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Transparent menu bar removed at last minute!?

I think it has to do with Core Animation requirements. I bet it's only for people with 64MB of VRAM and higher because my brother's PowerBook G4 1GHz doesn't have transparency and he has 32MB of VRAM.
 
Richard Flynn said:
I’ve noticed that when launching Aperture the menu-bar goes from translucent to opaque. That is definitely a Very Good Thing because a translucent menu-bar allowing a colourful desktop picture to peek through would be bad for colour-precise work such as people would generally be doing in Aperture. Since this application (I’ve only run Aperture 1.5.6 on Leopard) evidently forces the system to alter the menu-bar, it definitely adds weight to the argument that there’s just some hidden switch to flip between translucent and opaque.

I personally go back and forth on the aesthetic of the translucent menu-bar. I really quite like the new lighter silver of the opaque bar, so would quite like to stick to that.
Click to expand...

well if that is the truth then there should be a terminal command to change it right?
 
TheSpaz said:
I think it has to do with Core Animation requirements. I bet it's only for people with 64MB of VRAM and higher because my brother's PowerBook G4 1GHz doesn't have transparency and he has 32MB of VRAM.
Click to expand...

No, you are mistaken. I have 64MB of VRAM on my iMac G5 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM. All other effects and graphical transitions work fine and fluidly, yet I still DO NOT get the transparent menu bar. :confused:

oceanmonster said:
well if that is the truth then there should be a terminal command to change it right?
Click to expand...

Maybe, maybe not. No one seems to know how to enable it yet, and I've looked everywhere. I really want this feature...
 
ivnj said:
I kinda fixed mine. I also like the contrast better but can live with it transparent.

But to fix mine I added a new background. System Preferences under Desktop & Screen Saver. I made this my new desktop.
.......
The black area makes it less transparent. And the other are doesn't stay solid but with dark colors it' less noticeable.
Click to expand...

But that's NOT the main issue in this thread. Some people are stuck with the flat grey opaque menu bar, regardless of desktop background and want it vice-versa. There is no apparent way to fix this yet...
 
*thoroughly Flips Out*

flopticalcube said:
QFT! LOL! :D (I have it.)
Click to expand...
BUT I WANT IT! BAD. :mad: I have followed the development of the transparent menu bar and have seen MILLIONS of screenshots. It doesn't turn me off one bit off!!

How many times do I have to repeat myself?

It's not atrocious! It's all depends on...
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
(AND) THE BACKGROUND USED!!
music_icon.gif


music_icon.gif
GRAGH! I'D *ALMOST* KILL FOR IT!
music_icon.gif


Aaaapple... :)apple:) please listen... (to my song of desperation.)
music_icon.gif
please MAKE HASTE and enable the transparent menu bar for the multitude stuck on PPC machines, and I, MacRumors member Wayfarer, and many others will most certainly be happy campers. :)
images
:)
 

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Richard Flynn said:
I’ve noticed that when launching Aperture the menu-bar goes from translucent to opaque. That is definitely a Very Good Thing because a translucent menu-bar allowing a colourful desktop picture to peek through would be bad for colour-precise work such as people would generally be doing in Aperture. Since this application (I’ve only run Aperture 1.5.6 on Leopard) evidently forces the system to alter the menu-bar, it definitely adds weight to the argument that there’s just some hidden switch to flip between translucent and opaque.

I personally go back and forth on the aesthetic of the translucent menu-bar. I really quite like the new lighter silver of the opaque bar, so would quite like to stick to that.
Click to expand...

That's a very good find. Hopefully, Final Cut Express and Photoshop will take the hint.

edit: I just left Aperture feedback on this. They need to continue to pay attention to this for Pro apps, if nothing else.
 
Wayfarer said:
BUT I WANT IT! BAD. :mad: I have followed the development of the transparent menu bar and have seen MILLIONS of screenshots. It doesn't turn me off one bit off!!

How many times do I have to repeat myself?

It's not atrocious! It's all depends on...
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
(AND) THE BACKGROUND USED!!
music_icon.gif


music_icon.gif
GRAGH! I'D *ALMOST* KILL FOR IT!
music_icon.gif


Aaaapple... :)apple:) please listen... (to my song of desperation.)
music_icon.gif
please MAKE HASTE and enable the transparent menu bar for the multitude stuck on PPC machines, and I, MacRumors member Wayfarer, and many others will most certainly be happy campers. :)
images
:)
Click to expand...


Beautifully architected post there! +1 to you. We may see a default on this soon.
 
Soundtrack and LiveType also disable transparency

Hopefully, it was a deliberate design decision - not just something that slipped through.
 
This is ridiculous. They should fix this now, or is it a cheap fix to get people onto Intel? There is no documentation about this Apple, which is another cause for confusion for users.
 
Wayfarer said:
BUT I WANT IT! BAD. :mad: I have followed the development of the transparent menu bar and have seen MILLIONS of screenshots. It doesn't turn me off one bit off!!

How many times do I have to repeat myself?

It's not atrocious! It's all depends on...
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
PERSONAL TASTE
music_icon.gif
(AND) THE BACKGROUND USED!!
music_icon.gif


music_icon.gif
GRAGH! I'D *ALMOST* KILL FOR IT!
music_icon.gif


Aaaapple... :)apple:) please listen... (to my song of desperation.)
music_icon.gif
please MAKE HASTE and enable the transparent menu bar for the multitude stuck on PPC machines, and I, MacRumors member Wayfarer, and many others will most certainly be happy campers. :)
images
:)
Click to expand...

