[kevincoughlin]

I have to agree with img. This theme runs into problems on mobile devices. Depending on your audience it probably is not intuitive to them that many elements are interactive with the absence of mouseover effects. Still nice to see a flat UI port to jQuery UI though. Cheers.

[amcdonald]

Good article on why a flat ui might be good at: http://alistapart.com/article/material-honesty-on-the-web

Crux of argument can be found in the statement: "Even lighting effects like drop shadows, form shadows, specular highlights, and reflections are dishonest because there’s no light source inside a digital screen that’s manufacturing these lighting effects." The article then puts forward the position that honesty to material creates more timeless design.

[ysapir]

Perhaps the crux of its failure can be found in the statement: "A pure CSS button that’s crafted to look like a vintage stereo knob is dishonest."

If your application is a music player, then having anything but a stereo knob to control volume is dishonest. Yes, it is not a hi-fi component made of steel. But you are making a music player. If it doesn't look and feel like a music player, you are dishonest.

The same argument can be used to relate to some of the most basic UI metaphors. A desktop is not a physical desktop. But users would prefer a visual layout of icons representing apps on their mobiles and computers than a list of app names to choose from. A window is not a physical window, either.

So while flash is bad, denying the role of metaphors is just as bad. Maybe worse.