SPSS 16 for Mac Doesn’t Make the Cut

Mark Kupferberg took up my open letter to SPSS on his Blog. He agrees with me on the poor impression that SPSS 16 for Mac's UI creates:

I haven’t personally seen SPSS 16 for the Mac, but looking at the pictures Bertolt provided, I can certainly see why one might be concerned. It really does look like something that belongs on Windows 3.1.

Some of the people who commented on my rants defended the UI for two main reasons: First, it has been this way since the first release and its good that it stays the same, and second, that it's what Windows users get, too. I think that both views are flawed, because a good piece of software can improve its UI without turning its users away. Changes to the worse have to be avoided of course, but no changes at all just for the sake of stability doesn't sound like a sound argument to me. And secondly no, the Mac UI is not what Windows users are served. The icons on Windows look similar, but they're smaller, integrate better with the overall design and the entire UI makes a more organized impression on me: