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Aesthetically, what is Apple doing to themselves?

I really like the new web, it's very good written, uses no Flash and looks elegant BUT I am quite disappointed too about this Apple new aesthetic line which is based on transparencies, flashes, cheap glows and other stuff that doesn't add any functionality.

The Finder 'redesign' is the worse of it all. Just CoverFlow (which I never use in iTunes and so will I in Finder) and the sidebar in the same iTunes factor (Capital words highlighting unnecesary information). None of these will make Finder better than Nautilus of Path Finder. Disappointing.

I want this in Finder:
imagen1mq9.png
 
I liked the all-black menubar, but didn't LOVE the transparency. Perhaps it'll grow on me, but for now I'm hoping for an option to make it opaque.

As for the Dock, well, that'll just take some getting used to, I think. At first it looked sorta cheap to me, but after looking at it more, who knows, I'll probably end up liking it. Hell, I hide my dock most of the time anyway, so it's really a non-issue.

Overall, though, I like the improvements to the Desktop.
 
I'm not a big fan of the transparent menu bar, as some have said, it will be difficult to read with some wallpapers.

Looking at the new Finder, i think it will be more functional and probably (hopefully) easier to organize and look for stuff. However, i think i will need some time in getting used to the UI and the way things are presented in this new Finder.

I was kinda hoping for Apple to develop some new way of organizing files instead of the regular folder/tree system. It might be too much to ask in Leopard, but who knows in future o/s releases. Cheers.
 
Mac OS X has never matched the visual sophistication of their hardware. And Leopard only further reinforces that.
 
I don't like the direction Apple is going with their UI either. Just look at this:

Windows Vista:
54295820_fc3efe53b6.jpg



Max OS X Leopard:
finder_gallery_listbig20070611.jpg



I mean really--Apple, what are you doing to my beloved OS? When I first saw that grass backdrop, I immediately thought of Vista. In fact, after watching the keynote last night, when Steve says, "And here's the new desktop", people in the audience actually laughed. It was very obvious. It was so blatant, I'm fairly certain others thought the same and thought it was a joke.

In all seriousness though, why? Being a recent switcher myself (within the last 2 years or so), one of the things I found so compelling about OS X Tiger was the appropriate use of eye candy. Not only did it have that "WOW" factor, but it was, above all else, functional. The same cannot be said for what we saw yesterday. For example:

Transparent Menu bar - my absolute least favorite thing about the redesign. Are they actually trying to look like Vista, after all this time of making fun of them?

Reflective Dock "Floor" - this is cool at first, kind of a flashy, novel idea. Then it becomes pretty obvious that not only does it not add any function, it could potentially make you less productive. I can imagine that it would be very distracting to see all the time.

It all feels like change for the sake of change. Yeah, many for pleading for a new look and feel to the interface, but this is most certainly NOT what we had in mind. From best I can tell, Apple generally has a knack for these types of things. Looks like they may have dropped the ball this time though.

Bottom line, I think the pictures above sum it up best. Why, in God's dear name, would Apple make any design decision that would even remotely resemble Windows Vista? I mean really--at least use a wallpaper that's not grass!!

As someone has already said--fire up your copiers indeed. However, this time, looks like those copiers are warm in Cupertino, not Redmond.

<sigh>
 
Having stared and stared at the desktop for what must be 20 solid hours now, I can feel it growing on me. It's almost next-gen as far as UI graphics go.

Think of Windows Vista. It's transparent, it's very pretty, and the extended Explorer window makes things easier to drag 'n' drop. But no functionality of the OS is lost. No sacrifices of the end-user experience are made to create this fantastic look. It feels like you're using the OS of the future. Compare it to the rather bland look of Windows XP, and before that, the even grey-er look of 2000 backwards.

Now look at Leopard. It's transparent, and there's no denying that it's pretty. The extended Finder window has had mixed responses thus far (as did Explorer Vista), but I'm sure it will make getting things done much less painful than Tiger's Finder. A translucent menu bar and shiny dock do look great, but - be honest - is it really going to get in the way? So what if it looks like Vista. One has to move forward. Apple got there first last generation with OS X 10.0, and now the new GUI buzz is glass. Vista got there first. So what? It's a skin. It's not like Jobs stole a productive part of Microsoft's latest and greatest.
 
DinnyHoon said:
Agreed. Finder definitely needs a way of reaching the parent folder besides the column view. They can do it on their website and in the iTunes Store, why not Finder?
Click to expand...

The "Path" button in the current Finder does that, doesn't it? It's not there by default, but just use the Customise Toolbar option under Finder->View to add it.
 
milky23 said:
It seems to me that Apple is making some poor aesthetic choices when it comes to the design of their UI with the upcoming release of Leopard.

The most glaring to me was the modification of the dock and the introduction of angled/tapered edges. Was this change for the mere sake of change? I see no functional improvement to tapering the edges, and to my eye, the change looks amateur.

Apple's decision to switch Front Row over to the AppleTV interface is also a disappointing change. AppleTV's interface looks like a few Apple designers discovered Photoshop layers and went crazy with poorly implemented transparencies and gradients. I sure hope they didn't use the icons from AppleTV too, because Front Row's original icons are superior.

