The Windows Blog just started to show off Windows 7's reduced-waste easy-open disc packaging. At a distance, it looks like it couldn't be more plain-Jane, but when you look closely, you can see it's got some wacky touches.

OK, remember that crazy Windows 7 desktop art? If you look around the white rippling window, you can see wisps of cartoony icons dancing in and around the borders. And is that a full-on JJ Abrams Star Trek lens flare we see flashing through the middle? Microsoft didn't have anything more hi-res for us to examine, and I could be totally off base, but it's fun to see that the playfulness of Windows 7 come through on the box.

Its main purpose is to preserve and deliver a shiny silver disc, and Microsoft embarks on the task with admirable single-mindedness:

We've reduced the number of elements in the package down to three: the plastic case, the paper sleeve, and a simple Getting Started Guide. The plastic case opens easily like a standard DVD case and it will have a single easy-to-remove seal at the top—and that's it!

Did you hear, America??? That's it. [The Windows Blog]

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