CTL32.DLL was a library used in some
win3.1 delphi programs which simulated there being a mysterious floating light above your left shoulder which only shone on
windows UI elements...
Microsoft thought it was such a good idea, they built it into
win95's
GDI... and that is how "3D Elements" came to be in the "Appearance"
Property sheet.... This was probably the biggest
shinyness factor in win95's UI.
For most people, the thrill wore off pretty quick once they got to know windows; so microsoft decided that rather than improving
usability and stability, they needed to make windows look even shinier... so they made
Plus!... and
IE4 with
ActiveDesktop.. but that still didn't help...
In
win98, microsoft introduced
smooth scrolling (read: slow scrolling), menu slideout,
mouseover effects for menus and
gradiated titlebars (as seen in
MS Office 97)... yet still hadn't managed to make any leaps and bounds in
user interface design.. (okay.. the
address toolbar is pretty damn cool)
But who needs stability when
Win XP has
Alpha Blending effects, and big shiny primary colored buttons...?