Mac OS X Interface Tweaks?

[MacRumors]

Appleinsider.com claims (http://www.appleinsider.com/news/) that Apple is working on more finishing touches to the Panther interface, as well as speed improvements and additional animations.

In addition, there are reports that the "Brushed Aluminum" system theme will undergo some revisions over the next year with darker colors and a smoother interface.

Meanwhile, there's been some recent speculation (http://page2.macrumors.com) on changes to the Apple logo after a new chrome Apple logo appeared in the most recent builds of Panther.

[MOM]

The new logo (gray Apple with shaded region) was on the outside of some iMac boxes at my Univeristy's computor store about 1 hour ago.

[altivec 2003]

Sounds great, but I really think that the best improvement at this point would be to add the ability to switch the themes of the finder. I, for one, like the metal theme but I am sure that I will eventually get sick of it. Of course, I do not really expect apple to change their "metal finder" that they so proudly announced at the wwdc. oh well.

The animations, of course will be cool to see :).

[Freg3000]

Darker and smoother? Hmmmmm....reminds me of the Apple logo on the side of my PowerMac G4. Although that really isn't brush metal now is it?

I am excited to see a few more animations in Panther. Those are always nice.

[altivec 2003]

Originally posted by MOM
The new logo (gray Apple with shaded region) was on the outside of some iMac boxes at my Univeristy's computor store about 1 hour ago.

OOOH, that logo does look pretty spiffy :o. I think it is an improvement over the solid colored one on the startup of jaguar, but I personally prefer the X on the "about this mac" screen. Things change I guess.

[Liquidity X]

Bout damn time, lets get some all shiny jaguar aqua finally, and if the new brushed willl look like the new QT in 10.3 build i'm hella pumped!

[Oirectine]

Here's a link to the new logo in case anyone who hasn't seen it was wondering (like me)

http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/2002091441/www.wired.com/news/images/full/about_mac_f.8954.gif

If that doesn't work, the article is here:

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,60597,00.html

Very cool design :)

[RajK]

Originally posted by MOM
The new logo (gray Apple with shaded region) was on the outside of some iMac boxes at my Univeristy's computor store about 1 hour ago.

My iMac just arrived via Fedex and the new logo is on the box. But on my box the dark part is on top and the shiny part is on bottom.

[cnladd]

Originally posted by RajK
My iMac just arrived via Fedex and the new logo is on the box. But on my box the dark part is on top and the shiny part is on bottom.

Turn the box over.

(Couldn't help myself.)

[Island Roots]

Originally posted by cnladd
Turn the box over.

(Couldn't help myself.)

:p :D

[NicoMan]

I don't know if you guys feel the same, but I really think that Apple needed to get a more professional looking OS: less eye-candy, a bit less jaguar-fur like. You know, a bit grayer or something (I know it's possible to choose the graphite look in Jaguar, but that's not enough).
I they manage to keep the oh-so-sleek look at the same time (seems to be the case, if the new logo is any indication), then I guess they will have an easier time trying to sell Panther to corporates.
Just a thought.


edit: spelling

[Island Roots]

I wish they had went with a lighter GUI, ala Jaguar. Going with dull grays seems to dark/bore the user experience.

Oh well, that's what themes are for :)

[themadchemist]

darker=worse.

I'm still on 10.1.5, and I like the Aqua interface. I guess brush metal is o.k., too.

Anyway, I'm the old-fashioned type and it'll take time for me to like these new-fangled interfaces.

It took about a year after I got X before I would boot regularly in it...

And my heart still skips a beat when I see a six-colored Apple...Or even a dogcow.

[Laslo Panaflex]

I think that apple (Steve?) is just trying to get the OS to look more like classic, by having everything more grey and darker.

[bankshot]

Seems like they're getting closer and closer to release... But what I really want to know is, when are they gonna announce the friggin release date??!? :confused: ;) I have to order a couple of PowerBooks soon, and I'd sure hate to order them just before being eligible for a possible free update to Panther. But unfortunately I've got a deadline next month and I have to have these machines by then...

Honestly I'd have put money that they'd announce it at the Paris expo, but nope. Maybe we should start a pool, one for the release date announcement date, and one for the release date. :D

[mymemory]

What I think is that the less animations and alfa channels the better. The interface takes too much video ram. I'm a VJ and I need that ram for my visual software not for a fancy interface if they are gonna get cheap on it.

