Poll: Do you want Apple to use add translucent windows to the User Interface?

[MacRumors]

Vote: Poll: Do you want Apple to use add translucent windows to the User Interface? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=412)

[wrldwzrd89]

Vote: Poll: Do you want Apple to use add translucent windows to the User Interface? (http://www.macpolls.com/?poll_id=412)
Definitely Yes! It would make the Mac OS even more intuitive than it is already, further helping Apple's cause and the switcher program.

[Wonder Boy]

i dont see how this could be bad. as long as you can click on the inactive window to bring it forward like you can now, i dont see why this wouldnt work.

[~Shard~]

Sounds cool to me - why not! Hmm, maybe this is one of the first new features of Tiger that will be announced @ WWDC... There's still going to have to be a lot more offered with Tiger though to make me switch from Panther - I just don't see how I could justify it right now.

[mrsebastian]

show me how it'll work and if i like it, i'll use it. these kinda things always sound cool, but do they really make you work efficiently?

[Eukaryote]

Ummm... They already have... Whenever someone sends you a mesage with iChat, it brings up a translucent window that allows you to accept the message. It really doesn't do anything except show you what's behind it, though. I think it would be better if you could just automatically choose for it to bring up a window.

[ltgator333]

I think that any USEFUL additions to the UI could definitely be a good thing, if it is useful someone will use it and like it, but I think it should be a controllable option, as in if you don't like it turn it off.

[jimthorn]

I don't think this is anything new. OS X has utilized translucent windows in various ways since OS X 10.0. Panther seems to have scaled it back a bit, as Jaguar had quite a bit of translucency. Patents take a long time to go through, so again, I don't think this is something you haven't seen yet.

[pyrotoaster]

Apple only filed for this patent in November of last year, though. It sounds like something much more active and comprehensive than the translucency used in current and older versions of OS X.

It also sounds like something Microsoft is working on for Longhorn. It would be great for Apple to beat them to the punch and introduce it first, but it would even better for Apple to patent the concept before M$ could even have a chance to use it. (Muwah ha ha! :D )

[wdlove]

I voted not sure because, not sure what it will look like or its use. Will trust Apple and Steve to make the best decision.

[chv400]

Ummm... They already have... Whenever someone sends you a mesage with iChat, it brings up a translucent window that allows you to accept the message. It really doesn't do anything except show you what's behind it, though. I think it would be better if you could just automatically choose for it to bring up a window.

whenever i get a message from ichat i can't see through it it's just minimized very small like i think what they're wanting to add is like ghost windows that are there but not in a way.

[SpiceMustFlow]

Before translucide luminescence!!!... New G5-6-7- H2, Y4, Z6, Power PC, power box, Power Mac2 etc... New hardware is a priority!!!

[macnews]

I think this would be a good thing. With today's processors, they can handle 95% of what most people use them for - word processsing, email and internet. Why not put the processor to use (through the OS) to make you work more efficiently. Despit increases in processor speed we are more and more limited by screen space. Sure, my computer can no handle having twenty five word documents, 6 different web pages and 10 emails up at one time - I just can not work efficiently with them all open at once. Expose` has helped me work more efficiently because I can easily get to the windows I want (granted, to be really useful I use a non-Apple mouse with programable buttons - hello Apple please do something with your mouse as well!). I see this feature only enhancing Expose` or providing another option for those who don't like Expose` but want a similar feature.

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Had to go for "Not sure" as I would like to see how it works before I decide if it's someting for me...

That said: I was very sceptical to Exposé, but after seeing it in action an get a feeling with how it works it is now one of my favorite features in OS X...

[spud]

i don't know how i feel about the whole inactive-windows-slowly-fade idea, could be cool.
what's more important for me is we should have more control over window transparency. the same way you can set a default transparency for Terminal, you should have similar control over Mail, finder windows, and maybe even safari. if they could somehow make it a system service, so it is application independent, that would be ideal.

[ryan]

Ummm... They already have... Whenever someone sends you a mesage with iChat, it brings up a translucent window that allows you to accept the message. It really doesn't do anything except show you what's behind it, though. I think it would be better if you could just automatically choose for it to bring up a window.
You can also see it used on any file menu (not just iChat); it's not real apparent but you can see through those menus. Or start up Terminal.app and go to Terminal -> Window Settings... -> Color and then play with the Transparency slider.

[mkrishnan]

You can also see it used on any file menu (not just iChat); it's not real apparent but you can see through those menus. Or start up Terminal.app and go to Terminal -> Window Settings... -> Color and then play with the Transparency slider.

Also, Windowshade by Unsanity is a SW utility that lets you make any window transparent as the response to one of several things (clicking the yellow button, double clicking the title bar, a few other choices). I installed it and played around with it, and its cute, but not as useful as I thought. OTOH, if the system automatically makes windows transparent and untransparent, that could be interesting.

Windowshade link:

http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/wsx

[bennetsaysargh]

i'd have to see it before i judge it, but if it's as useful as expose', then definately!
hopefully tiger will be worth it.

[JOD8FY]

I've always liked the brushed Aluminum look, but a transparent window would be awesome! I'm all for it!

JOD8FY

[haiggy]

You can also see it used on any file menu (not just iChat); it's not real apparent but you can see through those menus. Or start up Terminal.app and go to Terminal -> Window Settings... -> Color and then play with the Transparency slider.


I don't think you guys understand. This doesn't make windows translucent. If a window is inactive for a while it will slowly fade and get more translucent. That said, it is not like iChat. Say I have iChat infront and Safari in behind: Safari would slowly fade. This is my understanding of the concept. Less active windows would be more translucent. The translucency changes depending on how active the window is. It is like a heirarcy.

