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Apple To Add Platinum Theme?
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I like the look, Apple has the most amazing people when it comes to design, both interface.
Now maybe the new G5 powerbooks will be platinum enclosures...LOL...
Now maybe the new G5 powerbooks will be platinum enclosures...LOL...
I don't like it. Too much wasted space at the top, too much wasted space on the side. Although I assume a switch to small icons on the mailbox list is an option... it had better be, cause I have a ton of mailboxes and couldn't deal with that.
Photoshop is a pro app guys...
Photoshop is a killer app. If someone was faking a screenie, they'd make sure they did a pristine job. I agree with whoever said they are just protecting their anonimity, and bodged a cut and paste effort to add/remove some emails...
Photoshop is a killer app. If someone was faking a screenie, they'd make sure they did a pristine job. I agree with whoever said they are just protecting their anonimity, and bodged a cut and paste effort to add/remove some emails...
Natron said:
you're not the only one. i thought the same.. it's not bad though. it looks pretty much like netscape navigator (anyone remember that product?) but a bit sleeker. conclusion: it's ok, but not really an improvement in my opinion. guess I have to get to use it before any further claims.
jeffbistrong said:
I'm sure that like anything else the Platinum Theme will grow on us. From the picture at Apple Insider its really hard tell what the finished product will look like. Will take a wait and see attitude.
Currently I'm using Entourage also. With my current setup the Mail applicaton won't work. We seem to have a compatability issue with our Earthlink DSL, Wireless, and Mail.
I like it.
It amazes me that with each and every OSX upgrade, the refinements while appearing modest, really take OSX to the next level. Going back to Jaguar nowadays is simply painful. And while using Jaguar, I thought it was a really solid OS.
So, I look at the new Platinum in Tiger, and I suspect it is going to be an amazing look. I like the screenshots, but more importantly, the new functionality and display of mail looks amazing.
The Apple magic is more subtle than we give it credit for. I am really looking forward to Tiger. Everything we have seen so far give me a lot of optimism. (With the one exception of iCal, which still appears to suck from the betas. I pray Apple has something up their sleeve for iCal.)
It amazes me that with each and every OSX upgrade, the refinements while appearing modest, really take OSX to the next level. Going back to Jaguar nowadays is simply painful. And while using Jaguar, I thought it was a really solid OS.
So, I look at the new Platinum in Tiger, and I suspect it is going to be an amazing look. I like the screenshots, but more importantly, the new functionality and display of mail looks amazing.
The Apple magic is more subtle than we give it credit for. I am really looking forward to Tiger. Everything we have seen so far give me a lot of optimism. (With the one exception of iCal, which still appears to suck from the betas. I pray Apple has something up their sleeve for iCal.)
For those who somehow don't see the flaws in the "screenshot", here's a summary:
My thoughts are that it's OK, if it replaces metal. Then there's just regular aqua and "toolbar aqua". That would be fine and consistent. Yup, aqua calculator, aqua Safari, aqua Finder, aqua iTunes. That's what I think. I like brushed metal, but it's not worth throwing out consistency for it. I thought Apple wanted to make a UI that calls attention to the contents of the window, not the window itself. Metal draws your attention to it.
My thoughts are that it's OK, if it replaces metal. Then there's just regular aqua and "toolbar aqua". That would be fine and consistent. Yup, aqua calculator, aqua Safari, aqua Finder, aqua iTunes. That's what I think. I like brushed metal, but it's not worth throwing out consistency for it. I thought Apple wanted to make a UI that calls attention to the contents of the window, not the window itself. Metal draws your attention to it.
Full Circle
Well, we've come full circle. We're now back to a modified OS 9 theme. Sheesh.
Macrumors said:
Well, we've come full circle. We're now back to a modified OS 9 theme. Sheesh.
age234 said:
I agree for the most part. I think that Apple should drop it's 3 themes and consolidate. I don't understand why there are so many. This would make 4! Apple, what the heck! Think about it... we have Aqua, which is basically just for windows and 3rd party apps. We have the pro application UI, which is dark gray with smaller interface elements. We also have brushed metal, which is for utility applications... which still baffles me how Safari fits in that category. Ugh.
age234 said:For those who somehow don't see the flaws in the "screenshot", here's a summary:
I think your points on the inconsistencies are very good ones. My only caveat is that this is a beta and is completely subject to graphical irregularies and bugs. I work at a software company as a UI and web designer and wouldn't be surprised to see the things you are pointing out in early UI development. Not saying that's an end-all be-all answer, but it does make this screenshot plausible.
You're right. I've also noticed that when you compare the 'in focus' and 'out of focus' images in different tabs of Safari, most things remain in the same position such as the toolbar icons and the inbox, etc but take a look at the drafts mailbox, second down on the mailbox pain. In the out of foucs shot, it is in a slightly different position relative to the inbox, which again is inconsistent. This has blatantly been "Photoshopped".age234 said:
The New Mail
I personally don't care for the new design at all, but it has strengths and weaknesses.
Removing the drawer and adding the sidebar solves a problem common to new users: closing the drawer and not knowing how to reopen it (don't laugh, it happens). Apple has also added the special views for new mail and flagged mail, which I'm sure many users will benefit from.
On the other side many users find the drawer an asset since they leave mail open all the time in the background and tend to leave it closed with the in box selected.
Presorting mail into "new" and "flagged" also presents a problem for users with multiple accounts because you are no longer exposing them the the account/folder structure it's going to present a problem finding those messages again once they leave the "new" view. If you don't know which account it was in from memory you may end up clicking around a few mail boxes trying to find it again.
