A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology . The word is a portmanteau of back and acronym .
38-696: Windows Aero (a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open ) is the design language introduced in the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system . The changes introduced by Windows Aero encompassed many elements of the Windows interface, with the introduction of a new visual style with an emphasis on animation, glass, and translucency; interface guidelines for phrasing and tone of instructions and other text in applications were available. New cursors and sounds based on Windows Aero design principles were also introduced. Windows Aero
76-465: A backronym is "an acronym deliberately formed from a phrase whose initial letters spell out a particular word or words, either to create a memorable name or as a fanciful explanation of a word's origin". Many fictional espionage organizations are backronyms, such as SPECTRE (special executive for counterintelligence, terrorism, revenge and extortion) from the James Bond franchise. For example,
114-680: A branding typeface replacing Franklin Gothic and its user interface font replacing Tahoma , it was designed to be user-friendly and legible. Matteson created a range of weights and italics with a humanist feel. In 2004, Microsoft registered certain Segoe and Segoe Italic fonts as original font designs with the European Union trademark and design office. The German font foundry Linotype protested, citing Segoe UI's similarity to its licensed Frutiger family of typefaces. In its submission to
152-442: A full-screen application or screensaver is being displayed—in these cases, notifications are queued until an appropriate time. Larger icons and multiple font sizes and colors are also introduced with Aero's notification windows. The Segoe UI typeface is the default font for Aero with languages that use Latin , Greek , and Cyrillic character sets. The default font size is also increased from 8pt to 9pt to improve readability. In
190-600: A particular problem. Specific advice includes the use of the second person and the active voice (e.g. "Print the photos on your camera") and avoidance of words like "please", "sorry" and "thank you". The Aero interface was unveiled for Windows Vista as a complete redesign of the Windows interface, replacing Windows XP 's " Luna " theme. Until the release of Windows Vista Beta 1 in July 2005, little had been shown of Aero in public or leaked builds, with alpha builds containing interim designs such as "Plex". Windows Aero incorporated
228-640: Is also not available in Windows 7 Starter, only available to a limited extent on Windows Vista Home Basic, and is automatically disabled if a user is detected to be running a non-genuine copy of Windows. Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 also support Windows Aero as part of the "Desktop Experience" component, which is disabled by default. Wizard 97 had been the prevailing standard for wizard design, visual layout, and functionality used in Windows 98 through to Windows Server 2003 , as well as most Microsoft products in that time frame. Aero Wizards are
266-589: Is also one of Microsoft's recommended fonts for UWP apps . The Latin glyphs from Segoe and Segoe UI can also be found in the following Microsoft font families: Malgun Gothic ( Korean ), Microsoft JhengHei ( Traditional Chinese ), Microsoft YaHei ( Simplified Chinese ), Gisha ( Hebrew ), Leelawadee ( Thai ). They are also found in Ebrima ( N'Ko , Tifinagh , Vai ), Khmer UI ( Khmer ), Lao UI ( Lao ), Microsoft New Tai Lue ( Tai Lue ), Microsoft PhagsPa ( Phags-pa ), Microsoft Tai Le ( Tai Le ). In these fonts, some of
304-453: Is also used on Outlook.com , Microsoft's web-based email service. On August 23, 2012, Microsoft unveiled its new corporate logo typeset in Segoe, replacing the logo it had used for the previous 25 years. The Segoe name is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, although the typeface was originally developed by Monotype . Segoe was designed by Steve Matteson during his employment at Agfa Monotype . Licensed to Microsoft for use as
342-465: Is best known for its use by Microsoft . The company uses Segoe in its online and printed marketing materials, including recent logos for a number of products. Additionally, the Segoe UI font sub-family is used by numerous Microsoft applications, and may be installed by applications (such as Microsoft Office and Windows Live Messenger ). It was adopted as Microsoft's default operating system font, and
380-495: Is optimized for its default ClearType rendering environment, and it is significantly less legible when ClearType is disabled, except at key user interface sizes (8, 9 and 10 point) where Segoe UI has been hinted for bi-level rendering. The standard font size increased to 9 point to accommodate for better layout and readability for all languages. Version 5.00 of Segoe UI contains complete Unicode 4.1 coverage for Latin, Greek, Cyrillic and Arabic (Romans only), totaling 2843 glyphs in
418-440: Is probably of Romani origin but commonly believed to be a backronym of "council-housed and violent". Similarly, the distress signal SOS is often believed to be an abbreviation for "save our ship" or "save our souls" but was chosen because it has a simple and unmistakable Morse code representation – three dots, three dashes, and three dots, sent without any pauses between characters. More recent examples include
SECTION 10
#1732787681417456-531: The Amber Alert missing-child program was named after Amber Hagerman , a nine-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 1996. Officials later publicized the backronym "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response". An example of a backronym as a mnemonic is the Apgar score , used to assess the health of newborn babies. The rating system was devised by and named after Virginia Apgar . Ten years after
