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Snow Leopard UI - Predictions, wishes and mockups

P

pad07

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 29, 2007
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I thought it would be interesting to open up a discussion about the UI in Snow Leopard. We all know of the raft of great, under-the-hood features, but as Apple-lovers we are all (most of us, at least!) a little bit geeky when it comes to the interface!

What I'd like to see in Snow Leopard is basically what we've heard rumoured with the Marble UI - systemwide "flatter" scrollbars, darker chrome and other dark elements.

Here's an appalling mockup of a darker theme:

17805065.png


I'm sure others can do better.

I would like to see more of the iLife 09 interface elements brought to the system. By this I mean the darker floating info/adjustment panels, flat coloured rounded buttons and so on.

Also, it'd be nice to see a little tweak for the icons and such. I'm interested to see where they take the dock, too. I'm hoping it changes a little, perhaps becoming less conspicuous, or more of an iPhone grill effect?

Please give your thoughts and Photoshop gurus please do post some magical mockups! :)
 
I don't think there will be any major UI changes. Just a few minor ones to separate the UI of Leopard from Snow Leopard.

And also, if they did change the UI, do any of you reckon they will change it so it is faster, like the "Classic" theme is in XP or Vista?
 
macuser154 said:
I don't think there will be any major UI changes. Just a few minor ones to separate the UI of Leopard from Snow Leopard.

And also, if they did change the UI, do any of you reckon they will change it so it is faster, like the "Classic" theme is in XP or Vista?
Click to expand...

How does changing the look make it faster?:confused:

Or are we talking about the little actions and animations (like the ridiculous aero memory hog?)
 
NT1440 said:
How does changing the look make it faster?:confused:

Or are we talking about the little actions and animations (like the ridiculous aero memory hog?)
Click to expand...

I don't know to be honest. I just heard that the UI of Windows, especially in Vista, can be sped up dramatically by switching to the Classic theme.

I wouldn't want Apple to get rid of the animations, they are some of the things I love about OS X.
 
macuser154 said:
I don't know to be honest. I just heard that the UI of Windows, especially in Vista, can be sped up dramatically by switching to the Classic theme.

I wouldn't want Apple to get rid of the animations, they are some of the things I love about OS X.
Click to expand...

Thats because of the aero interface, its just extra resources being used layered on top of what they used before. I think in OSX its actually built in instead of just layered on top.

Markleshark said:
Note the words "Colour Theme" :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

So your against a color theme because Vista also has some (hideous) black in it? I think the darker color and darker chrome looks good.
 
The gray of Mac OS is selected to be neutral from any of the document centric activities most people use their macs for. ie: Photoshop, iPhoto, iMovie, etc.

It's supposed to be out of the way.
 
My main wish would be to get rid of the annoying 'switch to another space'-animation in Spaces, at least let us give the option to turn the animation off.
Just move to another space without any delay.

As seen in the Snow Leopard beta, I really hope it will be in the offical Snow Leopard:
let the user choose from the applications in the Dock in which space the app will open.

Some contextual menu items like: (without the need of a 3rd party app)
Send with Mail
Set Image as Desktop Picture

And finally, a restore functionality for deleted items in the trash can.
 
Snow Leopard Wish List

I know there isn't a prayer for any of these, but I will try anyway. I know OS X is "the best operating system on the planet", but in my view it has serious flaws that hinder an otherwise fabulous OS with great and clever features. Fix these things and it trumps Windows period. I am a big Apple and OS X fan, but I'm sorry, it just doesn't beat Windows as soundly as most Apple partisans claim (anymore). I am a long time user of both platforms. Buying my first iMac in a few weeks when a new one comes out, but I am only doing so because I know I can use a Windows virtual machine or Boot Camp when I need to or want to.

Also because I think my wife will demand Windows after trying OS X, she is a long time Windows user and some of the things below will drive her crazy. She just sees the computer as an email, browsing, and word processing tool. We will see.

Here goes...

  • Full Screen View Option in Safari (This is a great feature in Windows)
  • A quit/close application button on all program windows
  • Firewall ON by default and clearer options selection --the current one is confusing-- add an advanced tab like in Tiger
  • Theme selection, add some options other than the default and darkish
  • Replace the button "capsules" for Mail and other apps
  • Detach the fixed menu from top of the screen and attach to application windows
  • Improve Remote Desktop --this pales compared to the Windows equivalent
  • Overhaul Time Machine options --very confusing to deselect, no other backup apps use this approach
 
macuser154 said:
I don't know to be honest. I just heard that the UI of Windows, especially in Vista, can be sped up dramatically by switching to the Classic theme.

I wouldn't want Apple to get rid of the animations, they are some of the things I love about OS X.
Click to expand...

