The Operating System Iceberg Explained

Time Stamps:
00:00 Intro
0:23 System Sounds
1:33 Splash Screens
2:09 Android Skins
2:53 Clippy and Friends
3:34 Android Dessert Naming Scheme
4:11 OS Mascots
4:41 Skeuomorphism
5:20 Neomorphism
5:49 The Nook
6:46 Great Redesign of 2014
8:15 Windows XP Themes and Skins
9:42 Microsoft Office for Mac Icons
10:20 Personal Digital Assistants
11:23 Symbian OS
12:05 Frutiger Aero
12:23 Touchwiz
13:42 Father of 2000's UI/GUI
I'm also on Odysee!
odysee.com/@Undefined:d7

[@MadDannyWest]

What I like most about this channel so far is how it shows the passage of time through things we all interact with but don't notice subtly changing with each passing year.

[@kreuner11]

Well, Windows 11 was Def a big difference from the 8-10 era

[@DumboSanchez]

some of us do notice these things as we go just saying :)

[@XMANIAFLYYY]

@@kreuner11 nah Fr though

[@MarshmallowCatsClipsOfficial]

The glossy type is good 😊

[@Danland777]

🎉🎉😢😊 2:28

[@StarLotus]

As a Brazilian, it's amazing to learn that one of the greatest graphic designers from Frutiger Aero was from Brazil! I wish more people know about him!

[@matt_sm0]

Same, i really like this astetic

[@nyoon690]

Brasil mentioned

[@malozen]

Me too, as a brazilian studying graphic design it blows my mind that such an influential person in 2000s tech aesthetics came from here. I didn't even know what frutiger aero was until this vid but it's my kind of thing, pure nostalgia!

[@jamesbrendan5170]

as a Touhou fan, hi there!

[@Lucas-ob3mz]

Oie

[@killedsinners]

Super obsessed with the old designs, I personally think it's better than "flat designs"

[@yaris10502]

That's so true.

[@ZeeZeeNg]

The old designs were inviting and playful. Flat design is bland and soul-less.

[@rolux4853]

How old are you? I’m very curious if you were around when those „old designs“ where used, or if it’s nostalgia for a world you’ve never experienced. No offense here, but it’s what I experienced with a lot of very young people that where born after the millennium.

[@killedsinners]

@@rolux4853 15, The computer designs were the only memories in my childhood that i remember. My primary school still had the old computers til 2015 bc we were poor lol. like, windows xp and windows 7. same at home.

[@ZeeZeeNg]

​@@rolux4853 I'm 27. I have personally used Win 98 computers in school at the age of 7-9 until around 2004, they were all eventually upgraded to Win XP which I used from the age of 10-14, from around 2005 to 2009. I have played with the Desktop Themes in Win 98, messed with the icons/cursors/startup sounds, 3D Maze/Pipes/Underwater screensavers, the rainbow WordArt and the Office Assistants in MS Office (version 2000, XP, 2003), the visualisations/skins in Windows Media Player (version 7 until 11; I also knew that WMP 6.4 could be accessed in Program Files on XP). The first time I had an iOS device was in 2010, it was a 3rd gen iPod touch which came with iPhone OS 3. The most notable game I could remember from that era was Tap Tap Revenge, one free song was given away every week on iTunes, Slide To Unlock had a proper slider, the app interfaces in most apps were light grey instead of blinding white nowadays.

[@savvepk]

As far as I'm aware, the chase of minimalism is mostly coming from UI designers wanting increased readability and for logos to be recognisable faster, as well as in today's day of dark modes and stuff It'd be hard to design a more dimensional icon style that'd be easily readable on both light and dark mode The rise of HiDPI displays also contributed to this, icons now had to be nicely scaleably which isn't really possible in standard bitmaps, so people started transitioning to vector graphics

[@neoqueto]

