Download all the 256*256 icons in a ZIP (24.7MB) file for your own viewing pleasure and any other pleasures you may get out of high-resolution icons. Or, you might prefer the PNG version (ZIP, 14.9MB) for easy viewing.
And check this out, the fidelity and attention-to-detail for the Journal icon is amazing. Leather good enough to eat!
Windows Vista is looking better everyday. Even it won’t be the perfect operating system, or reach the level of ‘legacy-less’ in Mac OS X, hats off to the Microsoft designers.
Addition: Yes. I know Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard is going to have 512*512 icons, and they look amazing. But I’m only focusing on Windows for this post.