[Lepton]

We finally have changed from the Windowsy dank grayness of OS 9 to the clean clear look of OS X, but now OS X is slipping back to bleak grayness.

You can tone down the candyland look of early OS 10 Aqua without going back to dreary gray, so do that.

Black text on a gray background, what's up with that?

[Makosuke]

The shiny logo is nice, but of course this isn't the first place it's been used--anyone with a G4 iMac knows that they have a shiny chrome Apple logo on them.

As for the flatter, greyer interface, I'm generally for that--I find it a bit easier on the eyes, personally. Not 10.2 metal grey, but something a little more mellow than the pinstripes. Though really, I wish they'd give us a couple of choices, maybe pinstripe and metal/pinstripe and grey or something. No biggie, since you can still theme the OS, though.

[beefcake]

I agree. I think the metal looks great but an aqua option would be nice. I'm sure if you've used OS X extensively the pinstripes get old, but as I just switched, I think the pinstripes look really nice with the blue theme.

[Phil Of Mac]

I want a chromed interface.

[Sherman]

This is a response to MOM:

Yea, that thing on the box is actually the apple logo that is physically on the iMac inside. If you notice, it has the same curvature and perspective if you look at an iMac head on. Just thought I'd let you know before consipracy theories formed

The new one in Panther looks awesome however.

[rjrufo]

it looks like the chrome logo on my iMacs...

[FattyMembrane]

hopefully they've fixed the scrollbars and progressbars, as well as settling on a single style of gloss for the widgets. having different elements in the 10.0, 10.2, and 10.3 styles just looks sloppy.

[Omek]

Mmmmmm.... the new Apple logo is so shiny. It just gets better and better.... :D

[nickmcghie]

i for one am not that impressed by the new logo..it's not that ugly, but what's wrong with the current one? when i first saw the new logo i thought somebody accidently drew a line through the apple..then i thought it looked like there's a crack in the apple..and i still think it looks like that

[blueflame]

i think one of apples selling points is its simplicity by design, i think this new logo adds just a little more complication that isnt needed.
i personally like the flat color
i like the new metal interface, but i really hope they dont start reverting back to the os 9 interface, i thought that was ugly,
aqua isnt my favorite, but ill take it any day over the os 9 gray crap look
my .2
Andreas

[Phil Of Mac]

For the record, Panther looks nothing like OS 9.

[Awimoway]

Come to think of it, they've been using that shiny logo on the displays and iMacs for some time now.

[Innagoddadavida]

As a OS 9 user using a 4 year old iMac , I am desperately waiting to get my hands on one of the new powerbooks, but, like about half of the working world it seems, I am waiting for Panther. When I do switch over, I'm wondering--what happens to apps that don't run on OS X? is there some way I can run 9 on a new powerbook or am I SOL???

dazed and confused

:confused:

[MacBandit]

Does anyone else here have a MDD PowerMac? Take a look at your system disk folder. It has the chrome logo on the cover. It looks very very similar to the one showing up in Panther. I'll take a photo and post it later.

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by Innagoddadavida
As a OS 9 user using a 4 year old iMac , I am desperately waiting to get my hands on one of the new powerbooks, but, like about half of the working world it seems, I am waiting for Panther. When I do switch over, I'm wondering--what happens to apps that don't run on OS X? is there some way I can run 9 on a new powerbook or am I SOL???

dazed and confused

:confused:

It's called "Classic Mode". You can run your OS 9 programs in OS X.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by blueflame
i think one of apples selling points is its simplicity by design, i think this new logo adds just a little more complication that isnt needed.
i personally like the flat color
i like the new metal interface, but i really hope they dont start reverting back to the os 9 interface, i thought that was ugly,
aqua isnt my favorite, but ill take it any day over the os 9 gray crap look
my .2
Andreas
I think you guys are jumping way too fast to conclusions. There is no way in hell that Apple are going to go back to a OS9 type of look, after putting so much emphasis on Aqua and its beautiful, smooth, clarity.
It's just that they are trying to tone down the eye-candy, pulsating thingies to give it a tad more serious look.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by Innagoddadavida
As a OS 9 user using a 4 year old iMac , I am desperately waiting to get my hands on one of the new powerbooks, but, like about half of the working world it seems, I am waiting for Panther. When I do switch over, I'm wondering--what happens to apps that don't run on OS X? is there some way I can run 9 on a new powerbook or am I SOL???

dazed and confused

:confused:
Pardon me for being direct, but I can't believe what I am reading. REALLY. Don't you know about Classic??? That's OSX's compatibility mode in case you didn't know. And that should run a large percentage of your OS9 apps (a few might not work, I'm afraid). Now that you have waited so long, you might as well wait for Panther to switch to OSX.
Good luck to you.

