Weekly Poll: Do You Think Dropping Aero Was the Right Move?
Weekly Poll

Weekly Poll: Do You Think Dropping Aero Was the Right Move?

on May 20th 2012

The Aero visual style has been with for almost six years now and I think it’s safe to say it’s been a love or hate affair. Now with the advent of Windows 8, Microsoft has moved away from the shiny, transulucent affairs that’s Aero glass and is going with a more Metro-ish visual style. If you’re curious, you can read more about it here.

All things considered, how do you feel about this transition? Do you think Aero was fine as it is and shouldn’t have been banished into oblivion? Or do you maybe feel that Metro is the way forward?

So vote away and as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts – simply post a comment below!


  • http://www.twitter.com/vthenerd Vladan

    Definitely yes.

  • http://asmodiel.de Asmodiel

    Well I’m not really sure about the speed of the new engine but I windows 7 was the first OS that didn’t require any styling or tweaking. All of the older windowses (up until Vista) were so hideous that I had to change the styling right after I installed them.
    OK, I don’t feel like doing that on Mac OS X … but that’s just because you can’t really style that system properly.

    On the Windows 8 beta… I wasn’t really amazed by the looks of the system – mainly because I felt the major inconsistence between metro and aero.

  • Josh Woosley

    It was absolutely the wrong move. Windows 7 was the best looking os Microsoft had ever put out and, in my opinion looked better than OS X. from what I’ve seen of the developer preview, windows 8 looks like a step in the wrong direction.

  • http://android.appstorm.net/ MichaelJW

    I think the new theme looks nice (and I’m sure there’ll be a way to get the Aero look back, though possibly only via a third party), but more importantly I’m glad to see Microsoft trying some genuinely new ideas.

  • yabu13

    Earlier this year, Microsoft Corporation announced (in its Windows_Consumer_Preview-Windows8_guide):
    “… In the desktop [in Windows 8], you’ll see that the settings, devices, and FEATURES you used in Windows 7 are still
    there… Everything that was great about Windows 7 [like Aero], we made even better [in Windows 8].”

    Some of the main reasons Microsoft cited for upgrading to Windows 7 from XP were the new AERO features: AERO Peek, AERO Shake, AERO Snap, AERO Themes, and AERO Flip 3D. If Microsoft removes these valuable features which “grew on us now,” many customers will be very disappointed, and you definitely don’t want to see that happen. Also what happened to the Auto-Colorizer feature (imgur.com/8KbIH) which featured in the Consumer Preview?

    Aero and Metro don’t have to be enemies. They can be good friends. (Like in tinyurl.com/chj7ow7). Instead of “forcing” your loyal customers to run everything in “Metro Mode,” you can make WinRT apps scale to whatever size they want them to be, including full-screen. (like the Media Center in Windows 7). The glassy Aero chrome is NOT CHEESY AND DATED, and neither is Metro.

    BOTH Aero and Metro are beautiful, gorgeous User Experiences created by Microsoft, and we want them both. At the same time. Give us a choice. Don’t make it for us. Aero and Metro are what differentiate Windows from Mac OS X, Linux, or Android.

    Remember, “moving beyond” (read: ditching) Aero means moving beyond your principles: ditching Authenticity, Energy, Reflectivity and Openness. Please don’t do that. Remember, nobody ever criticized Vista for its looks. In fact, the only thing Vista was praised for was its looks. Remember, when Windows 7 was launched and reviewed, the most praise it received was for its looks. Its Aero looks.

    • yabu13

      * Letter to Microsoft

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