This iceberg still feels a bit surface-level to me. And it's more about GUI/UX and branding, not OS per se. Some ideas for a true level 9 or 10, most of which are really retro, and some for earlier categories: - Susan Kare (seriously, a video all about GUI and no mention of the mother of all of OS iconography herself?) - what is a UI design language? - Light pens and the early beginnings of GUI / Ivan Sutherland and his legacy - Xerox Alto - Apple Lisa - Contiki (before it became strictly an embedded/IoT platform) - KolibriOS - GEOS - BeOS - ChromeOS - DOS-based GUI and assistants - the extremely skeuomorphic "virtual room" GUI craze of the 90s (Microsoft Bob, Packard Bell Navigator) and the weird attempts to make a 3D GUI (Wave3D) - the user interfaces of VR - Amiga Workbench and its more modern iterations - OS-tan - promotional materials and paraphernalia - Samsung's Bada OS lmaooo xD (can't mention TouchWiz without mentioning Bada too) - PSION Teklogix with EPOC being a grand-grand-grandfather to Symbian - Nokia Maemo/Intel Moblin/MeeGo and what is Qt - SailfishOS, Ubuntu Touch, Firefox OS - Tizen, WebOS - KaiOS - Wearables - Weird Linux distros such as Red Star OS or Hannah Montana Linux - RIM/Blackberry - MINIX and the Intel scandal - Real-time operating systems - X Window System - Plan9 from Bell Labs and Inferno - Google Fuchsia - Microsoft Singularity - SGI IRIX And of course, last, but not least: Temple OS.

[@Stone00000]

Was looking for someone to mention WebOS! The history is on of the most interesting to me and I loved the UI so much. It’s still in use by most noticeably LG when they purchasedWebOS from HP and used WebOS for their Smart TV operating system. At the beginning of COVID, there was some lofty ambitions they had for a IoT products that would run on WebOS. Haven’t heard a lot since but I always think what it would be/look like to have a current day OS competitor like Plam on the market.

[@neoqueto]

​@@Stone00000 that reminds me, it was initially developed by Palm, and while this video touches on PDAs, its predecessor Palm OS is also a prime candidate for a GUI iceberg. Again, WebOS takes advantage of the Qt framework I mentioned, a behind-the-scenes behemoth in the world of user interfaces. Its history is fascinating. WebOS is alive and well, hands down the best TV operating system out there.

[@toamatau8785]

TempleOS... now that's a name I've not heard in a long time.

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

@@toamatau8785 Glowies suppressing it smh

[@MRL8770]

Those are some wonderful propositions. I'll add some of mine (for various deeper levels): OpenBSD's music compilations TailsOS History of Nintendo's OSes RTOSes (EDIT: Never mind, I see it's already on your list) ChromeOS used to be based on Gentoo Linux could've had a furry fox named Xenia as a mascot OpenBSD's security features Microsoft made a POSIX-compliant version of Windows at some point Nintendo released a FOSS research OS in 2005 called ES. Sony used to support running Linux on PS3s.

[@RaiPiez]

feels like i just found a hidden gem of a channel. thanks for letting me think back on simpler times

[@whogaze]

TempleOS would have been an amazing addition to this

[@MsMRkv]

I actually liked TouchWiz, unlike most other tech nerds who who hated it. But honestly, that water droplet sound effect was so annoying. At first I kinda liked it but over time it drove crazy lol. Anyway, good video 👍, you're truly an underrated youtuber.

[@ShippoHsu]

TouchWiz is what pushed me to custom ROMs lol

[@coolboyI23]

I have a tablet that has TouchWiz

[@poble]

don’t forget the whistle notification sound

[@Stepanthecrab]

HTC Sense was better, imo

[@iamboredfor2months]

Same. Touchwiz looks really good

[@orbambassador5158]

my music playlist somehow slipped in around 12:20 lmao

[@cookqie8822]

Ive watched this video and your Frutiger Aero video, and through your video essays I have been able to put my finger on things like nostalgic 2000s UI design and why I miss and remember them. your videos feel like my memories becoming unlocked, and have also really made me more interested in the fusion of technology and design and the impacts they have. I hope your channel grows even further :)

[@johns123]

I really like your content! It's a nice overview of the technology we live with but don't think about. Lots of nostalgia. Subscribed!

[@Quick-Silver206]

I gotta say, your video production and narration are incredible!

[@mizu51]

your channel is truly amazing

[@Undefined.100]

Thanks :)

[@zellfaze]

No but seriously you are way under subbed. I just binge watched your entire channel. This is great stuff.

[@cleokatra]

I really like this channel! You seem quite relatable without sacrificing technical knowledge. I think you have a bright future ahead. I've subbed to many channels at 10-30k that now have 500k+ and I hope you'll be the next to blow up!

[@ll-bz8re]

I just discovered this channel today and I LOVE it I really hope it blows up soon !!

[@Blade4dooooom]

this is my new favorite channel, please do more videos on GUI aesthetics!!