[shadowfax]

the only thing that i want apple to do is have something like demetallifizer, or something like it, so i can get the non-metal look in anything i want. i hate it on just about everything but the iApps, and it's pushing it for iPhoto, if you ask me. safari just looks like crap in brushed. it's beautiful in aqua.

i'm still trying to get over the removal of the stripes... i'm not using panther till there's a stable third party res-hack that restores the old jaguar theme.

[stingerman]

Apple's goal is to reduce the visual weight of the UI while increasing the feedback. So they have toned down Metal and they have toned down the thick corduroy grey backgrounds of Aqua. They have given Active and inactive title bars their own smooth textures.

The other goal is to no interfere with the look of a windows content. That means that the surrounding color schemes need to be visually neutral. This way the colors and whiteness of images will be more vibrant. You can see this in their professional Apps color choices.

Increasing the feedback includes animated cinematic visual cueing. The animation of the drawer is one example. But, the animation is actually faster than Jaguar's and Drawers and Windows are significantly more responsive. Apple is evidently adding additional cinematic effects using the Extreme portion of the system.

Overall it will make for a very professional and technological advanced system, that should please professionals and consumers alike. The new Panther is an awesome refinement of OS X.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by stingerman
Overall it will make for a very professional and technological advanced system, that should please professionals and consumers alike. The new Panther is an awesome refinement of OS X.
I have managed to keep away from Panther pre-release seeds. But I am really looking forward to seeing what it's capable of, and the wait is now becoming unbearable.... AAAArgh!!!

[loopdreams]

Putting aside my thoughts on Brushed Metal, the new Aqua in Panther is a real step forwards for me. The darker grey, various tones of grey makes text more legible, and the interface easier on the old eyes. I like Jaguar's stripes, and was kinda worried at first by the look in Panther, but having used it, it gets my vote.
Fire up Mail in Panther, then look at the toolbar and how the icons now fit so well into the colour scheme.

Also, I with the types of apps I use, the new look blends in far better with them. so moving from app to app, the contrast isn't so great anymore, the eyes tend to float back onto the data, rather than the GUI.

[dongmin]

this is the bit excites me most about panther:

"The latest builds are said to boast 'sizzling' speed improvements -- from user installation to interaction -- over previously seeded builds."

sizzling

[kherdin]

Originally posted by dongmin
this is the bit excites me most about panther:

"The latest builds are said to boast 'sizzling' speed improvements -- from user installation to interaction -- over previously seeded builds."

sizzling

Agreed!

[wHo_tHe]

To me, the new reflective Apple logo eschews the company's overarching design philosophy, simplicity. The reflection's trendy, logo-ish shape defaces one of the truly classic icons of organizational identity.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by wHo_tHe
To me, the new reflective Apple logo eschews the company's overarching design philosophy, simplicity. The reflection's trendy, logo-ish shape defaces one of the truly classic icons of organizational identity.
I disagree. The logo identity comes from its shape, not its colour or texture. That's why seeing it in blue, red, green, white or multicolor doesn't make any difference. Everyone now recognizes the logo by the shape. Apparently, the patent on the logo only describes its silhouette.
Besides, the ability to change the colour has provided Apple with ways to adapt to design fashion/trends, giving it a dynamism that a logo set in stone wouldn't give them.

[Krevnik]

In using LCD screens, pre-Panther Aqua is sort of drowned out in the brightness some of these screens have. My Lombard looks bright and almost painful, even when I run through a screen calibration.

Panther makes elements much clearer on these earlier LCD displays and less is drowned out by the display. I much prefer Panther's aqua to Jaguar's because of the fact that is is easier on the eyes with my laptop.

[DeusOmnis]

I dont see why everyone complains about the brushed-metal look, it's great! Have you no style!?