494-574: The OS X user interface font Lucida Grande by its rounder letters. Segoe UI was produced by Monotype Imaging. Segoe UI was first introduced with Windows Vista . Light, Semibold and Symbol versions of Segoe UI were introduced with Windows 7 . A Semilight version of Segoe UI was introduced with Windows 8 in order to make a perfect lightweight down to 11 pixels. Black and Emoji versions of Segoe UI were introduced with Windows 8.1 , but only for Latin, Greek and Cyrillic scripts. An Historic version of Segoe UI
532-455: The speech balloons that are commonly seen in comics . Balloons were often criticized in prior versions of Windows due to their intrusiveness, especially with regard to how they interacted with full-screen applications such as games (the entire application was minimized as the bubble came up). Notifications in Aero aim to be less intrusive by gradually fading in and out, and not appearing at all if
570-542: The "glass" effects to either be opaque or transparent, and change the color it is tinted. Enabling Windows Aero also enables other new features, including an enhanced Alt-Tab menu and taskbar thumbnails with live previews of windows, and "Flip 3D", a window switching mechanism which cascades windows with a 3D effect. Windows 7 features refinements in Windows Aero, including larger window buttons by default (minimize, maximize, close and query), revised taskbar thumbnails,
608-484: The "tone" of text used. On Windows Vista and Windows 7 computers that meet certain hardware and software requirements, the Windows Aero theme is used by default, primarily incorporating various animation and transparency effects into the desktop using hardware acceleration and the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). In the "Personalize" section added to Control Panel of Windows Vista, users can customize
646-551: The EU, Microsoft claimed that Linotype had failed to prove that it had been selling Frutiger and Frutiger Next prior to 2004. The EU rejected these claims, and the EU revoked Microsoft's registration. Microsoft did not appeal the decision. Microsoft still holds United States design patents for various Segoe-based fonts. During the same period, in late 2004, after six years under the Agfa Corporation, TA Associates acquired
684-851: The Monotype assets and incorporated the company as Monotype Imaging . Later, Monotype Imaging acquired Linotype. By the end of 2006, the company that had challenged Microsoft's Segoe patents (Linotype) was a subsidiary of the company that had originally licensed Segoe to Microsoft (Monotype). Several letters have distinctly different forms in Segoe UI and Frutiger, reflecting Segoe UI's different intended use: low-resolution screen display, rather than airport signage (Frutiger). However, Ulrich Stiehl asserts that many of these differences were introduced in later versions of Segoe UI – earlier versions of Segoe UI were closer to Frutiger. In June 2005, Scala , an electronic signage company (unrelated to
722-475: The Segoe UI typeface prior to Windows 8, the numeral zero ("0") is narrow, while capital letter "O" is wider (Windows 8's Segoe UI keeps this difference), and numeral one ("1") has a top hook, while capital letter "I" has equal crown and base (Windows 8's "1" has no base, and the "I" does not have a crown or base). Aero's base icons were designed by The Iconfactory , which had previously designed Windows XP icons. The Vista User Experience Guidelines also address
760-509: The Segoe branding fonts along with PowerPoint templates and marketing material. Windows Phones also include a more customized version called Segoe WP N which is designed with more clarity and narrow to enhance their take on ClearType. Microsoft released Selawik as a metric-compatible Segoe UI replacement, and Symbols as a Segoe UI Symbols and Segoe MDL2 Assets fall-back, under SIL OFL . These fonts are used in WinJS and Winstrap . Selawik
798-422: The Segoe family of fonts are not metrically compatible with Frutiger so cannot be used as replacements. Under United States copyright law, the abstract letter shapes of functional text fonts cannot be copyrighted; only the computer programming code in a font is given copyright protection. This makes the production and distribution of clone fonts possible. An early version of Segoe, possibly an evaluation version,
SECTION 20
#1732787681417836-655: The ability to manipulate windows by dragging them to the top or sides of the screen (to the side to make it fill half the screen, and to the top to maximize), the ability to hide all windows by hovering the Show Desktop button on the taskbar, and the ability to minimize all other windows by shaking one. Use of DWM, and by extension the Windows Aero theme, requires a video card with 128 MB of graphics memory (or at least 64 MB of video RAM and 1 GB of system RAM for on-board graphics) supporting pixel shader 2.0, and with WDDM -compatible drivers. Windows Aero
874-549: The backronym "everyone deserves a game above reproach". Many United States Congress bills have backronyms as their names; examples include the USA PATRIOT Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) of 2001, and the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act). Sometimes a backronym is reputed to have been used in
912-478: The brand name Adidas , named after company founder Adolf "Adi" Dassler but falsely believed to be an acronym for "all day I dream about sport". The word Wiki is said to stand for "what I know is", but in fact is derived from the Hawaiian phrase wiki-wiki meaning 'fast'. Yahoo! , sometimes claimed to mean "yet another hierarchical officious oracle", in fact was chosen because Yahoo's founders liked
950-537: The following features in Windows Vista. Windows Aero is revised in Windows 7, with many UI changes, such as a more touch friendly interface, and many new visual effects and features including pointing device gestures : Some of the features introduced in Aero remain in modified forms in later versions of Windows. Retrospectively, a design style , Internet aesthetic and UI/UX design trend based on Windows Aero called Frutiger Aero has been identified, which
