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Aqua To See Leopard Refresh?
- Thread starter Diatribe
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I used to think the same thing - "Think Different" is such poor english. It should obviously be "Think Differently." However, someone once brought something to my attention that I never thought before.
Imagine a designer coming in to your home to give you an idea how your place should be. The designer holds his hands out, "framing" your wall and says, "Think Red." He's not telling you to think redly - not HOW to think, but what to think. "Think (of the wall being) Red."
That said, the Apple slogan might have meant "Think Different", as in you should think of something different... something other than the PC.
Yes, a lot of thought put into something that may have been poor English, but it does work when you look at it from that angle (and English is very good at giving things different meanins based on how you meant it).
Misspelled, made-up, and "wacky" names have the advantages of being easier to trademark, standing out in searches, and distinguishing the product from the word itself. They have the disadvantages of sometimes being hard to remember and spell, and of ticking off grammar Nazis. Advantages win
"Think different" is not wrong. It's just not saying what you think it's saying. It doesn't mean "think differently," but "Think of things that are different." Like "Think politics" or "Think spicy." It's a contraction, and possibly a confusing one, but catchphrases are built on precisely that. "Think differently" would have been very clumsy. I'm guessing you don't correct people when they say "so long", "long time no see", or "damn good."
Grammar Nazi out
I just hope that iTunes 7 is not a preview of what to expect in this rumored UI, as I think it is extremely ugly, and very "un" apple in terms of UI aestetics. Well I guess I will have to hold my breath and see what happens...
I seriously doubt Apple would make huge changes like White on Black menus and the like without a way to toggle it on and off. I think a little more customization would be cool, though. Not like the Windows 98 Desktop themes though.....*shudders.
Heres to getting a UI overhaul. Woo!
Heres to getting a UI overhaul. Woo!
True... I totally agree. I've been waiting for a different look for some time now from Apple and thought I'd have to wait for OS 11 to get one but it seems that MS has forced their hand. Considering how AQUA Vista has turned out to be with the glassy look, etc., it's obvious that Apple wants to separate itself from that look now and go with something darker, sleeker and hopefully, a lot cooler
"You just made me scare the sh*t out of myself!"
ME TOO... YOU COULD AT LEAST WARN A GUY....SHEEESHHH...
ME TOO... YOU COULD AT LEAST WARN A GUY....SHEEESHHH...
agreed!! I love the pro app themes such as final cut pro/express, logic pro/express, aperture, as well as the rest...so much easier on the eyes than the regular big aqua...
Doesn't a UI change seem like a rather large change to keep from developers?
I guess there could be enough time from January to whenever Leopard is released for developers to "catch up" and test the new UI but it seems questionable.
I mean ideally there should be no change necessary, but I can see some things breaking.
Also the current metaphors being used (Dashboard, Front Row, iPhoto slideshow, Time Machine) seem to take place outside of the window manager. I'm not sure how to explain what I mean exactly, but that look is good precisely because it doesn't fit in with the UI.
Front Row, for example, is designed for you to use away from your computer. Therefore, it would be impractical to use the same UI as the rest of the OS.
Similarly, Dashboard widgets aren't supposed to be apps -- they're "mini apps." (See Dashboard UI guidelines. It is explicitly stated that widgets are not supposed to look "Aqua.")
Time Machine is a harder case to make, but it seems "outside" the OS in the sense that it "transcends" time. I mean, using the metaphor they are, your current files are in folders on your hard drive. So where are the old versions? "Back in time." There's no place for them in the UI as-is. (They could have made a complex "folder" system, organized by date somehow, but somehow I think that would be less intuitive.)
iTunes' "Coverflow" UI is the same (though again this may be a bit of stretch). You are supposed to be manipulating physical albums -- there's no metaphor for this in Aqua UI guidelines. It's a new way of interacting, so it needs a new UI.
So what I'm getting at is these "glossy black" UIs are currently used for non-standard UI. (As far as I'm aware. There could be other apps I don't know about that use, especially pro apps.) I like that idea. It's still consistent. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to introduce glossy black into the overall UI, because you would lose the difference between the two UIs.
Still, I look forward to seeing what Apple comes up with.
I guess there could be enough time from January to whenever Leopard is released for developers to "catch up" and test the new UI but it seems questionable.
I mean ideally there should be no change necessary, but I can see some things breaking.
Also the current metaphors being used (Dashboard, Front Row, iPhoto slideshow, Time Machine) seem to take place outside of the window manager. I'm not sure how to explain what I mean exactly, but that look is good precisely because it doesn't fit in with the UI.
Front Row, for example, is designed for you to use away from your computer. Therefore, it would be impractical to use the same UI as the rest of the OS.
Similarly, Dashboard widgets aren't supposed to be apps -- they're "mini apps." (See Dashboard UI guidelines. It is explicitly stated that widgets are not supposed to look "Aqua.")
Time Machine is a harder case to make, but it seems "outside" the OS in the sense that it "transcends" time. I mean, using the metaphor they are, your current files are in folders on your hard drive. So where are the old versions? "Back in time." There's no place for them in the UI as-is. (They could have made a complex "folder" system, organized by date somehow, but somehow I think that would be less intuitive.)
iTunes' "Coverflow" UI is the same (though again this may be a bit of stretch). You are supposed to be manipulating physical albums -- there's no metaphor for this in Aqua UI guidelines. It's a new way of interacting, so it needs a new UI.
So what I'm getting at is these "glossy black" UIs are currently used for non-standard UI. (As far as I'm aware. There could be other apps I don't know about that use, especially pro apps.) I like that idea. It's still consistent. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to introduce glossy black into the overall UI, because you would lose the difference between the two UIs.
