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Aqua To See Leopard Refresh?
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im not necessarily a hater of aqua but i do like a more clean, flat look. heck, as long as it is unified accross the board, i'll be happy.
~kyle
~kyle
I effing love you. Mr HA HA guy always makes my day!
But really, Im nothing but excite about this new UI. Black glossy sounds awesome, and I've always actually liked the new Vista "Aero" look. I can't wait!
In any case, I think I can speak for all of us when I say "thank God I can't wait to be out of bubbleland aka Aqua".
I guarantee that a black-intensive UI would drastically diminish productivity for psychological reasons above all.
Apple is not Toshiba or IBM. Let Steve Ballmer's personal computer be black!
Cheer up, guys! It's all this fuss about black anyway? Feeling down lately?
Apple is not Toshiba or IBM. Let Steve Ballmer's personal computer be black!
Cheer up, guys! It's all this fuss about black anyway? Feeling down lately?
I think the black gloss simply refers to the revised Spaces UI (initially purple) and the image-preview popup thing in Finder--both NEW additions, not old things changing to black gloss. And not everyday UI windows. There are are already black elements in OS X, like parts of iPhoto, so continuing to use black in certain cases is not a huge change. My guess: the black rumor has been blown out of proportion.
But I DO think SOME overall UI changes are likely--that would explain the following conflict:
* Apple has been telling developers for many months to make their apps res-independent--a feature that has been in Tiger since the beginning, but disabled unless you manually activate it via the developer tools (Quartz Debug). Res independence in OS X's future is no secret and never has been--it just didn't get much attention for a long while. (And it's no Vista-killer anyway: Vista has it too, more or less.)
* And yet... the latest versions of iTunes (a sign of skins to come?) and Leopard are still packed with bitmaps that are too small to scale well. As though Apple is ignoring its own public plans. Why? Maybe it's not worth making the OLD look scalable, when a new look is coming! (I know there are a few signs of res-independence in Leopard builds--and in Tiger too--but still mostly low-res bitmaps.)
I don't so much care if the look changes a bit, just so long as we gain a little more consistency. ONE kind of aqua-white (unify all toolbars, with ONE style of button), and ONE kind of metal (non-textured like iTunes is fine by me--I can used to the matte scrollbars as long as they're consistent).
And I expect we WILL get that consistency: why prepare a zillion slightly different themes for res-independence? That's a LOT of work. Better to prepare two or three. And it's very like Apple to use a change in appearance as part of its marketing plans, and thus keep it secret.
This could also explain why I've never heard of any developer actually responding to Apple's long-ago call to res-independence: maybe devs have gotten a sense from Apple that the UI for Leopard is still not finalized enough to be worth comitting time to?
Here's Apple's page on res-independence, publically available--and copyrighted 2004:
http://developer.apple.com/releasenotes/GraphicsImaging/ResolutionIndependentUI.html
(To date I have noticed just a FEW res-independent things in Tiger: like the More Info button in Finder's column view. I expected the new iTunes would have res-independence, but I activated that in Tiger and there is none--not even fonts. Yet!)
But I DO think SOME overall UI changes are likely--that would explain the following conflict:
* Apple has been telling developers for many months to make their apps res-independent--a feature that has been in Tiger since the beginning, but disabled unless you manually activate it via the developer tools (Quartz Debug). Res independence in OS X's future is no secret and never has been--it just didn't get much attention for a long while. (And it's no Vista-killer anyway: Vista has it too, more or less.)
* And yet... the latest versions of iTunes (a sign of skins to come?) and Leopard are still packed with bitmaps that are too small to scale well. As though Apple is ignoring its own public plans. Why? Maybe it's not worth making the OLD look scalable, when a new look is coming! (I know there are a few signs of res-independence in Leopard builds--and in Tiger too--but still mostly low-res bitmaps.)
I don't so much care if the look changes a bit, just so long as we gain a little more consistency. ONE kind of aqua-white (unify all toolbars, with ONE style of button), and ONE kind of metal (non-textured like iTunes is fine by me--I can used to the matte scrollbars as long as they're consistent).