The animations are exactly the things that slow it down. If you want an ultra fast UI you have to sacrifice the eye candy. If you want the eye candy you need to sacrifice speed.
 
kabunaru said:
I can see a UI like the iTunes 7 and 8 (no Aqua at all) for Snow Leopard.
Click to expand...

I would love for something like this to be in SL! Aqua's getting really boringgggg.

Still, I can't see Aqua being taken out of SL. I mean, Aqua's been in Mac OS X since the beginning, so the chance that Apple would take it out is pretty slim.
 
TheAshMan said:
I know there isn't a prayer for any of these, but I will try anyway. I know OS X is "the best operating system on the planet", but in my view it has serious flaws that hinder an otherwise fabulous OS with great and clever features. Fix these things and it trumps Windows period. I am a big Apple and OS X fan, but I'm sorry, it just doesn't beat Windows as soundly as most Apple partisans claim (anymore). I am a long time user of both platforms. Buying my first iMac in a few weeks when a new one comes out, but I am only doing so because I know I can use a Windows virtual machine or Boot Camp when I need to or want to.

Also because I think my wife will demand Windows after trying OS X, she is a long time Windows user and some of the things below will drive her crazy. She just sees the computer as an email, browsing, and word processing tool. We will see.

Here goes...
Click to expand...

I agree with most of your points, except...
  • A quit/close application button on all program windows
Click to expand...

Ain't happening, and I don't want it to happen, either. I hate how Windows quits apps every time I close the window. In OS X, I can keep the app running even with all the windows closed, so that the next time I open it, it's instantaneous. Having 4 buttons on the window, one closing the window, and the other quitting the window, is more confusing, and a bad idea even - what if you have 5 Safari windows, and you want to close one, but click the quit button by mistake.

  • Detach the fixed menu from top of the screen and attach to application windows
Click to expand...

Again, ain't gonna happen, and I don't want this to happen. It'll turn OS X into just another Windows-inspired UI. It's not bad, it's just different. Your wife will just have to get used to it.

All in all, you can't expect OS X to be Windows. If your wife wants OS X to be Windows, then she should use Windows, simple as that.
 
macuser154 said:
I don't know to be honest. I just heard that the UI of Windows, especially in Vista, can be sped up dramatically by switching to the Classic theme.

I wouldn't want Apple to get rid of the animations, they are some of the things I love about OS X.
Click to expand...

You're probably misinformed from someone who was also misinformed (heard from someone who heard from someone is not the most reliable fact). By using the classic theme, you've essentially disabled the 3D GPU-accelerated desktop within Vista. To make matters worst, GDI and GDI+ applications are NOT hardware accelerated in Vista in the classic theme or with Aero. So using the classic theme makes little difference. Any Intel 950 graphics and up will work with Aero with no problem.

Microsoft chose to make the duration of various animations longer than I would like (i.e. minimizing and maximizing windows). This longer duration conveys a perceived slowness. If you disable these animations, then the Aero GUI is as fast or faster than the classic theme. Remember, it's the duration of the animations that make the process perceived as slower. In this case, then it's true that the classic theme is "faster," because it doesn't have these animations. However, you can disable these animations while keeping the Aero interface enabled. You get the exact same snappiness and 3D acceleration (so that your CPU has better things to do).

Windows 7 will bring back some hardware acceleration for GDI and GDI+ applications for drawing their GUI, with an updated graphics model WDDM 1.1. From a technical standpoint, there's little reason to use classic theme. Aesthetically, it's up to the users.

NT1440 said:
Thats because of the aero interface, its just extra resources being used layered on top of what they used before. I think in OSX its actually built in instead of just layered on top.

So your against a color theme because Vista also has some (hideous) black in it? I think the darker color and darker chrome looks good.
Click to expand...

Again, I believe this is incorrect. The entire Aero desktop composition engine was designed from scratch, which includes the new video driver model WDDM 1.0 for Vista. This newer video model allows graphics drivers to run in the user space. Any graphic crashes at this level results in a simple, "Display has stopped responding and has recovered." Windows prior to Vista would have caused a BSOD. So, to imply that Aero is layered on top of Classic theme is very misleading. Microsoft provides an alternative classic theme in addition to the new Aero theme.

Good readings from ATI graphics drivers and WDDM with Vista
 
Cromulent said:
The animations are exactly the things that slow it down. If you want an ultra fast UI you have to sacrifice the eye candy. If you want the eye candy you need to sacrifice speed.
Click to expand...

I thought it wasnt nearly as taxing as the ones in Windows???
 
Tallest Skil said:
Heck, yes! Illuminous all the way. :cool: I've already changed my Leopard scroll bars to match Illuminous. I like it far better than the Aqua look.
Click to expand...
I've done the same :)

Now, if the buttons could be made 'flat' - so they don't pulse that jelly aqua blue.

And maybe even matte traffic lights (close, minimise, enlarge).
 
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