According to Nash, the Ribbon offers a much-needed refresh to WordPad and Paint, two "applets that hadn't been touched by us since the mid-'90s."

To encourage software developers to adopt the Ribbon, Microsoft is including Ribbon development tools in the free software development kit for Windows 7, as well as in the latest version of programming environment, he said.

, and , said the and requires them to relearn commands and shortcuts they were already happy with.

Windows 7 itself doesn't use the Ribbon UI, though there are that may also initially alienate hardcore XP fans or less-technical users.

That could lead to the same sort of backlash that faced. Microsoft's task with Windows 7 is compounded, he acknowledged, because it is aiming to make Windows 7 perform equally well whether is running on a 9-in. netbook screen, a 42-in. plasma TV or in a multimonitor office environment.