And I expect we WILL get that consistency: why prepare a zillion slightly different themes for res-independence? That's a LOT of work. Better to prepare two or three. And it's very like Apple to use a change in appearance as part of its marketing plans, and thus keep it secret.
This could also explain why I've never heard of any developer actually responding to Apple's long-ago call to res-independence: maybe devs have gotten a sense from Apple that the UI for Leopard is still not finalized enough to be worth comitting time to?
Here's Apple's page on res-independence, publically available--and copyrighted 2004:
http://developer.apple.com/releasenotes/GraphicsImaging/ResolutionIndependentUI.html
(To date I have noticed just a FEW res-independent things in Tiger: like the More Info button in Finder's column view. I expected the new iTunes would have res-independence, but I activated that in Tiger and there is none--not even fonts. Yet!)
hmm, would make sense as a secret feature. It would be stupid to leave out a highly technical feature from developer builds and have a much worse final product, but a look doesn't have any risk of bugs. Also, makes sense with the timing of vista- vista finally catches up (surpasses) OS X in appearances (begin flaming me now), and so apple goes for secret, released at same time as vista, move to more flashy.
Annoying thing is, I think apple is copying vista b/c they're afraid of looking behind, or worse, going too far and being glossy and unusable, to look a step ahead. (this is exactly what microsoft does, and why stuff looks so crappy- because they're looking at the competition, not their own product). Simple, clean, subtly appealing or even boldy appealing, but only bold due to stark simplicity- these are what looks and works best in the long run. I hope that is where apple is going. Glossy black is only good in limited settings.
Annoying thing is, I think apple is copying vista b/c they're afraid of looking behind, or worse, going too far and being glossy and unusable, to look a step ahead. (this is exactly what microsoft does, and why stuff looks so crappy- because they're looking at the competition, not their own product). Simple, clean, subtly appealing or even boldy appealing, but only bold due to stark simplicity- these are what looks and works best in the long run. I hope that is where apple is going. Glossy black is only good in limited settings.
I would hate to see "Aqua" go. 
If they do change the UI theme, at least make it a choice for the user. Black glossy could be nice, but I don't want anything too close to Vista's look.
Only time will tell.
If they do change the UI theme, at least make it a choice for the user. Black glossy could be nice, but I don't want anything too close to Vista's look.Only time will tell.
Everything is coming full circle. Black and White is now en-vogue...maybe we should want a CRT with the green type like the old mainframe days...oops
Are you saying this because you have used the new Leopard seed?
Do you mean something like the image that spicyapple posted?
Apple Gazette accuracy
... I wouldn't bank on anything the Apple Gazette says is accurate ... while they did an interesting piece recently on Apple Prototypes ... almost none of the devices they had in the story were actual Apple prototypes ... it was obvious they didn't do any homework for the story.
Here is the story in question (where almost zero of the facts were correct):
http://www.applegazette.com/mac/httpwwwapplegazettecomwp-adminpostphpactioneditpost272/
... I wouldn't bank on anything the Apple Gazette says is accurate ... while they did an interesting piece recently on Apple Prototypes ... almost none of the devices they had in the story were actual Apple prototypes ... it was obvious they didn't do any homework for the story.
Here is the story in question (where almost zero of the facts were correct):
http://www.applegazette.com/mac/httpwwwapplegazettecomwp-adminpostphpactioneditpost272/
The Modern GUI
I don't think comparing OS X to Vista really has any relevance. Vista's Areo is not all that great. Areo is Microsoft's attempt to be innovative, but it just doesn't work. I think the glass effect could be really cool, but Vista aint it.
OS X has some interesting GUI themes, and Aqua is only one of them. FrontRow has it's own interface, Quicktime has another, iPhoto's full screen mode is yet another. Notice in each of these different themes, the glass translucency is much nicer than Microsoft's Areo; so, Apple is already using it, just not in a standard way. I don't expect that to change either.