[@mark8200]

Thanks for this video, I'm a developer and have been involved in dev for several OS that you have mentioned and this video was really good, thanks for the ice. Also that head space skin on windows still gets me every time

[@Slurkz]

Wow… your channel is a gem 💎. Thanks so much for making these videos. 💜

[@909k5]

Your channel is a nostalgia bomb NEVER stop

[@XxLIVRAxX]

I never thought I would be so emotionally invested in the subject of software aesthetic, great vid!

[@mint_1919]

This channel explains everything I've ever wondered about the changes in technology in the past 15 years.

[@urmanascrewed]

I love the narration! Lovely voice and genuine readings!

[@byteseb]

Great video as always, but we need a second part

[@AndreasMolnar-Dev]

I truly like the style of that video. Before watching, I thought more about a collection of different OSes, but that really well combined them and wrapped that topic up.

[@glorimona]

This video is incredible and fits the exact niche of things that I've adored for over a decade!

[@earthluma]

this channel i discovered yesterday yet i already think it’s really good!

[@leonardorodrigues7387]

I just stumbled across your channel on my home feed. WOW. Great video, I'm obsessed. You have earned yourself a Sub

[@DanielClear2]

I am fascinated by your work. Never thought of someone else obsessing about old product design this much. I wasted my precious hours of my childhood cruising around every phone's interface, leading me to be a UI designer today. I had no idea that one guy was responsible for all the work I adore. Even the 'Clear' on my channel username comes from his work 'Crystal Clear', as I used to use his icon pack on my Windows XP machine. I really love your videos. Hope you keep going.

[@detroitfinedining]

Thank you for making the icebergs straightforward and to the point, no long intro that pretty much has no context lol

[@ebrahima.6207]

Keep making those videos this was very helpful, was by far the most helpful video

[@vista9434]

Windows did have offiical mascots for 7 - 10 though only seemingly in Japan as they're anime based

[@vista9434]

​@@BigMisuzuFan42070 Microsoft did later use her in offcial marketing material, most notably the in the Cloud Girl comics to advertise Azure and in the Windows 8 OS Tan packs that were made so MS probably aquired the rights to use Nanami unlike the other unofficial designs which in my view makes it official as Microsoft now owns and controls her.

[@bhaskarrijal]

Love how you notice little things on our daily stuff. When I got my first phone back in ~012 which was Galaxy S2, I used to play around every settings on every pre-installed apps (there were a lot of them!). There used to be a lot of hidden stuff almost like easter eggs. Clock apps had its pre-alarm sort of calming melodies, songs like Mother Nature, Mother Earth used to come pre-loaded. The part on the video when you talked about TouchWiz flew me a decade back lol! Great work!!

[@BaynexoMusicOfficial]

Don’t stop making these AWSOME nostalgic videos

[@peter6980]

Great video! Would enjoy another video similar to the eras of Apple diving into the different designs from another company or operating system mentioned in this video!

[@malozen]

Omg the windows XP virtualization thing just unlocked some old childhood memories of my dad playing music from his pc in family gatherings, I love the surreal neon patterns so much I sense a bright future for this channel, it fills a niche I didn't even know I cared about and I can't be alone in feeling that, I'll be sure to stick around :D

[@ElektrahCrowe]

Wow! That was very interesting. Keep up the Great work.

[@mo2cubing]

This is well made! You deserve more credit / views

[@bepsianimates]

I am really happy you included the PSP Flash Screen. That beautiful sound will always be remembered by me. It feels like.. people kinda.. forgot.. about the masterpiece that is a PSP. Glad to still have mine.

[@gsop7385]

your videos are incredible, tysm!

[@Nagito_Komaeda]

Good job! I didn't know I needed to watch this video. It's a very interesting topic.

[@jorgomafa]

Finally I found new interesting channel! Subscribed

[@cidsx]

I watched your fruitiger aero video before this so I think it's time I subscribe!

[@AndreSthegeekydude]

Thanks for the wonderful trip down memory lane!

[@aronkvh]

super interesting video! I would've loved to hear more about Linux design trends too, Ubuntu, KDE, Gnome etc.

[@zellfaze]

Also I feel like it would have been a good addition to mention that Linus got bit by a penguin when explaining Tux, rather than just saying he liked Penguins. The Penguinitis story is funny as hell.

[@fanfaxforever]

Every Windows startup sound is transcending lmao. Fascinating af 🔥 I'm loving this laid back style. side note- the audio loudness is a bit harsh in this video.

