The real question is why Microsoft doesn't make it dead simple to use the real components instead? Wouldn't that further consistency in the UI experience for the user?
But maybe they will.. I sure hope so.

I agree Anders - but you know why? because they don't want everyone to have the same UI that they spent all the research dollars on right out of the box.

Besides, gives component developers something to do with their (yeah right) free time.

Why would anyone want to copy a Microsoft UI in the first place?

I'm not jumping off that bridge

The screenshot of the tool screams "usability nightmare, don't touch me!"

anders is completely right IMHO.

This is an example of Microsoft's duality as both an OS provider and an application developer.

As an OS provider, it's in MS's interest to ensure as consistent a UI as possible. Any new UI widgets that MS uses become immediately "expected" and developers expect to be able to use them.

Problem is, they have their application side churning this stuff out and desperate to be different and better than other solutions hence unwilling to give out the UI bits in vs.net

I'd urge MS to add the new UI bits into vs.net at least and not force developers to use third party solutions.

Sadly Apple have started dropping the ball on this issue too.... several apps in their latest release have UI widgets not available in their development suite (SIGH).

I guess you guys have no idea what you are talking about. Before bashing Microsoft choices, read what kind of research they've done on the UI front for Office 12:

http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/2005/10/2...

I bet that is more than any of you have done for any application you've created...

So, if third-party wants to provide same for other developers to use and leverage research Microsoft guys did, it is all goodness in my mind...

> I guess you guys have no idea what you are talking about.

They're doing eye tracking! Yeah, like this is something new and hasn't been done before.

This is not a good component for people to use outside of "Vista" ... it doesn't conform to the UI standards of

Office is NOTORIOUS for dropping in non-standard UIs into their stuff. You know what happens? The OS gets released, having changed its core L&F while Office comes out later and still looks like the beta OS. If the OS winds up adopting it, great, but it always bugs me that every release of Office has this old/new dichotomy going.
That being said, the ribbon concept itself is a nice way of organizing large UIs, and I'm doing one as a WPF style right now (I'm not sure I will even have to write any procedural code or even create a control to do it, which speaks to the power of WPF), but I prefer to keep the look sync'ed up with Vista rather than the lastest Office screenshots.