The quote from Pro in WPF book:

“WPF applications would be a drab bunch if you were limited to the plain, gray look of ordinary buttons and other common controls. “

My first thought was “what does it mean?”. I’ve checked the dictionary - no help, then I’ve tried to google it which also didn’t give me the answer so I asked friend of mine form UK. He had no idea what it is. I was a little bit confused, whether it was a typo yet thanks to friend from U.S (Hi Gonzo) I have my answer.

it’s 1950s way to say boring or not happening, not cool group - beatnik stuff

Book writers should bare in mind that majority od developers are not U.S. based, shouldn’t they?

Some sophisticated content may not be understood.

whoa I got the e-mail from Matthew MacDonald himself.

“Drab” means “lacking color or liveliness” so the sentence “WPF applications would be a drab bunch …” means “WPF applications would be a dull, boring bunch of applications …” I assure you there’s no “beatnik” connection.

Perhaps the combination of clauses just made my sentence unnecessarily confusing?”

puzzle solved :P