Apple's Snow Leopard may arrive with unified 'Marble' interface

[AppleInsider]

With the release of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple may be planning to rid its flagship operating system of the various user interface inconsistencies that have materialized in recent years, according to a pair of reports.

As part of his Macworld 2009 predictions earlier this month, Daring Fireball's John Gruber suggested that Apple was likely to demo a new build of the operating system at the conference that would "make old features look new, by updating the system-wide appearance theme."

"I’ve made this prediction several times in the past and been wrong, but eventually I’ll be right: it’s time for the last vestiges of the original Mac OS X 10.0 'Aqua' theme to go," he wrote.

Specifically, Gruber said that scrollbars and push buttons that have remained largely unchanged since the Mac OS X public beta in 2000 would adopt the smoother, darker style iTunes-style scrollbars, while application windows would move to a darker chrome motif alongside an inverted menubar with light text on a dark background.

Although Gruber, who said the new interface theme was rumored to go by the code-name Marble, admits that his prediction was wrong again, his general claim is being backed up this week by MacRumors.

Interface elements and colors of the rumored "Marble" theme.

The rumor site claims to have independently heard of the Marble-dubbed theme, which "will likely involve tweaks to the existing design and perhaps a 'flattening' of Aqua in-line with Apple's iTunes and iPhoto interface elements."

No further details are available given that builds of Snow Leopard reported to include the update theme have yet to see distribution outside Apple's walls.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Mr Squid]

It would be nice to finally get rid of Aqua. It is such an ugly interface.

[dacloo]

Jep, it's ugly, partially. Hate the buttons and scrollbars.
Seems to come from the past.

Seems like a logical step, when you look at Apples' latest apps, their website, and so forth.
I expected a change when Leopard arrived. Luckely all interface elements can be tweaked with hacks and terminal commands.

Let's also hope the Apple gets rid of the 3D dock, which sucks, as well as the ugly transparent menu bar. Ow, and the "space themed background".

An OS should not get in your face!

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

... Specifically, Gruber said that scrollbars and push buttons that have remained largely unchanged since the Mac OS X public beta in 2000 would adopt the smoother, darker style iTunes-style scrollbars, while application windows would move to a darker chrome motif alongside an inverted menubar with light text on a dark background. ...

While it's always interesting to hear of the rude genius of John Gruber, (not) this one sentence is the only thing that actually describes the interface, and it does an especially awful and confusing job of it.

Anyone care to explain what "... darker chrome motif alongside an inverted menubar with light text on a dark background" actually means? The picture you include doesn't seem to show anything of the sort, so it's either a poor illustration, or a poor description of the illustration provided.

[vandil]

Pinstripes were a little tacky.
Brushed Aluminum was okay for a while, but I'm over it.
So far I like Leopard's grayness for things.

"Marble" as based on iTunes, would be an interesting UI choice. Personally, though, I think they should just modify the Appearances system pane to let you choose between all the different themes we've seen in OSX releases, complete with the appropriate Aqua Blue or Graphite wallpapers for the chosen release.

[caliminius]

Originally Posted by dacloo

An OS should not get in your face!

No, but it should make it easy to find the controls you need. I hate iTunes interface style and the sample shown in this article because everything looks the same. Just different shades of gray and blue/gray. The worse is the Coverflow slider which is black on a black background. The controls need better contrast. I always hated iTunes embossed buttons since they were so easy to overlook.

Whether or not you like their appearance or not, it's hard to deny that's it really easy to tell where the buttons, scroll bars and other control widgets are in Aqua.

If they decide to unify, I hope they give the choice to unify around either Aqua or this Marble crap.

[Daniel001]

I agree that the Aqua interface is overdue for replacement, but I'm not sure I like the new iTunes appearance any better — it seems too bland, as though it belongs in Linux or something.

[auxio]

Style is in the eye of the beholder. I remember when people used to revel in how modern the Aqua interface was as compared to Windows. Now it's considered tacky.

I dunno, to me it's at least distinctive and usable. Unlike the XP theme which is just fugly and takes up too much space. Vista's theme is better, but the transparency bothers me a bit on the usability side.

I'm not really a fan of flat interfaces -- not enough visual interest. I do hope they retain some depth and playfulness. Too much work and not enough play makes Mac a dull OS.

[Satan Himself]

Originally Posted by dacloo

Jep, it's ugly, partially. Hate the buttons and scrollbars.
Seems to come from the past.