What interests me is how extensible OS X seems to be. FrontRow, Leopard's Spaces & Time Machine, Quicktime, iPhoto, Dashboard, ect. All these are new GUI elements that have been added based on a particular application's need. They add new "layers" to the OSs GUI. I expect to see more of this innovative approach in the future. Rather than having one basic interface (Vis-à-vis Windows) for all applications, Apple has been innovating on a per applicaiton basis.
That leaves the Finder and other standard applications. I could invinsion a new type of GUI for Spotlight and the Finder, other applications might also change and have their own unique interface. I guess the basic idea I'm trying to convey, is that the modern operating system interface seems to be changing and Apple is paving the way. As far as Leopard is concerned, I think iTunes 7 is the most likely canidate for accross the board changes to Aqua. I would expect Apple to do away with the metal and striped themes and use a more unified approach. But in the future, don't be surprised if each application has it's own unique interface depending on it's requirements.
New underlying technolgies like Core Image and Core Animation will move this forward in exciting new ways. In fact, don't be surprised to see more Core Animation in the new Leopard interface; Time Machine was just to whet your appetite.
I don't think comparing OS X to Vista really has any relevance. Vista's Areo is not all that great. Areo is Microsoft's attempt to be innovative, but it just doesn't work. I think the glass effect could be really cool, but Vista aint it.
OS X has some interesting GUI themes, and Aqua is only one of them. FrontRow has it's own interface, Quicktime has another, iPhoto's full screen mode is yet another. Notice in each of these different themes, the glass translucency is much nicer than Microsoft's Areo; so, Apple is already using it, just not in a standard way. I don't expect that to change either.
What interests me is how extensible OS X seems to be. FrontRow, Leopard's Spaces & Time Machine, Quicktime, iPhoto, Dashboard, ect. All these are new GUI elements that have been added based on a particular application's need. They add new "layers" to the OSs GUI. I expect to see more of this innovative approach in the future. Rather than having one basic interface (Vis-à-vis Windows) for all applications, Apple has been innovating on a per applicaiton basis.
That leaves the Finder and other standard applications. I could invinsion a new type of GUI for Spotlight and the Finder, other applications might also change and have their own unique interface. I guess the basic idea I'm trying to convey, is that the modern operating system interface seems to be changing and Apple is paving the way. As far as Leopard is concerned, I think iTunes 7 is the most likely canidate for accross the board changes to Aqua. I would expect Apple to do away with the metal and striped themes and use a more unified approach. But in the future, don't be surprised if each application has it's own unique interface depending on it's requirements.
New underlying technolgies like Core Image and Core Animation will move this forward in exciting new ways. In fact, don't be surprised to see more Core Animation in the new Leopard interface; Time Machine was just to whet your appetite.
I'm a big fan of aqua, but I think this would be really cool. However, I don't think this was what Jobs was referring to when he said top secret features. That's not really a feature, is it?
you're right about front row, but I disagree about Quicktime. QT needs a GUI update
Just to clarify: I am talking about the full screen mode. Notice how the translucency effect is used to enhance the interface. I assume you are talking about the metal theme when quicktime is not in full screen mode. I agree with you there.
I must be sooo square...
I don't mind the idea of a new UI, but, honestly -- must we pick a name that isn't a word?
"Luminous"? Fine.
"Illuminate"? OK.
but
"Illuminous" is like "irregardless" -- not a word!
I may be a wet blanket, but this would get under my skin the same way that "Think Different" did.
Poor english != hip.
That said, I'd love a general extension of the dark/translucent look of the dashboards to the whole package.
I don't mind the idea of a new UI, but, honestly -- must we pick a name that isn't a word?
"Luminous"? Fine.
"Illuminate"? OK.
but
"Illuminous" is like "irregardless" -- not a word!
I may be a wet blanket, but this would get under my skin the same way that "Think Different" did.
Poor english != hip.
That said, I'd love a general extension of the dark/translucent look of the dashboards to the whole package.
Apple - Alt - Ctrl - 8 = New UI
you just made me scare the sh*t out of myself!
rotflmao!