What are your current OS X themes? [Archive]

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NusuniAdmin

Jun 11, 2004, 03:26 PM

Right now I have the theme Titanium5 on, and the candybar set, smoothicons. I am just curious what everyone else uses...

blue&whiteman

Jun 11, 2004, 03:46 PM

I use the Smooth Stripes (http://www.maxthemes.com/themes/smoothstripes.htm) theme applied with themechanger. I switched ffrom shapeshifter after your advice to do so. I should have used tc in the first place and not bought ss. :)

MoparShaha

Jun 11, 2004, 06:32 PM

I usually switch between Xi-SoftCandy, AquaPro, and Jaguar (call me sentimental ;)).

mac15

Jun 15, 2004, 08:51 PM

I'm using Ashen now, why? heh I made it :)

King Cobra

Jun 16, 2004, 09:01 AM

http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/info.jpg (http://izappy.web.infoseek.co.jp/themes.htm)

michaelrjohnson

Jun 16, 2004, 10:23 AM

Aqua ;)

But my next favorite is Milk, by Max Rudberg. Gotta love Max's themes.

reaper

Jun 16, 2004, 10:26 AM

Coming from windows, the standard aqua look is enough for me right now... maybe I'll get tired of it the more I use it, but I think it's a clean, refined look that is hard to top. :)

- reaper

ToastCabbit

Jun 16, 2004, 10:42 AM

I admit it! I use a flamboyant theme that's colorful and bright! (When I'm on the other computer, i.e.) :(

I use ShapeShifter with Flagship!!! :'( :eek:

Oirectine

Jun 16, 2004, 12:03 PM

laserbeahm

Jun 16, 2004, 12:40 PM

What kills me is that I have a friend who is a big Windows user. He has always ragged on Macs. I have come to find out that this guy has his computer set up to look like Mac OS X. He even has something that looks just like the dock. Horrible.

Mitthrawnuruodo

Jun 16, 2004, 12:49 PM

Aqua is good enough for me, but with Graphite appearance and Orange highlight colouring...

Espnetboy3

Jun 16, 2004, 01:01 PM

yea i just bought shapeshifter a few weeks ago and have been running shinobee , im in love with it

markjones05

Jun 16, 2004, 01:04 PM

I like DSX.

pooky

Jun 16, 2004, 01:25 PM

Post more screenshots! The name of a theme doesn't say much if you don't already know it.

Links too, if you want to be really nice!

King Cobra

Jun 16, 2004, 01:52 PM

Shinobi screenshots

http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen1.jpg (http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen1.jpg)
http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen2.jpg (http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen2.jpg)

And, during the process, I also got this (http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/panther/preview/preview2.jpg) message. Go figure.

theimacguy

Jun 16, 2004, 02:20 PM

Looks like XP via Mac OS XP and Skin A Dock :D

King Cobra

Jun 16, 2004, 02:33 PM

That's some yummy looking blue metal and attractive sky blue you have there...but, damn, that's a pixelated screenshot.

Krizoitz

Jun 16, 2004, 04:47 PM

Looks like XP via Mac OS XP and Skin A Dock :D

This makes me want to cry :eek:

cb911

Jun 16, 2004, 06:39 PM

Looks like XP via Mac OS XP and Skin A Dock :D

i dont' mind the Mac OSXP theme for some reason... the blue just looks really nice. :)

i was using SIRO, up until i re-installed OS X this morning. i'll post a pic once i get everything set up properly again.

nuclearwinter

Jun 16, 2004, 07:30 PM

i just figured out how to make my own icons. Only made these two for my two partitions...

nuclearwinter

Jun 16, 2004, 07:35 PM

Well, I don't use ShapeShifter any more. When I did, I prefered the themes that were close to Aqua, with only minor changes (square corners, all-aqua min/max close buttons, no stripes...). There were a couple I would switch from, I know one was called "SmoothStripes" which was already mentioned, I also used "AquaExtreme" sometimes.

