Gary,
I'm not suggesting using standard ugly stock grey controls, I am also wanting an attractive UI. My comment was thinking about using bitmap images for large parts of the UI. For example using an image to represent a checkbox is agood idea, but using an image of "knob" for a slider can cause issues such as the image getting fuzzy or distorted when the user either enlarges or shrinks the window. A couple of additional concerrns are: an image must be created for each "state" of the actio - using the knob example, an image of the knob with the "pointer" in all available positions must be created (if you ever look carefully at the system tray icon for Task Manager, you will realize that there are only 3 images used to display processer utilization); 2) if the app is localized, and the graphic includes test, then you have to have with the text in each language that is supported.

What I am trying to express is that we can & should use graphic images when & where they truly add value, but we also need to keep in mind the drawbacks, and not use bitmp images in place of controls where they don't add value or are going to cause unnecessary issues.

Eric