[@lordkaczuha4598]

You can even enable a startup sound on windows 10. But it is just the windows 7 one( wich is good), dont know about win 11 tho

[@MrBeas_Cousin]

shush

[@lordkaczuha4598]

@@MrBeas_Cousin why?

[@buddyarchivos7338]

I love all your videos!

[@ShaneSimpkin]

Please continue these videos, my partner and I are enjoying jumping down these rabit holes :) 🥰

[@supermike12321]

this video was a treat! I love operating systems and UI’s so much so I felt like this was speaking to me lmaoo

[@fearofthechippan]

I was wondering if TempleOS might be on here, but was very interested in the entries I found!

[@Pmccaff2009]

You’re quickly becoming my favourite KZbinr - also I need to say this bc I’ve been meaning to comment it for a while, you give strong Rory Gilmore vibes - which I consider a good thing! 😂 Keep up the great content.

[@hectobozzel7083]

Thanks for reminding me of the windows music visualization system, that was a blast from the past! I might never have remembered that otherwise.

[@hunimoonz]

this is my favorite channel!

[@EnriqueMcQuade]

Keep up the good work, i like this video.

[@OctavioMaya]

Wholesome and informing, thx!

[@KingNikolai]

Love your videos!

[@hpifwkak]

Thanks for the great video. Can’t get over the fact that we missed out PalmOS, but especially Aqua, and the earlier mac OSes. Please go deeper in an Ep2, still not at the bottom of the iceberg yet!

[@cantin8697]

Skeuomorphism is so nice tbh, so much detail!

[@jayster3.0]

Thanks for this video! Now that I learned about Web 2.0 Gloss, I can’t wait to try to put a theme of it on Windows 10.

[@tic-tack]

I'm watching your catalogue while I idly skill on Old School Runescape. Really interesting stuff, you do a good job of putting into words something that I've noticed but have never been able to pinpoint when it comes to UI design and how it has changed over the past couple of decades. I can tell you're on the cusp of exploding as a channel, your first video is already inching closer to 1 million views, and I can tell that design is something you're really passionate about. If I could offer some technical advice however, there are some easy improvements you could make to your audio quality that I think you'd benefit from. If you don't own one already, invest in a pop shield, they're cheap and do a great job of reducing sibilance, which is the harsh peaks in volume that come with enunciating s, b and p in speech. Your levels clip from time to time too, I'd recommend looking at the gain on your microphone as some distortion comes into your speech when you speak at a higher volume. Compressing your voice to get a nice and even volume would be good too to bring up the quieter moments and bring down the louder ones. Good luck with your channel, you've reminded me of a video essay I've been wanting to make for a long time. Perhaps now I will.

[@camperson_ii]

very interesting video on a topic that many would consider boring (operating systems in general), great vid

[@cakataarjack3966]

Great Video! Hopefully someone can expand on this iceberg and bring things in such as the BSD's and maybe MeeGo. MeeGo was like 5 years ahead of the game

[@taxevasioniscool]

Found this on my recommend page and love it 👍

[@Angel-tn4uj]

que canal más conmovedor lo amo

[@doctorthepepper]

the great redesign of 2014 was a more catastrophic event than the extinction of the dinosaurs idc jokes aside great video :D operating systems and ui are very cool and i never hear anyone talk about them so it's nice to see an iceberg dedicated to them :)

[@notharry9328]

Nice Video!

[@plotTWiSt2024]

I just have to say neomorphism is my favorite UI style... it's so appealing and beautiful

[@Achromatic_0]

im so glad yt recommended me this channel

[@iOSX2012]

Very cool video like your voice sounds 👍😊

[@giquo]

found out the 2000's video (first video) and glad there is more content to watch

[@batchima7551]

Amazing videos. Makes me wonder how design will evolve in the next decade. Maybe glossy stuff will come back

[@dylan.t180]

Great video so much nostalgia

[@SYNTH_M4N]

Your videos are good, and it's clear that you are making them for fun, instead of desire for fame. Great to see, especially considering the current landscape of online media sharing sites such as youtube.

[@gabrielv.4358]

Great Video!!

[@Chris_Tinacan]

Just making a note here for myself that I came across you today and you have only 15.5K subs. Congrats on the great quality of your vids, I'm sure your channel is going to blow up!

[@koeves]

Nice, as a CS graduate, I've learnt extensively about operating systems, but those courses mostly focus on the kernel and not so much on what's above it.. It was refreshing to see the topic from a "product design" perspective or so :)

[@oceanmew]

Yeah I clicked on this video expecting a deep cut techy kinda video where the final tier would be some shit like TempleOS or 9Front

[@berylsoc]

great video!