Still, I look forward to seeing what Apple comes up with.
I agree. I've been using Apple+option+control+8 over the last year. I've found that sometimes my eyes get strained looking at the computer screen for 8+ hours at work, and the background white seems annoyingly intense. Just hitting that key combo immediately brings some relief to my strained eyes toward the end of my shift. It's fun to do it in front of other Mac users at work to see their reaction.
BTW, I don't advise trying it with games. I managed to invoke a kernal panic trying to launch Quake 3 with the screen inverted.
Please continue Shapeshifter...
As much as I think the Apple UI is better than nearly anything out there... I can't stand to stay in aqua for more than a couple of months. It is just too, too...
Shapeshifter helps alleviate that, and now that it is fully on Intel, I again love my mac. I wish that out of the millions that there were more than a handful that had the talent and time to take on the chrome of OSX and that there would be more choices for me. But there are enough to keep me from killing my computer.
As much as I think the Apple UI is better than nearly anything out there... I can't stand to stay in aqua for more than a couple of months. It is just too, too...
Shapeshifter helps alleviate that, and now that it is fully on Intel, I again love my mac. I wish that out of the millions that there were more than a handful that had the talent and time to take on the chrome of OSX and that there would be more choices for me. But there are enough to keep me from killing my computer.
A new UI would be welcome. OS X's UI is, IMHO, getting a tad on the stale side. And black is the new white so why not.
Another Cool GUI Goodie!
Here's another spiffy thing to do:
1. Hold down control
2. Scroll up and down with your mouse (or trackpad).
If you ever wanted to watch a video fullscreen off a website or in QuickTime (without the pro version), here's a quick, easy and free way to do it! (I think this requires 10.4.8, though.
Here's another spiffy thing to do:
1. Hold down control
2. Scroll up and down with your mouse (or trackpad).
If you ever wanted to watch a video fullscreen off a website or in QuickTime (without the pro version), here's a quick, easy and free way to do it! (I think this requires 10.4.8, though.
Black Gloss and an option
I've been sure that a new UI look was in the offing. Leopard builds have done zero to the Finder, zero to the interface. That's because, IMO, they are going to drop in a new Finder and new interface.
Gloss black does seem like a likely candidate. Look at Front Row, iTunes, Leopard pages on the Apple site, and so on. And I'm guessing they want to unify the interface they use for the Pro stuff such as Final Cut. Darker, glossier.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the Appearance was changeable. Look at the Appearance popup in System Preferences, you've got Blue and Graphite in there. I can see it having Black (Glossy) White (Blue/Aqua) and Gray (flat like Pro apps). So people can stick with Aqua if they hate black, go to Black if they like it, and have Gray if they want the UI in the background for people who work with color etc. -Mike from www.myallo.com
I've been sure that a new UI look was in the offing. Leopard builds have done zero to the Finder, zero to the interface. That's because, IMO, they are going to drop in a new Finder and new interface.
Gloss black does seem like a likely candidate. Look at Front Row, iTunes, Leopard pages on the Apple site, and so on. And I'm guessing they want to unify the interface they use for the Pro stuff such as Final Cut. Darker, glossier.
But I wouldn't be surprised if the Appearance was changeable. Look at the Appearance popup in System Preferences, you've got Blue and Graphite in there. I can see it having Black (Glossy) White (Blue/Aqua) and Gray (flat like Pro apps). So people can stick with Aqua if they hate black, go to Black if they like it, and have Gray if they want the UI in the background for people who work with color etc. -Mike from www.myallo.com
love that little thing. it's things like that and apple alt control 8 that make osx so great. (although, in all fairness, pc does have shift alt printscreen.)
Shift+Alt+Printscreen? What does that do? I remember printscreen and alt+printscreen, but not with shift thrown in.
Not buying it...
I don't buy an ounce of this rumor. Sure, Apple is going to be adding some cool new features to Leopard's Aqua implementation, but I just don't see them scrapping the whole thing for a dot release of the OS. My guess, some moron saw Vista running fullscreen on someone's MacBook and thought it was the Mac OS.
Doesn't make sense to replace the UI in a dot release of the OS. Come on folks, something that major will be for Mac OS XI (11, or whatever it ends up as). Of course, there was speculation that Leopard may become OS XI, but the jury was still out the last I knew.
Or, I may be wrong and Apple will change their UI the same time that Microsoft does, but that seems a bit odd.
I don't buy an ounce of this rumor. Sure, Apple is going to be adding some cool new features to Leopard's Aqua implementation, but I just don't see them scrapping the whole thing for a dot release of the OS. My guess, some moron saw Vista running fullscreen on someone's MacBook and thought it was the Mac OS.
Doesn't make sense to replace the UI in a dot release of the OS. Come on folks, something that major will be for Mac OS XI (11, or whatever it ends up as). Of course, there was speculation that Leopard may become OS XI, but the jury was still out the last I knew.
Or, I may be wrong and Apple will change their UI the same time that Microsoft does, but that seems a bit odd.
I think Apple could do it tastefully, they just have to have moderation, not all black, nor all aqua, nor all white or brushed or whatever.
I think some things look good how they are now (aqua or graphite scrollbars and menu, iTunes sidebar, grey transparency as implemented in iPhoto, iTunes)...some things, not too hot (brushed interfaces, iTunes flat scroll bars).
There is no reason they can't combine this all together in some great looking package, they just need to make it consistent across their apps (or at least have a reasoned and consistent method for inconsistences (i.e. Mail, iCal, Address Book look slightly different from iLife apps, look slightly different from Finder due to functional reasons for differences, not some haphazard mixture).