic theme much more then luna but on Windows Vista and 7 I prefer Aero not because I think its better but the new classic theme sucks compared to the XP one. I am not a fan of all the transparency in Aero I would prefer a solid color theme.

Putting Luna into XP and Aero into Vista was the best thing Microsoft ever did after the taskbar. Microsoft could not have continued to use the Classic UI and be taken seriously, their competitors would have labeled the Operating System as 'old hat' and 'outdated', basing this purely on the UI.

As it is Aero has matured bringing more than just flip3d. Today we have aero snap and aero peek, who knows what we'll have tomorrow!

  • 3 weeks later...

Classic only looked decent in XP because luna was so atrocious in comparision. Back when I used XP I always customized the hell out of the themes and icons cause they were really ugly. Was never the hugest fan of classic, but preferred it to luna. Aero looks pretty good and I can actually use the default without the massive urge to change everything.

Not at all. I'd like to see some refinements to Aero. For example, I don't see the need for window streaks; and, yes, I know you can remove that with tweaks and themes, but I'm talking about stock Aero. I think the menu system still needs a bit of work, too, but that's not really Aero.

On windows 7 no way, aero is so much better. On win xp, i find the classical theme quite more elegant than the normal theme.

+1, prefer classic on XP rather than the ugly Luna theme. Windows 7 is much better with the aero than using classic. Classic on Windows 7 is just too ugly.

Windows Classic shouldn't even be part of Windows anymore. People used to use it because it was smaller in profile and easier on resources (apparently), and looked more professional sometimes.

None of that is relevant anymore.

Sadly enough, quite a few "IT pros" claim to not be planning to upgrade off of XP, solely on the purpose of Microsoft dropping support for the Classic UI (namely the start menu).

I however, cannot get enough of AERO. It's clean, crisp, and very nice to look at.

Yes, very much. I don't need a flashy UI with girly sparkles and rainbows jumping out at me. It's a computer. The interface should remain in the background relatively unseen. Plus I think the classic UI is far more "aesthetically pleasing" than all that silly glass stuff.

That being said XP was the last version Classic looked right in. The new menus and other features in Vista and 7 look like crap in classic mode because they clearly weren't designed around it. Big blank areas, misaligned buttons, etc.

Yes, for what's being touted as, "Glass" Aero isn't really all that transparent, but I still think it's more out of the way than grey borders by virtue of being translucent. :) .

I love the classic theme. I use classic, doubled taskbar and quick launch which has served me really well for 4 years now.

I've also used both Vista / 7's aero to a extent but found myself switching back to classic on them as well. I just have a great love of a grey, boxy, sharp, pixel thin and functional working desktop with limited eye candy.

Not sure though that I like the Vista/7 classic theme as much as i do for xp (and yes, i still use xp, but not solely because of classic :p).

While Aero Glass is very pretty and has some very obvious technical advantages, there's still just something about the Windows Classic UI that I really like. I've recently been forced to use a very old PC that has Win2k installed, and I noticed how consistent everything looked in 2k.

Dunno if it's just me... Anyone still prefer to use Windows Classic UI on Win7, despite the technical limitations the UI has? (No hardware acceleration, etc.)

I hate Aero Glass. They could have made an improved classic UI without the need of so much eye candy. Simple and fast is always better.

I hate Aero Glass. They could have made an improved classic UI without the need of so much eye candy. Simple and fast is always better.

What are you not understanding about "Turning off Aero does NOT make things faster and Windows Classic is actually slower"?

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