[Nermal]

If a window is inactive for a while it will slowly fade and get more translucent.

Like in Office 2004? Any pallettes you have open automatically fade after a while, then spring back to solidity when you move the mouse over them.

[Gomer 37]

Now if only Apple could make all the damn paper on my desk fade away too! Then we'd HAVE something.

[Billicus]

I voted 'No' and I appear to be in the minority. I like Mac OS X the way it is, and I don't see the need to eat up Video RAM rendering the different states of translucency. Before everyone jumps on me, however, I would like to express that I know I am perfectly welcome to stick with the OS I have. I will more than likely upgrade, but given the feature set I'm given now, I don't know.

Who knows? I may end up being blown away with this translucency feature, but I am quite sceptical at the moment. :confused:

[madamimadam]

I don't think you guys understand. This doesn't make windows translucent. If a window is inactive for a while it will slowly fade and get more translucent.

If the question relates to this "rumour" than "yes", I think that would be cool but when asked as was stated, "no". Just like when you make the terminal translucent, you can't read half of what you are typing.

The patent talks about giving priority to opaque objects but my question would be "what was the translucent item doing in the foreground to need to be ignored?"

[Steven1621]

aren't they speaking of having something like this in longhorn as well?

[madamimadam]

aren't they speaking of having something like this in longhorn as well?

So the story goes
:)

[broken_keyboard]

Translucency is old hat now, they need to think up something new.

[mkrishnan]

So the story goes
:)

And when Longhorn comes out in 2027, right on time according to the MS schedule published three days before the release, I'm sure it will. :)

[Spades]

I like Mac OS X the way it is, and I don't see the need to eat up Video RAM rendering the different states of translucency.

If you're running your display at millions of colors already, it shouldn't take up any more RAM. Millions of colors means 32 bits per pixel, but only 24 of those are typically used. The other 8 bits would be the alpha value which (I think) isn't technically transparency, but that's probably as good of a use as any.

[kuyu]

Like in Office 2004? Any pallettes you have open automatically fade after a while, then spring back to solidity when you move the mouse over them.

Exactly!!! I just tried the test drive, and the pallette in excel is terrific (not to mention the new excel). Anyways, I said yes. This could definately be a nice feature, and will probably be more useful than we assume (much like expose).

[~Shard~]

Exactly!!! I just tried the test drive, and the pallette in excel is terrific (not to mention the new excel). Anyways, I said yes. This could definately be a nice feature, and will probably be more useful than we assume (much like expose).

It would be a cool feature, and could definitely be useful, but there's going to have to be a lot more to Tiger than that to make me cough up money and get rid of Panther. But, that being said, if anyone can tempt me to pull out my wallet when I least expect it, Jobs always seems to be the man!

[Les Kern]

Sure.
No.
I don't care.
I'll probably disable it because my eyes are getting worse.
No.
I don't want to be Tom Cruise.

[grneyedjay]

As long as I can't tell what's in the foreground nor be able to read it, I'm all for translucency.

You know, I think the greatest thing about translucent windows is that sometimes you look at them, and you think your eyes are playing trick on you. You think you are actually seeing the wallpaper through the dialogue box...but are you really? Who knows, but trying to figure it out keeps me awake while I'm at work.

[cb911]

definitely! although you can already have translucent windows using WindowShade, and iChat already has them... but if Apple used them throughout the whole OS, no doubt their implementation of it would be much better than anything previously seen.

what would be cool would be being able to see windows fade through other windows. perhaps if you cmd+tab then the windows for the selected application come through all the windows that were previously ontop of it? :D

anyway, what brought this poll on? someone know something that they'd like to share? ;) :p :D

[madamimadam]

anyway, what brought this poll on? someone know something that they'd like to share? ;) :p :D

I'd be happy to... there is this place called MacRumors and they have these news articles. One of them was this:
http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/05/20040517100757.shtml

;) ;)

[brap]

I know with recent verisons of OS X Apple's usability scruples have seemed to go buh-bye, but gradual window translucency? Wonder what Don Norman has to say about that... I'd put money on it being less than approving.

There has to be a line drawn between eyecandy, and clutter. Maybe I'm just dense, but a, or indeed several translucent windows above my work would confuse the hell out of me.

[awinn233]

It's time for a new poll...

[atari1356]

I know with recent verisons of OS X Apple's usability scruples have seemed to go buh-bye, but gradual window translucency? Wonder what Don Norman has to say about that... I'd put money on it being less than approving.

There has to be a line drawn between eyecandy, and clutter. Maybe I'm just dense, but a, or indeed several translucent windows above my work would confuse the hell out of me.

I think the idea is to reduce the clutter actually... the windows you're working on would stay opaque, but the windows behind what you're doing (the stuff that's usually just not being used and cluttering up your screen) would become translucent over time - perhaps even hiding completely if it hasn't been used for a really long period of time.

Assuming it works that way, I think it's a great idea... and would complement Expose nicely. It would need some preference options though, as I'm sure people would prefer windows to become translucent over shorter or longer periods of time, and others would want to disable it completely.

[GrannySmith_G5]

do you want macpolls to have a new poll every weekday like advertised?

[sockeatingdryer]

I actually miss the translucent titlebars... and the pinstripes.

But that's just me. :rolleyes:

[legion]

Translucency... the next "Genie" effect. Useless, pretty, turned on for the first week and then never seen again...

Every release needs a genie effect!

[o1b2]

sure, it could be a nice feature to speed up production.