Steven Sinofsky is an author of an informative MSDN blog. His recent post about user experience and the new Windows 8 operating system provides an interesting, detailed "back-history" of the development of the Windows UI over the ages. Steven's post is worth setting aside a chunk of time to read and reflect!
Creating the Window 8 User Experience
BTW, the numerous comments from readers of Steven's post are worth skimming.
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