Wednesday I posted about the seductive YouTube "play" button in its external video player. That night I was thinking about the Office 2007 Ribbon, and how the new File menu icon is not exactly seductive. 
I've heard quite a few folks in a range of professions (legal secretaries, senior .Net developers, etc.) say it took them 30 - 45 minutes to realize they needed to click on it. The Ribbon may have a lot of advantages over the old menu system, but it doesn't exactly entice a new user to use it.
Microsoft has recently announced a royalty-free licensing program for their new user interface. As Office 2007 adoption grows, so will the number of non-MS applications that have the same look and feel. But does this make sense for applications that don't have a zillion features to navigate? I'm all for standards and a consistent end-user experience, but the Ribbon was designed around a complex set of requirements that not every application will have. Should developers eschew more seductive/fun/innovative user interfaces because Microsoft's massive R&D investment in a popular suite of products demands their respect?
Just asking...