988-568: The formation of the original word, and amounts to a false etymology or an urban legend . Acronyms were rare in the English language before the 1930s, and most etymologies of common words or phrases that suggest origin from an acronym are false. Examples include posh , an adjective describing stylish items or members of the upper class. A popular story derives the word as an acronym from "port out, starboard home", referring to 19th-century first-class cabins on ocean liners , which were shaded from
1026-629: The initial publication, the backronym APGAR was coined in the US as a mnemonic learning aid: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. Another example is the American Contract Bridge League's tools to address cheating in online bridge games. EDGAR was originally named for Edgar Kaplan, whose many contributions to the game included groundbreaking efforts to reduce illegal partnership communication. The new EDGAR tools expected to debut in early 2024 have been launched with
1064-530: The issue of "tone" in the writing of text used with the Aero user interface. Prior design guidelines from Microsoft had not done much to address the issue of how user interface text is phrased, and as such, the way that information and requests are presented to the user had not been consistent between parts of the operating system. The guidelines for Vista and its applications suggest messages that present technically accurate advice concisely, objectively, and positively, and assume an intelligent user motivated to solve
1102-478: The regular weight. Segoe UI uses distinct cursive italic script , whereas Frutiger and Helvetica use oblique type for italics. Other members of the Segoe family include: At one time, Microsoft also posted a package called Print Ad for Microsoft Dynamics Business Management Solutions Brief Description to the Microsoft downloads center. The package included TrueType and PostScript Type 1 beta versions of
1140-464: The replacement for Wizard 97, incorporating visual updates to match the aesthetics of the rest of Aero, as well as changing the interaction flow. More specifically: Notifications allow an application or operating system component with an icon in the notification area to create a pop-up window with some information about an event or problem. These windows, first introduced in Windows 2000 and known colloquially as "balloons", are similar in appearance to
1178-401: The sun on outbound voyages east (e.g. from Britain to India ) and homeward voyages west. The word's actual etymology is unknown, but more likely related to Romani påš xåra ('half-penny') or to Urdu (borrowed from Persian ) safed-pōśh ('white robes'), a term for wealthy people. Another example is the word chav , which is a derogatory term for a working-class youth. This word
Windows Aero - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-539: The typeface FF Scala ) removed Segoe from its InfoChannel product "due to licensing issues". Scala replaced Segoe with Bitstream Vera fonts. Simon Daniels, a program manager in Microsoft's typography group, stated that "The original Segoe fonts were not created for or by Microsoft. It was an existing Monotype design which we licensed and extensively extended and customized to meet the requirements of different processes, apps and devices." A Microsoft public relations spokesperson, who asked not to be named, stated: Segoe
1254-456: The word's meaning of "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth" (taken from Jonathan Swift 's book Gulliver's Travels ). The distress call " pan-pan " is commonly stated to mean "possible assistance needed", whereas it is in fact derived from the French word panne , meaning 'breakdown'. Segoe UI Segoe ( / s ə ˈ ɡ oʊ / sə- GOH ) is a typeface , or family of fonts , that
1292-708: Was an original design developed by Agfa Monotype (now Monotype Imaging) in 2000. In 2003, we acquired the original Segoe fonts and used them to develop an extended family of fonts retaining the Segoe name. Many of these new fonts received design patent protection in the United States. Segoe was not derived from Frutiger. Microsoft also has a current up-to-date license that allows us to distribute certain Frutiger fonts in connection with Microsoft products, including Office and Windows. There are distinct differences between Segoe and Frutiger. Additionally, unlike clone typefaces,
1330-414: Was included with certain versions of SuSE Linux , but no longer ships as part of that operating system. Segoe UI ("User Interface") is a member of the Segoe family used in Microsoft products for user interface text, as well as for some online user assistance material, intended to improve the consistency in how users see all text across all languages. It is distinguishable from its predecessor Tahoma and
1368-515: Was introduced with Windows 10 . A Variable version of Segoe UI was introduced with Windows 11 . I remember the team creating a special ligature in the Segoe UI font (used in Windows) to make "S" and "t" align beautifully for the word "Start". says Jensen Harris, former Director of User Experience at Microsoft. In October 2011, Segoe UI underwent a number of changes and stylistic additions that remain present in subsequent versions: Segoe UI
1406-516: Was popular from roughly 2004 to 2013. It is characterized by modern and organic themes associated with nature, glass, water and air. The name was coined by Sofi Lee in 2017, as a combination of Aero and the Frutiger typeface, which was popular with corporate materials of the time. Backronym A normal acronym is a word derived from the initial letters of the words of a phrase, such as radar from "radio detection and ranging". By contrast,
1444-641: Was used as the design language of Windows Vista and Windows 7 . The flat design -based Metro design language was introduced on Windows 8 , although aspects of the design and features promoted as part of Aero on Windows Vista and 7 have been retained in later versions of Windows (barring design changes to comply with Metro , MDL2, or Fluent ). For the first time since the release of Windows 95 , Microsoft completely revised its user interface guidelines, covering aesthetics , common controls such as buttons and radio buttons , task dialogs, wizards , common dialogs, control panels, icons, fonts, user notifications, and
#416583