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When will apple free us from this AWFUL cursor?!

BENI

BENI

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 27, 2009
102
1
It has haunted me like a something poking me in the back of the head. The more I use a mac the more I love OS X. BUT!!!....
I cannot for the life of me comprehend their reasoning behind this cursor?

I really don't like it espesially the little spinning wheel thing. however, even if I didn't mind it I would still have to ask:

Why, after the creation of such a beautifully designed operating system do they fail to give you the option of changing a cursor theme? - even windows manages that!

Why, After both subtly and drastically changing colour and tone and layout in the UI from version to version, would they leave aside (possibly the most important component in the UI) the cursor just the same as it always was!

I know about mighty mouse, and it would be great but I am running snow leo and they haven't even got that on leo!

is there any way to change it in SL?

please let me know also if you have any ideas on why apple would leave the cursor the same and without any alternative.

thanks:rolleyes::apple::confused:
 
I've never once given the cursor any thought. I suppose I'm more concerned with more pressing matters then whether apple should change the spinning beach ball or not :rolleyes:
 
yeah I include the spinning beach ball in my rant - and all the other ugly little black and white ones that pop up sometimes. I'm not just talking about the arrow but the whole lot.
they manage to redesign the dock and the finder and sys prefs and all that what's up with having a preference to change to a different cursor scheem?

GGJstudios - I see where you got the idea of too much free time from and you are not completely wrong (though hardly right) on the other hand, anyone on these forums has enough free time to do so - yes including you. and while I have a reasonable point, you have made a rather pointless remark which doesn't do anything for anyone. the reason I get so infuriated by it is because I am using it for Work so much.
 
BENI said:
yeah I include the spinning beach ball in my rant - and all the other ugly little black and white ones that pop up sometimes. I'm not just talking about the arrow but the whole lot.
they manage to redesign the dock and the finder and sys prefs and all that what's up with having a preference to change to a different cursor scheem?
Click to expand...

Rumor from Cali is that when Steve came back he fired the entire cursor development team. I think if you go on monster.com you'll see ads looking for replacements...
 
BENI said:
... the reason I get so infuriated by it is because I am using it for Work so much.
Click to expand...
If you're using it for work, what difference does the style of the pointer or beachball have to do with anything? Whether it's a beachball or an hourglass, it means the same thing. In the scheme of things, cursor design is hardly important enough to worry about. It works!
 
HA! Funny thread. Years ago, when I actually used Windows, I used to download the Mac Cursors package, so I could have the cursors look like Mac OS X LOL.

Yeah, the Windows cursors are awesome. I love those big, giant WHITE pointers, and Spinning Hourglass. BLECH! Oh wait, I can have a drum instead...cool....
 
So... how would you change the cursor and improve upon its design in a functional way?

The standard black cursor does not need to change. Although they have refined it compared to old OS X and Classic. It's anti-aliased with a just subtle enough drop shadow. They also added new cursors for copying files (the green plus that appears) and making aliases. The spinning beachball has also been improved since it's original OS X introduction. Now, there are a few that haven't been updated like the camera that appears with cmd shift 4 - that dates back to NeXT. That could use some work, perhaps.

If you can't understand why Apple would leave the cursor as is with no way to customize it, then I guess you don't know Apple very well. They're not about customization, they're about good design that just works (for most people). The cursor shouldn't look flashy, it should be as unobtrusive as possible while remaining perfectly functional. I'm kinda surprised that someone would take issue with its current iteration. Not something that once crossed my mind.
 
nefan65 said:
HA! Funny thread. Years ago, when I actually used Windows, I used to download the Mac Cursors package, so I could have the cursors look like Mac OS X LOL.

Yeah, the Windows cursors are awesome. I love those big, giant WHITE pointers, and Spinning Hourglass. BLECH! Oh wait, I can have a drum instead...cool....
Click to expand...

OK slight misunderstanding here - I don't like the widows cursors at all but mac is better looking for everything else so... why not improve the cursor range. it's not exactly a special effort!
the fact is I just cant believe the people at apple aren't fed up with them by now.

GGJstudios said:
If you're using it for work, what difference does the style of the pointer or beachball have to do with anything? Whether it's a beachball or an hourglass, it means the same thing. In the scheme of things, cursor design is hardly important enough to worry about. It works!
Click to expand...

some people don't get distracted when something aesthetically out of place is in their work space - like the bright orange/green/purple/yellow/etc beachball in a basically bluey grey themed OS. when I see something like that it really bothers me that someone was paid to make what I could have done better in gimp for free! it is a pathetic piece of graphic design. it is just depressing that is all.
 
apfhex said:
.... I guess you don't know Apple very well. They're not about customization, they're about good design that just works (for most people). The cursor shouldn't look flashy, it should be as unobtrusive as possible while remaining perfectly functional...
Click to expand...
Extremely well said! The cursor design works well for the masses of Mac users, or they would have changed it by now. Just because a small minority complains, that doesn't mean the design is wrong. It just means you can't please all the people, all the time. Somehow I trust Apple's professional graphic designers a bit more than a single poster in a forum. :rolleyes:
 
BENI said:
Why, after the creation of such a beautifully designed operating system do they fail to give you the option of changing a cursor theme? - even windows manages that!
Click to expand...

