Apple is completely inconsistent.

[bikemonkey]

I'm looking forward to Snow Leopard, although I doubt I'll buy until a couple of point releases later. Still, it should be good. I understand a little of what updates and performances increases they'll be bringing, but I hope, I really hope, they fix the inconsistencies in their UI.

I remember borrowing a book from the library that was about human-computer interaction and it was written by someone from, or on behalf of, Apple. It was about 2 inches thick and full of very interesting and clever stuff regarding interface guidelines.

On that note, why:

a) Does the red button _quit_ iPhoto, Software Update and Activity Monitor? Nearly all other applications require you to quit the app via the menu bar (as it should be).

b) Have they got rid of the title bar and such for Quicktime X? Makes no sense and doesn't look slick or consistent with the rest of the OS and apps.

c) Do Waveburner and Soundtrack Pro have mini titlebars that are not in keeping with the system defaults. Also, Logic seems fixed on disregarding the 'Blue' appearance I have set in System Preferences.

For a company which does, in other aspects, show meticulous attention to detail, has high quality control and promotes its focus on user interaction, I have remained dumbfounded by these, quite frankly, idiotic decisions. I hope they are addressed soon.

 

[ravenvii]

a) Does the red button _quit_ iPhoto, Software Update and Activity Monitor? Nearly all other applications require you to quit the app via the menu bar (as it should be).

Because those applications only have, and only allow, one window. While that's logical, I agree with you that it would be consistent to keep the application running even with the window closed - see iTunes.

b) Have they got rid of the title bar and such for Quicktime X? Makes no sense and doesn't look slick or consistent with the rest of the OS and apps.

Seems they're morphing QuickTime from a media player app into a "QuickLook on steroids for media", and giving the media player duties to iTunes (that's how it seems to me, anyway.) I think the new interface for QuickTime is designed to try to distinguish it from a normal application and an application that's on a different abstract layer of sorts - like QuickLook and Get Info and About My Mac and etc. That's just my theory, though.

c) Do Waveburner and Soundtrack Pro have mini titlebars that are not in keeping with the system defaults. Also, Logic seems fixed on disregarding the 'Blue' appearance I have set in System Preferences.

All pro apps has a strange UI for a while. Final Cut, Soundtrack Pro, etc. I agree that they're inconsistent and some even look dated+ugly. I guess Apple wants them to look "professional" or something. I wouldn't know.

Also, some of those hasn't been substantially updated in more than 2 years now. Apple only has started seriously unifying their UI with Leopard - Tiger and Panther were a mess. The latest version of the pro apps were from the Tiger days.