[@JohnSmith-vj8rh]

happy i found your channel

[@workonfire]

I really like your channel

[@outasi_official]

It appears I have found my favorite channel on youtube

[@yudjerthen]

Lovely to reminisce about these beautiful things

[@ripthedvd9728]

There will always be something special about those Windows Media Player 9 visualizations.

[@009Dreamscape]

Amazing video

[@byteseb]

I have to watch this one. I´m lately a lot into operating systems.

[@nikunjkhangwal]

This channel will boom

[@SethAurelius94]

Nice video. I rate it 9 out of 11. 2 points missing for no mention of Temple OS.

[@GalaxyGamer-qn1mv]

Thx for mentioning symbain OS

[@waterbears9874]

Idk why I just have such a soft spot for operating systems, especially old ones, computers are cool (also I just love start up and shut down sounds, it’s crazy how one little jingle can fill my head with so many ideas and thoughts And memories I associate with those sounds)

[@marcinmarcin2506]

13:37 I belive there was "samsung experience" skin between TouchWiz and OneUI, besides that nothing else to stick to! Very cool episode.

[@fart_jesus_286-_]

Which was created in 2017, but for some reason it looked similar to the last version of TouchWiz

[@marcinmarcin2506]

well, I believe it was a change from the dark theme of ui to all white, and losing all the shadows neomorphism was taken out of samsung phones and tablets

[@AntonioRagoonanan]

Woah I never thought someone would bring up the Nook tablets in 2022! The Nook HD+ Was actually my first tablet ever. And while I definitely could have gone for much better, I don't regret using it one bit.

[@twhaira]

thank you KZbin for showing me this great channel

[@ChrisnFugo]

Well Microsoft started the flat Ui changed with Metro in 2010 with Windows Phone 7, then with Windows 8 2012 when they moved away from frutiger aero. Apple unvailed it's Ui changed in 2013 with iOS 7 moved away from skeuomorphism. Google and Android major revamp was in 2014 with Material design from Holo in Android lollipop which is now on newer versions Material design 2.0 and Material you. All of those Ui changes happened consecutively not all in 2014.

[@theluga7363]

Cool video down the memory lane

[@ok_schlatter]

People *hated* TouchWiz when it was around. It’s wild to me that people want it back

[@lordadamson]

I wish you had placed the titles on the iceberg as you went on. would have provided a better sense of placement throughout. very good video overall :D

[@Reticulating-Splines]

This video was so intriguing and bought back so many memories for me! But I feel the Palm webOS was underrepresented. I had a Palm Centro, Pre, and Pixi at separate times and the huge jump in quality and functionality from palmOS on the Centro to Linux-based webOS on the Pre and Pixi made them feel like two completely different OS. I remember feeling very ahead of the curve in 9th grade to have a phone that at the time was more than comparable in appearance and functionality to the iOS of the latest iPhone, enough that I didn't even want an iPhone until my senior year when I desperately wanted to join my friends on Instagram and have iMessage and got a 4s. I think the downfall was the growing draw of apps and customization and how Apple and Android came to create and then absolutely monopolize those markets in a short amount of time. The native app catalog was pitiful and never got better. It was just a weird phone for a weird transitional time in between cellphones and smartphones, and it was ahead of its time and still slightly stuck in the past in a lot of ways. It had a touchscreen with stylus, you could multitask and swipe through running apps when even iOS couldn't at the time, wireless magnetic charging, *and this all in 2009* . I actually loved the small size and tiny keyboards cause im small and have small fingers, but that really killed it that as phones got bigger and squarer.

[@oisincruise7955]

amazing video. i thought that temple os would be at the bottom

[@MvsG18]

The other day i found out the machine i use for finding things in the retail store where I work, and i saw it was using the Pocket PC version of windows, same that appears on the right side of the frame with the three pictures. It was a neat little thing to see working, I loved frutiger aero style with so much glossy and glassy like textures, such a time Edit: 11:17 just saw you mentioned they're still used and i catched a RFID machine that looks identical to what I use today, such interesting things Edit: up to this day, i hate Touchwizz since it released, i remember we used to call it Lagwizz

[@myrifoxtrot]

The PSP startup screen gives me so much joy, I loved that thing as a kid

[@NinesNX]

So interesting… thank you

[@hasj]

I love this channel