I don't even know if Microsoft has set of codified UI guidelines; if they do, they clearly don't enforce it, even on their own products. And that's OK if that's how they want to proceed.
It is interesting that the Web browser has drastically altered peoples' expectations of the UI. In fact, it has lowered their expectations to a least common denominator that's not all that broad. And that may ultimately turn out to be a good thing.
I spent a good many years engaged primarily in GUI design (in fact, I own the domain gui.com) and am perhaps more sensitive to the issue than most users, even. But whether you choose Apple's HIG as your baseline (someone said they're no longer sure Apple's guidelines are all that good, but I challenge anyone to come up with a more coherent, consistent, and clear set of guidelines) or someone else's, the most important single rule of UI design that I have come up with in 15 years is simple:
Never surprise the user.
A surprised user is a confused user is a distressed user is a user who is not going to be a user one second longer than s/he has to be.
A checkbox I can't uncheck is a surprise. I never (or at least almost never) encounter such beasts. Put one into your program at the very high risk that I will be sufficiently uncomfortable that I will go away. And, what is perhaps more sinister and important, I will probably never tell you why I went away.
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