Seems like a logical step, when you look at Apples' latest apps, their website, and so forth.
I expected a change when Leopard arrived. Luckely all interface elements can be tweaked with hacks and terminal commands.

Let's also hope the Apple gets rid of the 3D dock, which sucks, as well as the ugly transparent menu bar. Ow, and the "space themed background".
An OS should not get in your face!

Check the bolded pieces. The 3D dock is easily removed with a terminal command and while I don't like it, I know several people that do like it. It's easily removed and replaced with the default, side docked 2D.

Ugly transparent menu bar? Tickbox in System Preferences.

Spaced themed background? A few clicks away.

What's wrong with the defaults? If someone likes them, great. The dock isn't easily changed for Jenny Newuser but the other things are. Why do they need to go away? Trying to understand your logic.

[potterhead4]

Originally Posted by Daniel001

I agree that the Aqua interface is overdue for replacement, but I'm not sure I like the new iTunes appearance any better — it seems too bland, as though it belongs in Linux or something.

Funny you should mention that...Someone at the airport the other day asked me "What distro?" while I was choosing music in iTunes on my MBP...

[MacG8TR]

Just make the interface nice and unified. I personally don't mind the Aqua interface, but some hate it, so the better option might be to give users a limited choice. One "Pro" theme that uses minimal colors and a "Consumer" theme that uses brighter colors and effects.

I also never understood why Apple doesn't take the time to do the little things (giving users new desktops and user icons, ect). We all know how to change these ourselves, but Apple SHOULD add them with each OS release.

Why have a Jaguar pattern and not one for the other cats?
Why have a basketball icon, but no football or golf ball?

How about a screensaver that shows photos of all the great Apple products ever made. Some nice Apple wallpapers.

Your thoughts?

[Banalltv]

I find the new interfaces grey and drab and far too dark, very much the UI equivalent of the old beige boxes.

Keep Aqua.

[MacTel]

Do away with the GUI altogether and just give us a terminal prompt.

It would be nice if OSX had themes to choose from, but that's not really on my top 10 list for things I'd like to see in Snow Leopard.

[kerryb]

Originally Posted by Mr Squid

It would be nice to finally get rid of Aqua. It is such an ugly interface.

I am optimistic that all the random interface oddities will get ironed out in S-Leopard. I think Apple has been making an effort in that direction and I thought Leopard had a refinement over Tiger. I don't think just changing colors is what Apple is eventually striving for with the next OS. Hopefully if will focus on intuitive design allowing newbies to the platform as well as seasoned users to bring an ease of use to a very old concept born decades ago. Not everyone will love the changes and there will always be hacks for those geeks that care enough to bother but all you need to do is look at a current version of Windows to see how garish a GUI can look and you will realize that Apple has some talented and esthetic people working on it.

[CU10]

_____

[wallymcgoo]

Apple have been at the forefront obviously when it comes to GUI, it would be a great idea to stop for a moment and develop a more timeless and clean interface, especially considering their ever expanding product line have display components. With the widening no. of apps and the multi media aspects of all the devices, Apple should consider a very simple neutral interface.

[ajprice]

Bring back Kaleidoscope!



The 10.0 aqua scrollbars are looking more and more odd the more OS X gets refined, from the white to the metal windows, then to iTunes style windows in Leopard, and now something different again!

[Phizz]

I agree with @Virgil-TB2 that the interface description is not very clear ... I assume it will be simply along the lines of what we've seen in iTunes / iPhoto?

I loved the aqua interface back in the early 2000s when it was fresh and new, and I actually did not like the iTunes look and feel at all when they first brought it out. But now I'm inverted - the aqua controls look very out-of-date, and the iTunes / iPhoto ones look very clean and professional. I think most would agree the ITunes/iPhoto controls match the general grey interface of Leopard better (whereas the aqua controls suited the brighter pinstripe interface).

The one thing I don't like about the iTunes/iPhoto controls is the 1 pixel of light-coloured space that "appears" to be at the right side of each vertical scroll bar handle. When I screenshot and zoom in in Photoshop you can see the gradients and that it is fitting in the middle etc, but at normal view they just need to tweak the contrast IMO.

Also, I reallllly think Apple should move away from Lucida Grande as the default system font, or at least provide more flexibility to globally change it. Some apps like Mail do (which I view in Helvetica - much much nicer), but many don't. It too had grown tiresome.