[DeusOmnis]

Originally posted by NicoMan
I disagree. The logo identity comes from its shape, not its colour or texture. That's why seeing it in blue, red, green, white or multicolor doesn't make any difference. Everyone now recognizes the logo by the shape. Apparently, the patent on the logo only describes its silhouette.
Besides, the ability to change the colour has provided Apple with ways to adapt to design fashion/trends, giving it a dynamism that a logo set in stone wouldn't give them.


I agree a million percent. Great strategy, and the new logo is awesome.

[Innagoddadavida]

Originally posted by NicoMan
Pardon me for being direct, but I can't believe what I am reading. REALLY. Don't you know about Classic???

Yes, believe it or not--I am still slugging away on 9.1 and have had no contact with OS X--Why torture yourself learning about something you can't afford? Sometimes, ignorance is bliss...

I am, however, now ready to take the dive to hyperspace.

A PB 15" 1.25 with Panther? --Bring it on baby!

:p

[MacBandit]

Okay here it is. This is the image off of the system disk folder that came with my MDD PowerMac.

Looks familiar doesn't it.

[shadowfax]

kinda reminds me of that apple up in the top left of my screen (i have the graphite theme on)... heh.

but the panther one is a little different. it seems to be a lot crisper, like the safari buttons and the new buttons in iTunes/QT/etc.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by shadowfax
kinda reminds me of that apple up in the top left of my screen (i have the graphite theme on)... heh.

but the panther one is a little different. it seems to be a lot crisper, like the safari buttons and the new buttons in iTunes/QT/etc.

I agree the new Apple looks much more modern but I was simply pointing out that there use os Silver in the Apple is nothing new. In fact if you read the interview with the guy who originally designed the Apple logo for Steve Jobs he remarks that he in fact designed many monochrome versions at the same time he did the rainbow version one of which was chrome/silver. Amazing to think that was like 25 years ago.

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by shadowfax
kinda reminds me of that apple up in the top left of my screen (i have the graphite theme on)... heh.

but the panther one is a little different. it seems to be a lot crisper, like the safari buttons and the new buttons in iTunes/QT/etc.

Totally.

One Apple is graphite, the other is chrome. Just look at the two next to each other.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Totally.

One Apple is graphite, the other is chrome. Just look at the two next to each other. the coloration isn't really the difference. the difference is that they are moving towards a sharper, less rounded look. the graphite one looks like it's a gel-cap pill, vaguely. the other one looks like a piece of almost flat metal--really, just like the apple logo on the iMac base. notably, it's totally opaque, which the aqua logo really isn't (which is why it looks like a gel-cap).

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by shadowfax
the coloration isn't really the difference. the difference is that they are moving towards a sharper, less rounded look. the graphite one looks like it's a gel-cap pill, vaguely. the other one looks like a piece of almost flat metal--really, just like the apple logo on the iMac base. notably, it's totally opaque, which the aqua logo really isn't (which is why it looks like a gel-cap).

Well, the difference between graphite aqua and chrome isn't only the coloration. The chrome logo has the other properties of chrome, which is exactly what you cited--flat metal and opaque, and I'll add, highly reflective.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Well, the difference between graphite aqua and chrome isn't only the coloration. The chrome logo has the other properties of chrome, which is exactly what you cited--flat metal and opaque, and I'll add, highly reflective. right. if you mean "graphite aqua." you just said "graphite" at first, which made me think you were talking about a color (because the graphite aqua has only color in common with graphite, which has a very dull, almost leaden, grainy texture to it). sorry about the confusion.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Okay here it is. This is the image off of the system disk folder that came with my MDD PowerMac.

Looks familiar doesn't it.
Well that was on my TiBook's box too. For your info, my PB was a 667/VGA/DVD-ROM and I bought it in october 2001. That's how long that Apple logo has been around...

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Well, the difference between graphite aqua and chrome isn't only the coloration. The chrome logo has the other properties of chrome, which is exactly what you cited--flat metal and opaque, and I'll add, highly reflective.
Well that sort of swoosh across the logo is there to make it look much more curved and much less flat, IMHO. It's there to accentuate the texture impression (as if it had been sculpted in a drop of mercury).

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by NicoMan
Well that sort of swoosh across the logo is there to make it look much more curved and much less flat, IMHO. It's there to accentuate the texture impression (as if it had been sculpted in a drop of mercury).

The swoosh is the chrome counterpart to the shadow on the Aqua/iMac Apple logo.