However, when I reinstalled OS X because of stability issues, I decided not to install things that messed with the system. Bye bye ShapeShifter :(

I'm with you. After X.3.4, I decided not to use shapeshifter anymore. I still don't trust anything that messes with system appearance after the disasters I witnessed while still under the banner of Windoze XP, ugh....(shudders)

ToastCabbit

Jun 16, 2004, 08:25 PM

Sorry to take this off-topic, but have any Mac users personally experienced problems with ShapeShifter? I thought it was supposed to be so great b/c it didn't mess with things. I hadn't heard of any trouble before this.... :confused:

And here's the link to the Flagship 2.0 theme; sorry I didn't put it in before – http://www.topsydesigns.com/downloads/index.html

mkrishnan

Jun 16, 2004, 08:31 PM

http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/info.jpg (http://izappy.web.infoseek.co.jp/themes.htm)

When I saw this it reminded me of the kernel panic screen. :o Not that I like kernal panics, but for a crash screen, it is a fine, fine looking one. :) Much better than any blue-screen of death.

markjones05

Jun 16, 2004, 09:15 PM

What sites do you get these themes from? I use http://www.resexcellence.com/themes/

Theyre updated all the time.

King Cobra

Jun 16, 2004, 09:27 PM

What sites do you get these themes from?
I find out about them from whatever screenshots appeal to me. Usually I see something that catches my eye from over at the MacSnaps discussion forums over at www.funmac.com ... Given that the person w/the screenshot provided a link to the theme, I get it from the link. Otherwise, I go to ResExcellence and hunt down the theme.

Oh, and mkrishnan, if my Shinobi dialog reminded you of a kernel panic, then you need to take better damn care of your computer. http://www.thetechpub.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif http://www.thetechpub.com/phpBB2/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif

NusuniAdmin

Jun 16, 2004, 10:26 PM

Yes i use resexcellence as well. An excellent overall mac os x site. To be honest i think it should be rated the best site on the planet. I find it to be the most usefull site for my uses at least.

For theme changing i use theme changer here, http://themechanger.sourceforge.net

I try to use as many open source apps as possible....because open source apps are so cool :D

Krizoitz

Jun 17, 2004, 04:04 AM

http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/info.jpg (http://izappy.web.infoseek.co.jp/themes.htm)

I will never understand the appeal of dark themes. Light text on dark background is hard on the eyes for one thing. I mean sure they may like ok at first, but over time they just hurt my eyes. Its even worse in ones like this were its dark text on dark background.

johnnyjibbs

Jun 17, 2004, 05:18 AM

I love Panther Aqua so I use that. Too scared to apply major mods to the system, and I hate the look of Windows anyway.

Soft tones, milky white windows and subtle pinstripes... :) :cool:

aswitcher

Jun 17, 2004, 07:59 AM

I am considering changing my icons...iphoto, imovie, idvd, etc because I can't say the images are what I want. Is this something thats easy to do?

King Cobra

Jun 17, 2004, 06:04 PM

I'm assuming that you know that you can get into an application's package contents by control- (or right-)clicking on it and selecting "Show Package Contents."

The icons that represents iPhoto etc. are located:

iPhoto 2: [Hard Drive]/Applications/iPhoto/Contents/Resources/NSApplicationIcon.icns <-- might be different with iPhoto 4
iMovie 3: [Hard Drive]/Applications/iMovie/Contents/Resources/iMovie.icns
iTunes 4.6: [Hard Drive]/Applications/iPhoto/Contents/Resources/iTunes.icns
iChat 2.1: [Hard Drive]/Applications/iPhoto/Contents/Resources/iChat.icns
iDVD: Not sure, I don't have it installed

The hard way:
Save a .tiff or .png of your custom image at 128x128 size. Then grab (install) the program called Icon Composer from your Panther Dev. Tools CD and bring the image into the 128x128 section of Icon Composer. Go to "Save As...," give your file a name and a .icns ending (pref. one of the names above "iChat.icns" "iMovie.icns" whatever that will work), and save. Then make a backup copy of the iApp's .icns file in case you want to switch back. Finally, drag your custom-made .icns file into the directory of the location of the old .icns file (i.e. for iMovie, drag your custom .icns file into [Hard Drive]/Applications/iMovie/Contents/Resources/) and relaunch the application. To see the effect of your new icon, get info on the application, click on its icon from the Get Info window, and hit Delete.

The easy way:
Do some searching either in these forums or at the Funmac (www.funmac.com) forums for programs that replace/change multiple icons for you at once.

aswitcher

Jun 18, 2004, 01:02 AM

The easy way:
Do some searching either in these forums or at the Funmac (www.funmac.com) forums for programs that replace/change multiple icons for you at once.

Thanks. :D

themadchemist

Jun 18, 2004, 01:10 PM

I will never understand the appeal of dark themes. Light text on dark background is hard on the eyes for one thing. I mean sure they may like ok at first, but over time they just hurt my eyes. Its even worse in ones like this were its dark text on dark background.

