Cairo – A Windows Shell Alternative

February 6, 2008  |  , , , , ,

cairo Microsoft has always been loathed for creating User Interfaces with Windows, that aren’t much effective. And in that regard OSX has always come out on top for superior UI and usability. Well Microsoft did work hard with Vista, but the Usability of Vista has only gone from bad to worst compared to Windows XP. A bunch of developers are working on a Windows Shell Replacement called Cairo, that aims to provide a superior UI and rich usability compared to OSX.

Cairo has been in stealth development for quite sometime now, and it has gone much beyond a Windows taskbar replacement. But it’s since evolved into a complete replacement for the Windows shell, with a custom file explorer, favorites manager, and live file previews and more…

The totally revamped Shell aims at providing the best user experience and takes a completely different look at how you access your data. An Alpha release is a few weeks away, and I’m hoping that I get to play with it. Well here a few mockups, for you to feast your eyes upon..

CairoConceptExplorer Explorer_Desktop_M1 CairoConceptDesktopSwitching

Cairo is currently being developed with Windows Vista in mind, but the developer says that a Windows XP version may also be in the offing.

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  • Fitz
    I am a Vista Basic user, and I was looking forward for a Vista Ultimate upgradeto my system, but upon reading about CAIRΘ.

    I said to myself, "What am I thinking, I almost wasted a lot of money just for a stupid vista ultimate.

    Please windows make it worth it...
  • Private Alpha testing is expected to start on June 29...with Public Beta some time later.

    Come see what all the fuss is about, and join the growing community that is eagerly awaiting this new shell design...
  • Yeah Cairo looks like a project to watch out for in the future. I can't wait to try it.
  • "Usability of Vista has only gone from bad from worst compared to Windows XP"
    Very well said Karthik : )
  • Enos
    if you fear any changes to your system or registry then why not try it on virtual pc!!
  • Mike R.
    Wicket: I dont think this requires modding system files. I believe it is an application that terminates your Explorer.exe process when ran. Thoguh, I could be wrong...
  • Wow! It makes me salivate like if I was looking at an iphone for the first time.
  • wicket
    i think its not worth it trying to modify your system with a new modifying alternative like that...theres always been a bug i experienced in terms of this....its better to stick with the windows explorer built inside the system....
  • Mike Ryan
    I pray for it towards XP
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