In which case, sticking with the current account-centric structure, and sorting mail to show new messages first is going to be a much better option.
I personally hope they will revert back to the old mail design, I stopped using Entourage in favor of Mail because I was looking for a simple, clean, efficient mail application. I don't use features like sorted view for "new" and "flagged" (something I've never user) or certificates and do not want advanced features cluttering my application window. Corporate mail clients and personal mail clients have different usage needs, Apple might be wise to start looking at splitting the application into two, or two modes: Mail and Mail Pro.
I personally don't care for the new design at all, but it has strengths and weaknesses.
Removing the drawer and adding the sidebar solves a problem common to new users: closing the drawer and not knowing how to reopen it (don't laugh, it happens). Apple has also added the special views for new mail and flagged mail, which I'm sure many users will benefit from.
On the other side many users find the drawer an asset since they leave mail open all the time in the background and tend to leave it closed with the in box selected.
Presorting mail into "new" and "flagged" also presents a problem for users with multiple accounts because you are no longer exposing them the the account/folder structure it's going to present a problem finding those messages again once they leave the "new" view. If you don't know which account it was in from memory you may end up clicking around a few mail boxes trying to find it again.
In which case, sticking with the current account-centric structure, and sorting mail to show new messages first is going to be a much better option.
I personally hope they will revert back to the old mail design, I stopped using Entourage in favor of Mail because I was looking for a simple, clean, efficient mail application. I don't use features like sorted view for "new" and "flagged" (something I've never user) or certificates and do not want advanced features cluttering my application window. Corporate mail clients and personal mail clients have different usage needs, Apple might be wise to start looking at splitting the application into two, or two modes: Mail and Mail Pro.
Gosh, you _are_ right...
To all the naysayers: look at the scrollbar, where are the up/down icons gone?
Oh look, there's one on top of the window, and ... none at the bottom... hmmm. how do I scroll down?
And aren't these scroll buttons supposed to reside on the lower side of the scrollbar, NeXT to one another?
To all the naysayers: look at the scrollbar, where are the up/down icons gone?
Oh look, there's one on top of the window, and ... none at the bottom... hmmm. how do I scroll down?
And aren't these scroll buttons supposed to reside on the lower side of the scrollbar, NeXT to one another?
Just for fun, here's what I think the Finder could look like if Apple went with the Aqua-only route. Pretty slick, if I do say so myself:
NOTE: This is NOT a screenshot of Tiger. Also note the text on the status bar - it tells the size of the selected file. This should be added regardless of the UI, because why would I want to know the available space when I have file(s) selected? Shouldn't it tell the size of the selection? Makes sense to me. Why go to Get Info just to find the size?
NOTE: This is NOT a screenshot of Tiger. Also note the text on the status bar - it tells the size of the selected file. This should be added regardless of the UI, because why would I want to know the available space when I have file(s) selected? Shouldn't it tell the size of the selection? Makes sense to me. Why go to Get Info just to find the size?
I don't think it looks much differnt than aqua. It looks like the merged the title bar with the button bar. Big whoop.
This sort of menu bar has been posted all ready on numerous screen shots over the past few months.
Point and case:
http://images.appleinsider.com/images/tiger8a2accountssmall.gif
Personally I feel it is a little bland without any sort of texture to it, for me that's always set apart OS X windows from Windows.... windows. I adored the brushed metal appearance and wish that would come standard across the GUI, but if this is in store... it just seems a little too... boring. Apple has always been about good design and while this may be slated as good design (In no way is this as gaudy as XP's silver theme), it just seems a little odd to me. If it's included in the final release, all right, we'll all get used to it. But if it's implemented half-assed like Brushed, then I think I'd still prefer brushed. Personally I think that the menu bar at the top of the screen should be changed to accompany this new theme, if a new one is implemented. A 'Platinum' bar on top with a chromed Apple would look all right-- I just wish we could have limited choices. Ah well, my .02
Edit: Hrmm... I dont know if you can really call this a copy of Longhorn, because think of the last time that MS genuinely tried to copy the Aqua OS ...... Internet Explorer 5.0...... that was their attempt to match and conform to the OS....... yet it was a complete and utter failure and came across realllllly cheap and ugly looking.
Point and case:
http://images.appleinsider.com/images/tiger8a2accountssmall.gif
Personally I feel it is a little bland without any sort of texture to it, for me that's always set apart OS X windows from Windows.... windows. I adored the brushed metal appearance and wish that would come standard across the GUI, but if this is in store... it just seems a little too... boring. Apple has always been about good design and while this may be slated as good design (In no way is this as gaudy as XP's silver theme), it just seems a little odd to me. If it's included in the final release, all right, we'll all get used to it. But if it's implemented half-assed like Brushed, then I think I'd still prefer brushed. Personally I think that the menu bar at the top of the screen should be changed to accompany this new theme, if a new one is implemented. A 'Platinum' bar on top with a chromed Apple would look all right-- I just wish we could have limited choices. Ah well, my .02
Edit: Hrmm... I dont know if you can really call this a copy of Longhorn, because think of the last time that MS genuinely tried to copy the Aqua OS ...... Internet Explorer 5.0...... that was their attempt to match and conform to the OS....... yet it was a complete and utter failure and came across realllllly cheap and ugly looking.
spinko said:
Not all of us have huge monitors. I have a 12" PowerBook-- the main focus of a mail reader should be the message list and the message itself. Toolbars and mailbox lists need to be designed with that in mind. Look at the mailbox list in the current Mail.app and tell me this new thing with the giant icons is going to make the new version work better on my display. It's not possible.