December 29th, 2008
Does the new Windows 7 taskbar look like the KDE 4 taskbar?
When I started posting screenshots of the new Windows 7 desktop several people commented both in the TalkBack and via email on how similar the Windows 7 taskbar is to the KDE 4 taskbar. Not being familiar with KDE (I’m more of an Ubuntu user rather than Kubuntu) I didn’t think much of this. After all, if you look closely enough, anything can look a bit like something that performs a similar function.
However, the other day a reader asked me to compare these two images, one of Windows 7 that I posted, and another of Kubuntu 8.10 which runs the KDE 4.0 desktop:
Loading ...Yeah, I’ll admit that there are a few similarities there. That said, there are plenty of differences too.
Personally, I think that the new Windows 7 taskbar will be one of those things that people either love or hate. Initially I hated it but I’ll admit that it’s grown on me the more I use it (although I do feel that some aspects of it are somewhat vague and counter-intuitive and rely too much on tiny visual cues that are easy to overlook). However, I predict that there’ll be a lot of people who’ll instantly take a dislike to it and dismiss the entire OS based on this.
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)
Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.
Subscribe to Hardware 2.0 via Email alerts or RSS.