Apple has always been anti-customization. They don't want anything messing with their "perfect" design I suppose. Also, they can get away with releasing updates to their OS which make dramatic changes to specific things at any given time, for better or for worse, which traditionally break any third-party customization options though I wouldn't imagine on purpose (not for all at least) and cause developers to try a little less harder to create such tweaks.

Apple didn't even want to have ports on the first Mac and wanted to have a built in mouse/keyboard (at least with the cord built in) for the same purpose of not wanting people to mess with their machine. It was built a specific way for a specific use and if something was added or changed it could break it or make it appear different or be used in a way it was not intended for.

I would go so far as to say that Apple has actually removed some customization over the years from their previous OS's (most notably OS 9).

Furthermore, the previous systems used a black/white beachball for the same purpose. It was only logical for them to keep the similar design but make it multicolored when they first came out with OS 10.
 
BENI said:
Why, after the creation of such a beautifully designed operating system do they fail to give you the option of changing a cursor theme? - even windows manages that!
Click to expand...

Have you ever seen a cursor theme for Windows that was worthwhile (other than the default)? Maybe it's just me, but I think nonstandard cursors are extremely annoying.
 
but that is exactly what I mean!
It is flashy and bright and obtrusive and pointlessly complex and animated and (the beachball I mean) it doesn't have the same color scheme as the rest of leo/snow leo - which instantly makes it stand out like a spot on the face of the UI whenever it pops up. do u guys really not get bothered by it?
 
The problem with changing the cursor is that if you have an operating system problem, sometimes being able to describe what's happening is important. For example, you could tell a support tech that 'my machine freezes and the beachball just spins.' But if everyone customized their cursors, you'd lose a bit of common ground in terms of interface description.

Though, as most people here have said, Apple is the least user-customizable company there is. Feature controlling, too.
 
BENI said:
which instantly makes it stand out like a spot on the face of the UI whenever it pops up
Click to expand...

I think that is the point. It is alerting you to an unexpected delay in completing your task, and wants to make sure you notice it.
 
I nearly didn't buy a mac because of that awful cursor. It looks like the end of an arrow thats been broken off. That reminded me of the film Broken Arrow, which in turn reminded me of John Travolta, and then the film Battlefield Earth which is one the worst films ever made and based on that scientology nonsense.
Stupid Apple cursor. :)
 
JamesRR said:
The problem with changing the cursor is that if you have an operating system problem, sometimes being able to describe what's happening is important. For example, you could tell a support tech that 'my machine freezes and the beachball just spins.' But if everyone customized their cursors, you'd lose a bit of common ground in terms of interface description.

Though, as most people here have said, Apple is the least user-customizable company there is. Feature controlling, too.
Click to expand...

oh no! what about the 99% of the time when my mac is fine and my mac hasn't crashed?
oh and macs are the ones famous for not crashing! I know they do but barely a 8th of the times of PCs (in my experience anyway)

AAPLaday said:
I nearly didn't buy a mac because of that awful cursor. It looks like the end of an arrow thats been broken off. That reminded me of the film Broken Arrow, which in turn reminded me of John Travolta, and then the film Battlefield Earth which is one the worst films ever made and based on that scientology nonsense.
Stupid Apple cursor. :)
Click to expand...

thankyou – I sympathise with the broken arrow head thing.
 
BENI said:
oh no! what about the 99% of the time when my mac is fine and my mac hasn't crashed?
oh and macs are the ones famous for not crashing! I know they do but barely a 8th of the times of PCs (in my experience anyway)
Click to expand...

By your thinking, seatbelts, insurance, and many other precautionary elements of life are pointless. But, when the day comes and you need them....
 
The mouse cursor makes perfect sense. This is why people such as Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive are in charge of design, and not you. They seem to do pretty stunning things... what is your complaint - I don't see what is so "bad" about it?.

If you want to customise, go Linux, and sacrifice logical simplicity.
 
It's funny you should bring this topic up, I was actually just comparing the default Windows 7 cursor with the Snow Leopard cursor myself. :D

I zoomed in a far as I could on both and their shapes are nearly identical. As someone who's used Macs for as long as I can remember (maybe OS 7) I think the new pinwheel (beach ball if you prefer) and black cursor are great. Although, I do miss the nearly exploded looking trash can and the happy and sad Macs on startup.
 
JamesRR said:
By your thinking, seatbelts, insurance, and many other precautionary elements of life are pointless. But, when the day comes and you need them....
Click to expand...

no fear - I managed to corrupt the user files on my mac which sent it in to a bootup loop, I know about cockups. funnily enough though I don't think it was saved by have the correct cursor. sorry but seatbelts and insurance as you put it are in backup discs and good hardware / software maintenance not what cursor you have:p

and since I am the only one who gets irritated by the cursor I will let it go now - thanks for the debate guys. cherio....
 
Goodness, I've used 4 different Macs over 5 years, and never once thought about the cursor shape or the beachball color. before that I spent 35+ years working with computers as a software engineer and never once thought about changing the cursor shape. I remember Windows had utilities to do that, but I always filed that sort of thing under "Things to do instead of watching the grass grow."
 
If there is one thing that should never change in Mac OS X. Its the cute black mouse curser. I guess I wouldn't mind the beach ball going away.

You know what would be cool? Like a 3D silver or gold pocket watch that kinda floats there for the wait cursor.

Then we could call it the ticking pocket watch of death. Or stop watch, whichever :p
 
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