I agree. It looks cool for about 5 minutes until you actually try to do something productive.

aussie_geek

Jun 18, 2004, 11:28 PM

ToastCabbit

Jun 19, 2004, 12:21 PM

I just surfed over to the resexcellence site and looked at all their themes. I have noticed that they are sorted by OS version. There are not that many for 10.3.4. Is it ok to install themes for another version of OS on your Mac?

aussie_geek

Granted I haven't downloaded and tried every theme out there, but my experience has been that using themes from an "earlier" version of OS isn't a problem at all. There were a select few that simply would not work when I attempted to make them do so, so don't get your heart set on immediately using that new theme you just saw and couldn't live without. But for the majority of them the file formats appear to be the same to me, so they work just fine. And if you're dealing with another select few that for one reason or another don't work automatically with ShapeShifter (or whatever app you're using), what happened for me was that I got a prompt saying something like "Do you give your permission for ____blahdeblah___ theme to be updated to a more current version?" Click yes and voíla! It works and you're all purty-fied. :D (If this proves not to be the case for you, I'm sorry! :p )

PlaceofDis

Jun 21, 2004, 04:46 PM

ok since this thread is all about themes ill ask here before posting my own thread....i downloaded themechanger and i can open it and everything, cool, i went to Max's Themes and downloaded a few of the themes there, and i got some from other sites, but i cant seem to get any of them to appear in themechanger even after i added them to the theme file in my library....am i missing something? can anyone help??

Thank you

NusuniAdmin

Jun 21, 2004, 04:49 PM

PlaceofDis

Jun 21, 2004, 09:46 PM

are they .dlta files....that is the format all my themes r...

perhaps that is the problem...they are guikits, do i have to open those a specific way? if those are the wrong file types, where did you find your .dlta files from?

NusuniAdmin

Jun 21, 2004, 10:00 PM

perhaps that is the problem...they are guikits, do i have to open those a specific way? if those are the wrong file types, where did you find your .dlta files from?

i get all mine from resexcellence.com

But anyways....open themechanger andthen drag the actual theme file onto the listbox. If it allows you to drag it there then it should work.

mac15

Jun 21, 2004, 11:47 PM

eww jeez resex? people use that site. Go to macthemes.net or atleast interfacelift.com

PlaceofDis

Jun 22, 2004, 12:10 AM

hmmm i cant get any of the themes to work, maybe i should just try shapeshifter? although i would rather support the open-source community

ill try and get rid of themechanger and give it another go...

adamjay

Jun 22, 2004, 01:40 PM

I am considering changing my icons...iphoto, imovie, idvd, etc because I can't say the images are what I want. Is this something thats easy to do?

check out the "CandyBar" application - free from macupdate.com

i used it to change my system icons and it was very easy.

it doesnt contain new icons, but is a good drag and drop application that allows you to change them easily with icons you download elsewhere.

i changed mine a few months back... attached is a screen shot
i love the finder and trash icons the most.

King Cobra

Jun 22, 2004, 02:02 PM

eww jeez resex? people use that site. Go to macthemes.net or atleast interfacelift.com
Whoa...what's so wrong about ResExcellence other than their once-was connection problems?

i downloaded themechanger and i can open it and everything, cool, i went to Max's Themes and downloaded a few of the themes there, and i got some from other sites, but i cant seem to get any of them to appear in themechanger even after i added them to the theme file in my library....am i missing something? can anyone help??
Max is no longer using .dlta packages. If you look on his site, you'll notice that all his new theme packages are in .guiKit files. You will need ShapeShifter and $20 to run them on your Mac for more than the 15-day trial period (unless you know how to hack the hell out of that program). This also goes to aussie_geek: The nice thing about ShapeShifter is if you attempt to run a package designed for OS 10.3.3, ShapeShifter will go online and get "directions" as to how to install the package for 10.3.4. ThemeChanger can't do that...and I don't think ThemeChanger will ever support .guiKit files.

Dale Sorel

Jun 22, 2004, 04:38 PM

http://members.cox.net/damac519/index.html

Yay :D

FelixDerKater

Jun 22, 2004, 05:33 PM

Shinobi screenshots

http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen1.jpg (http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen1.jpg)
http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen2.jpg (http://andrej.gadgetgaming.com/images/themes/shinobi/screen2.jpg)

Where did you get that desktop background? If you have a link, it would be much appreciated.

King Cobra

Jun 22, 2004, 06:06 PM

That's actually my desktop. Here it is in full screen:

http://www.macsnaps.com/snaps/desktop/1086908900.jpg