But these are just nitpicks - overall, the OS X interface is still top of class in comparison to others.

[hassellhuff]

Whilst I agree with most comments on this, OS X does need to keep itself from looking like most other OSs. One of the things that wows new users to the Mac is that it's just 'fun' to use it, and AQUA has played a big part in this. Looking at the new iMovie, it looks good, but it's not going to make average users go 'wow look, glowing buttons' as was the purpose with the original AQUA.

[rpsx]

Originally Posted by auxio

Style is in the eye of the beholder. I remember when people used to revel in how modern the Aqua interface was as compared to Windows. Now it's considered tacky.

i considered it tacky from day one. i would be so joyed to see the fake plastic scrollbars go. i think the scrollbars are better in itunes, but those could still could be a bit more refined. but please, no more fake plastic. i was overjoyed with the loss of fake brushed metal. a screen is a screen! any kind of reproduction of real materials is just mimicry when rendered in pixels. especially when next to the real material itself. glad that era is possibly coming to an end.

[dagamer34]

The first thing I always do when I need to install Leopard is get rid of the Aqua OS X scrollbars and replace them with the iTunes version. Makes the OS look SO much better. Now I just need to get rid of Aqua buttons and that'll be that!

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by MacTel

Do away with the GUI altogether and just give us a terminal prompt.

It would be nice if OSX had themes to choose from, but that's not really on my top 10 list for things I'd like to see in Snow Leopard.

I don't think we will be seeing themes anytime soon.

Apart from the fact that Steve Jobs loathes the idea of people putting puppy wallpaper and gee-gaws all over his pure interface, the most likely thing here is that we are getting a new UI due to the re-coding of the Finder.

If the Finder is being completely re-done in Cocoa (and it is), and resolution independence is also a goal, then all the previous interface stuff is probably out of the question or would at least need to be re-drawn and re-coded itself.

Personally, I hope they don't offer themes, but it would be nice to see a tiny bit more customisation. A big pet peeve of mine which has lasted through multiple OS-X versions is the colour of the highlight. I just don't like that blue highlight colour on the menus and have always wanted to change it but it's impossible in OS-X. You have one option only which is to switch to "graphite" but then you lose all utility in the "traffic lights" feature. You can have one or the other but not both.

Perhaps a few subtle and well designed variations could be built in, like "hot, warm, and cold" variations of the same interface or simply the ability to make some minor individual changes like highlight colour without changing the entire UI.

[superkaratemonkeydeathcar]

Originally Posted by Daniel001

I agree that the Aqua interface is overdue for replacement, but I'm not sure I like the new iTunes appearance any better — it seems too bland, as though it belongs in Linux or something.

-I agree. Itunes is flat.

Otherwise: Love to see systemwide dynamic lighting + shadows using a 3d vidcard to give it a more dimensional and live appearance. Pick a general point where the light would be coming from, & when you move a window, it would interact with the source and relative to its environment.

[gastroboy]

Originally Posted by MacTel

Do away with the GUI altogether and just give us a terminal prompt.

Blinking slowly and ominously, like HAL's light.

Are we just following Steve Jobs into a long, slow, grey decline? It was all bright chirpy and lickable when OSX debuted and now after 8 long grinding years it has slowly worn us down to a bleak dark soulless dull winter of terminal doom.

It's the recession look, guess.

[dichterDichter]

its time to change that. im not very sure if that interface change will be enough.
i would like a new interface that works better with multiple screens.
osx is working fine on one but if you are used to 2 or 3 screens it just sucks.
in multimon working windows is really nice. apple should do something. a better menubar for example

And they should make the Spinning ball CHANGABLE !!!!!!!

[federmoose]

Originally Posted by MacG8TR

Just make the interface nice and unified. I personally don't mind the Aqua interface, but some hate it, so the better option might be to give users a limited choice. One "Pro" theme that uses minimal colors and a "Consumer" theme that uses brighter colors and effects.

I also never understood why Apple doesn't take the time to do the little things (giving users new desktops and user icons, ect). We all know how to change these ourselves, but Apple SHOULD add them with each OS release.

Why have a Jaguar pattern and not one for the other cats?
Why have a basketball icon, but no football or golf ball?

How about a screensaver that shows photos of all the great Apple products ever made. Some nice Apple wallpapers.

Your thoughts?

