When planning the next release of the Microsoft Office system of products, we took on the challenge of making the core Microsoft Office applications easier to work with. Taking into account extensive usability data and recent advancements in hardware and software, the team has delivered the most significant update to the Microsoft Office user interface (UI) in more than a decade.

It's one thing to talk about--and execute--a user-focused approach when you're a small company or an independent contractor. But what if you are, in fact, a fish in a sea as vast as, say, Microsoft? Can you hope to make a difference? Or does working at the "DarkStar" suck the soul from any employee with a passionate users bent?

You really have to see it in action before you can see how amazingly useful this is. The Fold N' Drop interface lets you manage your windows as if they were stacks of papers on a desk. You first grab the file you want to move, and then you can lift corners and peek under, you can leaf through them, one by one, until you find the window you want and drop your file right in.

Gamespot is running a feature which talks to designers such as CliffyB and Akira Yamaoka on the subject of what it means to be a game designer

These sink-fixtures from Germany\'s Hansa have temperature-sensors that light up different LEDs to indicate the water temp, and replace the traditional tube-shaped spout with a trough that exposes the water as it courses out.

In what follows, I'll be presenting a brief introduction to the history of the GUI. The topic, as you might expect, is broad, and very deep. This article will touch on the high points, while giving an overview of GUI development.