I for one don't have the translucent menubar and I would quite like to try it out however until I use it I really can't formulate any personal opinions regarding it. I have to agree with you that we should be given the option to choose as it is a matter of personal taste but I also have to agree with mrxak to a certain extent as he has had the benefit of trying it and found it to be atrocious.

Maybe if you had the option now you would find it atrocious too and you only want it because you can't have it?
 
ojwk said:
Maybe if you had the option now you would find it atrocious too and you only want it because you can't have it?
Click to expand...

Nahh... I think I make myself quite clear with that song of desperation. ;)
That new menu bar and I were MEANT TO BE. From the day it was announced at WWDC, I always followed up on it, and was looking forward to it in the release. I have actually used it. My friend has it on his MBP and I'm very fiesty and jealous...

Anyway, These screenshots were found in another thread. Can anyone make anything out them?
 

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Wayfarer said:
Nahh... I think I make myself quite clear with that song of desperation. ;)
That new menu bar and I were MEANT TO BE. From the day it was announced at WWDC, I always followed up on it, and was looking forward to it in the release. I have actually used it. My friend has it on his MBP and I'm very fiesty and jealous...
Click to expand...

Touché ;)
 
After reading the entire thread, I've come to a conclusion that the menu bar requires a GPU that supports Core Image.

I was a little bit wrong with it, because as the thread progressed, I noticed that guys with 12" PowerBooks, 1G G5s and 1G iMac G5s dont get the transparency either. Guess what? They all have a GeForce FX5200 card.

All 12" PBs (except the 1G) had this card, 1 generation iMac G5s and PowerMac G5s had this card, so I think it all fits my theory that the menu bar transparency doesnt work on video cards that dont support Core Image and on GeForce FX5200 cards.
 
eXan said:
After reading the entire thread, I've come to a conclusion that the menu bar requires a GPU that supports Core Image.

I was a little bit wrong with it, because as the thread progressed, I noticed that guys with 12" PowerBooks, 1G G5s and 1G iMac G5s dont get the transparency either. Guess what? They all have a GeForce FX5200 card.

All 12" PBs (except the 1G) had this card, 1 generation iMac G5s and PowerMac G5s had this card, so I think it all fits my theory that the menu bar transparency doesnt work on video cards that dont support Core Image and on GeForce FX5200 cards.
Click to expand...

Well, I have a Powerbook 12" 1.33 and a GeForce FX Go5200 card (64 MB of VRAM)... according to my System Profiler, I have Core Image support listed as "Hardware Accelerated"... and Quartz Extreme Support as "Supported"... sounds to me like I have what I need....

- Eric
 
Lazernet said:
Well, I have a Powerbook 12" 1.33 and a GeForce FX Go5200 card (64 MB of VRAM)... according to my System Profiler, I have Core Image support listed as "Hardware Accelerated"... and Quartz Extreme Support as "Supported"... sounds to me like I have what I need....

- Eric
Click to expand...

Did you read my post? Quoting myself:

eXan said:
menu bar transparency doesnt work on video cards that dont support Core Image AND on GeForce FX5200 cards
Click to expand...
 
I think you discovered the problem! Still awaiting solution though...

Brilliant deduction, eXan!

I have "GeForce FX 5200" on my 1.8GHz iMac G5. Assuming my graphic card is the problem, then Apple should definitely roll out a fix for this. Hopefully very VERY soon... :eek:
 
I think that you need a GPU that supports CORE ANIMATION... not Core Image. My PowerBook G4 supports Core Image and I don't have a transparent menu bar on that. I bet it's Core Animation.
 
I THINK I FIGURED IT OUT! Core Animation relies on more than one core. I think need a multi-core processor or more than one processor. This is why some people have it and some do not. This G5 at work has only 1 processor, so it would not be able to use Core Animation as well. Here's where I got the info:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/coreanimation.html

"Core Animation performance benefits from multiple cores in the latest Intel-based Mac computers. When developers use Core Animation in an application, the framework can take advantage of processor threads. On a multicore Mac, that means the application runs on one core, and Core Animation graphics tasks run on the other."
 
TheSpaz said:
I THINK I FIGURED IT OUT! Core Animation relies on more than one core. I think need a multi-core processor or more than one processor. This is why some people have it and some do not. This G5 at work has only 1 processor, so it would not be able to use Core Animation as well.
Click to expand...
You are mistaken. Some people have the transparent menu-bar on single-core PowerPC processors...

yg17 said:
Yes it is. My 15" PowerBook (1.67GHz G4) does the transparent menu bar. It depends on the video card, not processor
Click to expand...

It doesn't make sense that Apple would drop Core Animation support for all non-multi core processors. And on the website it says that Core Animation "benefits" from multiple cores. It's not a requirement.

And like I said, all other Leopard's graphic effects, animations, screensavers, iTunes visualizers and transitions work fast and fluidly on my iMac G5. My computer is definitely supported by Core Animation.

Man, there is so much confusion here. :confused:
 
iTeen said:
let me remind you just how lucky you guys are for having Leopard...
Click to expand...

You can get by with using Tiger for a bit longer, at least until new software developers no longer support it. Plus by that time all the kinks will be worked out of Leopard ;)

Wayfarer said:
...Aaaapple... :)apple:) please listen... (to my song of desperation.)
music_icon.gif
please MAKE HASTE and enable the transparent menu bar for the multitude stuck on PPC machines, and I, MacRumors member Wayfarer, and many others will most certainly be happy campers. :) ...
Click to expand...

Hahaha, "Aaaapple..." Sounds like you've got a little Eric Cartman in you :D
 
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