While I appreciate the concepts of your ideas, I'd like apple engineers to stick with what they are good at. Users can define the content of the pics in the OS, no reason for them to waste their time doing something a user could do.

[Slewis]

Funny people claim it's outdated, when it's just refined. Turning on graphite, quitting the Finder and hiding the Dock the UI draws very little attention from me now, and when it does draw attention from me, it's in the form of keyboard shortcuts, context menus, and toolbars, and for that the color scheme is perfect, white for the menus, gray for the toolbars with shadows acting and white for the inactive windows.

Sebastian

[Slewis]

Originally Posted by dichterDichter

its time to change that. im not very sure if that interface change will be enough.
i would like a new interface that works better with multiple screens.
osx is working fine on one but if you are used to 2 or 3 screens it just sucks.
in multimon working windows is really nice. apple should do something. a better menubar for example

If you're using multiple screens or just can't be arsed with the menu bar at all, try Deja Menu.


Sebastian

[iwarriorpoet]

Should I wait for Snow Leopard? How long do folks think I will have to wait?

[Cubert]

I HATE the flattened scroll bars in iTunes. I think it's actually a giant step backwards in the aesthetics of the user interface.

[Cubert]

Originally Posted by CU10

_____

True.

[gastroboy]

Originally Posted by Slewis

Funny people claim it's outdated, when it's just refined. Turning on graphite, quitting the Finder and hiding the Dock the UI draws very little attention from me now, and when it does draw attention from me, it's in the form of keyboard shortcuts, context menus, and toolbars, and for that the color scheme is perfect, white for the menus, gray for the toolbars with shadows acting and white for the inactive windows.

Sebastian

As Oscar Wilde said:

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."

…or in Apple's case, with every version of the OS.

[satchmo]

I wouldn't be surprised if we see this as the move to bringing back a more neXT-like interface. Not quite all grey, but more monochromatic and understated.

They may keep the bright red, yellow and green buttons on each window but I see the elimination of Aqua as a welcome move.

[Daniel001]

Originally Posted by iwarriorpoet

Should I wait for Snow Leopard? How long do folks think I will have to wait?

It's scheduled for around June this year, but there's no firm date. Personally I wouldn't bother waiting — Snow Leopard won't have any significant new features, just performance improvements. You can upgrade later if you want to, at a fairly modest price.

MacRumors' buyers' guide http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ is worth keeping an eye on if you're planning to buy new apple hardware.

[StuBeck]

I thought this was a feature of Leopard? Has it sprouted out since then or did it not happen.

[midiac]

You all should just load Shape Shifter on your machines and quit your complaining. Unsanity has some other pretty nifty apps that tweak the UI to your liking, like sound sets with XSounds, and Windowshade. These are a bit taxing on your system, but with todays speedy machines, you hardly notice the difference, and they are worth it if it means that much to that user. It's definitely fun, and easy to say the least. After we got past that Leopard install with Application enhancer all sorted out, we're all good

Personally, I like to be able to sit down at a machine and tell which version of OSX is installed on a Mac by looking around at the OS. But I agree about the personality icons and desktop designs. We could use some new ones. But Having an over all consistent UI (sans-aqua) is what they are going for with S.Leapord. This is gonna be OSX as it was meant to be.

Oops, oh well, just checked Shapeshifter's Leopard compatibility. . WTF? They STILL haven't updated it??? Well then, it's STILL great if you're not running Leopard just yet

[iwarriorpoet]

Originally Posted by Daniel001

It's scheduled for around June this year, but there's no firm date. Personally I wouldn't bother waiting — Snow Leopard won't have any significant new features, just performance improvements. You can upgrade later if you want to, at a fairly modest price.

MacRumors' buyers' guide http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ is worth keeping an eye on if you're planning to buy new apple hardware.

Thanks!

[gastroboy]

Originally Posted by midiac

Oops, oh well, just checked Shapeshifter's Leopard compatibility. . WTF? They STILL haven't updated it??? Well then, it's STILL great if you're not running Leopard just yet

Oh and I thought you were going to give us a real solution.

Want a preview of OSX post Snow Leopard? The look will give new meaning to dull as…

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by Slewis

If you're using multiple screens or just can't be arsed with the menu bar at all, try Deja Menu.


Sebastian

I love XMenu. The old drop down menus have not been surpassed for efficiency compared to the bloody Dock.

[8CoreWhore]

QUICK! Buy up stock in marble quarries!