[cnladd]

Originally posted by NicoMan
I disagree. The logo identity comes from its shape, not its colour or texture. That's why seeing it in blue, red, green, white or multicolor doesn't make any difference. Everyone now recognizes the logo by the shape. Apparently, the patent on the logo only describes its silhouette.
Besides, the ability to change the colour has provided Apple with ways to adapt to design fashion/trends, giving it a dynamism that a logo set in stone wouldn't give them.

NicoMan has hit on something here that I think is very important.

I'm a Switcher, from Windows/UNIX. I've been watching Apple closely ever since the first iMac. I've always loved Apple's designs -- from their hardware, peripherals, software, and operating system. Even their logos.

In a way that I can't quite describe, I got very excited when I installed Jaguar and saw the new, grey Apple logo on bootup. The same way as when I first got drawn to the iBooks, with the glowing logo on the back. One of my favorite features of the "Milk" theme is the milky-white Apple logo that is used.

But besides the theme, Apple seems to have embarked on a strategy of changing their logo's colors and textures to signify major releases of both hardware and software. These are visual cues to the user to show a changing, up-to-date Apple at each new release.

Think of the textured "X" on the Jaguar box, or the new metallic "X" (blockier, more solid looking) that's accompanied Apple-provided news and information about Panther.

In a way that most companies would never be able to do, Apple is able to modify one of their core identifying marks in such a way that it's still fully recognizable, but drastically different (and exciting) for the consumer. It's pure marketing, sure, but at the same time it's devilishly genius.

[soosy]

Well, I'm glad they are still visually tweaking the interface, because for once in the life of Mac OS X, I'm not exactly thrilled with all the choices.

Specifically, I really hate the outline on selected icons. Also, I'm very hesitant on finder metal.

One thing I've always hated about Windows is the drab gray. I've always loved that the Mac was mainly white. Panther is a bit grayer, but it still looks good and bright enough to be called Mac I think. ...But for the people who are complaining that Jag is too bright for you—How 'bout turning down your monitor brightness? My LCD certainly isn't up all the way.

Finally, I hope Apple listens to all the users requesting themes. Refining the Aqua interface with each new release makes sense... but it would also be nice to give users the option of look depending on their mood. I'd love to see themes for "Aqua Classic", "Aqua Jaguar", "Aqua Panther" and "Metal Panther" or something along those lines.

[NicoMan]

Originally posted by soosy
One thing I've always hated about Windows is the drab gray. I've always loved that the Mac was mainly white. Panther is a bit grayer, but it still looks good and bright enough to be called Mac I think.
I think it's fair to say that just because Panther is grayer, that doesn't make it like Windows. It's not only about colour: the texture, shading and anti-aliased fonts give a totally different clarity, and in that respect, it's still unmistakably OS X.

Finally, I hope Apple listens to all the users requesting themes. Refining the Aqua interface with each new release makes sense... but it would also be nice to give users the option of look depending on their mood. I'd love to see themes for "Aqua Classic", "Aqua Jaguar", "Aqua Panther" and "Metal Panther" or something along those lines.
I totally agree. People want to be able to customize the look-and-feel a little bit more than what's currently offered in the Jaguar preference pane. And I personnally feel that we shouldn't have to go get such and such 3rd-party hack (which get broken after each point-update of the OS) to achieve that. Is this a feature of Panther?

[loopdreams]

Originally posted by Krevnik
In using LCD screens, pre-Panther Aqua is sort of drowned out in the brightness some of these screens have. My Lombard looks bright and almost painful, even when I run through a screen calibration.

Panther makes elements much clearer on these earlier LCD displays and less is drowned out by the display. I much prefer Panther's aqua to Jaguar's because of the fact that is is easier on the eyes with my laptop.

That's true, the default LCD profile for LCDs isn't very good, but it is possible to calibrate it to something akin to what you would see on a crt. I've got a profile here which I use on my Pismo, I can send it to you if you'd like. It might make a difference.

[encro]

Originally posted by NicoMan
I think it's fair to say that just because Panther is grayer, that doesn't make it like Windows. It's not only about colour: the texture, shading and anti-aliased fonts give a totally different clarity, and in that respect, it's still unmistakably OS X.


...and to further validate your point; Microsoft's latest OS offerings (XP/2003) come in big, bright, bouncey Luna so once again Apple is trying to differenciate itself.

I look forward to the zoom!, zoom!!, zoom!!! of Panther and the productivity improvement more so than how it actually looks on screen.