How about the new transparent dock? I'm worried that, much like Vista, getting the wrong colors behind it will make it look like mush. Things end up looking far busier as weird contrasts form depending on the background.

The new finder uses strangely capitalized letters on the side and odd color choices (much like iTunes). Again, to my eye, the old Finder looks more aesthetically pleasing (whether it is more functional or not is not what I'm discussing in this post).

Also, am I the only one who thinks the new Apple website is tacky? Strange gradients, cluttered elements, my eyes feel visually assaulted after visiting.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts, for whatever they are worth. Just want to know if anyone else feels similar, and I don't mean to come across as elitist.
Click to expand...

i very much agree with you
 
jwkay said:
The "Path" button in the current Finder does that, doesn't it? It's not there by default, but just use the Customise Toolbar option under Finder->View to add it.
Click to expand...

Farly not as visual and intuitive like the parent folders that show the hierarchy in iTMS.
 
Roba said:
I do think the old Apple.com website was better. At the moment the UK site has not changed and just comparing the two in my opinion the UK site looks better. The new website does not look as professional and it also is to spread out on the page in my opinion. I am only using 1024x768 and the website fills up the whole page.

http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/ukstore

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/
Click to expand...
I feel the complete opposite. I always hated the Apple website and wondered when they'd update the old menu bar. It was really bad. I'm so glad they've updated, and I feel the new site is awesome. Especially all the web 2.0 and AJAX-coded functionality.

iMeowbot said:
We already know from bouncing icons that gravity exists on all edges of OS X screens, so there is no need to fear the the icons will slide off and collect at the bottom.
Click to expand...
Hahaha
 
I've actually strted to come around to the new look.
The transparent menu bar was my biggest problem but I agree with the philosphy that it draws more attention to the active window.

How can you not like the new dock? It makes the old one look so outdated without losing any functionality!
 
A few things really bug me about the new look- one is the 'muddy' blue used in the sidebars, brought in with iTunes 7. If you put you Mail sidebar next to the itunes sidebar, you can see the itunes blue is just dirtier. This appears to be system wide now.

The desktop background, which shouldn't be a big deal, just seems so arbitrary. You would think with the new 'depth in space' they've added to the dock, they would have went with a desktop with a better illusion of depth, like any of their previous desktops.

Transparent menu bar is a big WHY?? And a step back in usability. Unless I can drag apps below the menubar, what is the point of seeing through it?

The dock looks very childish. Very.

At least they didn't put in iTunes' nasty scroll bars.
 
pcguru83 said:
...When I first saw that grass backdrop, I immediately thought of Vista. In fact, after watching the keynote last night, when Steve says, "And here's the new desktop", people in the audience actually laughed. It was very obvious. It was so blatant, I'm fairly certain others thought the same and thought it was a joke.

In all seriousness though, why? Being a recent switcher myself (within the last 2 years or so), one of the things I found so compelling about OS X Tiger was the appropriate use of eye candy. Not only did it have that "WOW" factor, but it was, above all else, functional. The same cannot be said for what we saw yesterday. For example:

Transparent Menu bar - my absolute least favorite thing about the redesign. Are they actually trying to look like Vista, after all this time of making fun of them?

Reflective Dock "Floor" - this is cool at first, kind of a flashy, novel idea. Then it becomes pretty obvious that not only does it not add any function, it could potentially make you less productive. I can imagine that it would be very distracting to see all the time.

It all feels like change for the sake of change. Yeah, many for pleading for a new look and feel to the interface, but this is most certainly NOT what we had in mind. From best I can tell, Apple generally has a knack for these types of things. Looks like they may have dropped the ball this time though.

Bottom line, I think the pictures above sum it up best. Why, in God's dear name, would Apple make any design decision that would even remotely resemble Windows Vista? I mean really--at least use a wallpaper that's not grass!!

<sigh>
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement with most of what you've written. Well said.
 
Looking at the functionality of the dock, I wonder what else has changed. There's no seperator now. Can I intermingle apps, stacks, folders and files? How do I scale the dock on the fly?
 
Has anyone seen the new Spotlight? Digustingly horrble.

finder_spotlight20070611.jpg


Now that I think about it, I think Apple is trying to copy Vista because they want more Vista customers to feel comfortable enough to switch to the Mac.
 
decksnap said:
Looking at the functionality of the dock, I wonder what else has changed. There's no seperator now. Can I intermingle apps, stacks, folders and files? How do I scale the dock on the fly?
Click to expand...

i think its an inivisible seperator, ie just a gap, but it is still there
 
there is one niggle, and thats the transparent menu bar... hopefully, that can be changed... but.... not holding my breath
 
decksnap said:
Looking at the functionality of the dock, I wonder what else has changed. There's no seperator now. Can I intermingle apps, stacks, folders and files? How do I scale the dock on the fly?
Click to expand...

I wondered about the scaling too but what's the problem with the "stage" automatically adjusting?
Unless you mean something else...?
EDIT:
Did someone with the Beta not say already that it could be turned off?

Also, look familiar?
542410633_6ec3d90b6b.jpg

Courtesy of this guy.
 
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