What I don't understand is why Apple seems to be consistently screwing around with the UI of the operating system. One of the hallmarks of the OS before X was how consistent it was from update to update - Apple added functionality, but kept the wrapper basically the same.
With every major upgrade and application release from Apple it seems the concept of UI consistency has been thrown out the window. So much for the great idea of an OS-wide style (the Mac HIG).
Be patient. Apple is simply trying to perfect Aqua. It is so much more complex than Platinum that it has taken quite some time to work out the various problems. The numerous changes may be annoying, but they are worth it.
The odd-colored title bars don't work for me; the toned-down pinstripes do.
Note in the 'iChat' screenshot that the selection around the 'video' on the toolbar is not symmetrical about the icon; it is one pixel off.
Also note in the Finder screenshot that the back/forward combo button is labeled 'Back' and is not centered with respect to the button it labels.
The 'View' is also uncentered.
There are all kinds of other minute spacing details... FAKE.
Do like the toned-down aqua stripes though. Wouldn't mind seeing that throughout.
The 'Macintosh Desktop Experience' bit seems a bit much, as well. Especially considering the introduction of what appears to be a completely new paradigm (as shown in the Finder shot)... which is completely the opposite of the 'Macintosh Desktop Experience' of old.
Call me crazy but we could just hold our breaths for two days and then get the real story from the horse's mouth. But I suppose that's not what AppleInsider is about, eh?
What I don't understand is why Apple seems to be consistently screwing around with the UI of the operating system. One of the hallmarks of the OS before X was how consistent it was from update to update - Apple added functionality, but kept the wrapper basically the same.
With every major upgrade and application release from Apple it seems the concept of UI consistency has been thrown out the window. So much for the great idea of an OS-wide style (the Mac HIG).
I for one think the new finder looks like sh** with totally incongruous crap all over the place. Yo, Apple: fix the problems with the Finder first before you start revamping the look and feel.
Guys - its a freakin Alpha. Even if it is a build just from this past week - its ALPHA! That's when developers screw around trying to see how things work and fit.
Sheesh. Some of you people seem to think that developers have it all figured out before they write any code. Sometimes, you have to WRITE the code to figure it out.
Overall I like the quick silver look and for the most part what I've seen, but if this is all we get, I'll be kinda disappointed. I expected this to be BIGGER than Jaguar. What's the deal with censoring iChat. There must be some pretty kick a$$ features they're hiding to make the "Stevenote" at least somewhat exciting.
I'm pretty sure they just censored iChat so that it wouldn't display their account information. Nothing like exposing yourself and you buddies to Apple's legal wrath.
Unlike other people, I kind of like the metal look. So sue me, I have no taste. But especially if the new towers have a metal finish I think these screen shots look pretty sharp.
FInally, the long-awaited Panther leak! I don't think these shots are fake, just an early build of Panther. (Either that or Panther is isn't as far along as we thought.) It just introduces too many new ideas (Exposé especially) and little laborious interface details (combining system preferences to make it more compact, "options" button in the new Finder to make contextual menus easier for newbies ).
Unless there's some very enterprising interface designer/hoaxer out there -- but why bother, two days before Panther is about to be previewed?
Anyway. Some really interesting stuff there. Reduced pinstripes and optional brushed metal sounds just about right. Exposé sounds great; it's what I've been pining for over two years now. Labels menu looks diasppointing -- I can only hope this the beginning of the much cooler metadata system. The new Finder.... looks really unfinished. Some promising ideas there, especially if the Search field is combined with a killer new instantly searchable filesystem improvements... I don't quite get how it works though. Where does the pane to the left showing drives and network go if you're using Column view? The new Finder definitely takes a page from XP, too, but XP isn't wholly evil; there some very good ideas in XP's Windows Explorer, buried under all the marketing nonsense, cartoon characters, and exasperating overhelpfulness.
Oh, I think I get it. The left-hand pane in the new Finder is always present to show you where you are: your HD, on a network, another shared folder, iDisk, etc. That's an issue I keep running into; have to check the path to remember where I am. Takes up a bit of room, I guess, but combined with configurable favorites at the bottom of the pane it seems like a good idea.
Does seem like it'd be somewhat clunky and confusing with Column View, though, no....?
Speaking of which. I'd love to see a screenshot of Column View in Panther. I'm dying to see how they're going to add the ability to sort by date modified and keep it clean. Same w/ Open/Save dialogs.
Not sure why people don't like the finder. If you look at it, it's the same as every other iApp. Look at iTunes, you have your playlists on the left, you highlight them and get a listing on the right, same as this finder shot. They're just making everything consistant.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
Not sure why people don't like the finder. If you look at it, it's the same as every other iApp. Look at iTunes, you have your playlists on the left, you highlight them and get a listing on the right, same as this finder shot. They're just making everything consistant.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
I completely agree. I think the Finder is something of a sacred cow for people, but if the filesystem improvements for Panther are true, the interface has to adjust to reflect those changes.
I do wonder if they've gone the Siracusa route toward seperating the file-browser-based and spatital navigation of the Finder... It's interesting to note, too, that one of rumors discussed the Finder being "very extensible". I can totally seeing Apple saying, "look, we don't think spatial-only navigation is the future, but if you disagree, go ahead and write an extension for it."
On the left hand side of the Finder screenshot it show what disks are mounted. One of these is an Install Internet Explorer .dmg. I didn't think a .dmg would be recognized as a mounted volume unless it had been opened. Of course, I could be mistaken.
Not sure why people don't like the finder. If you look at it, it's the same as every other iApp. Look at iTunes, you have your playlists on the left, you highlight them and get a listing on the right, same as this finder shot. They're just making everything consistant.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
I agree with you, the Finder looks to be one of those items that is hard to judge by picture alone. One of those things you'll need to play with to get a feel for it.
Doesn't seem like it's that bulky either with the column. I have my screen at 1280x1024 and the graphic only takes up a quarter of the space.
One of the things I don't like, and I have to remind myself it's only a Beta (alpha, whatever it is), are the labels below the navigation buttons. Especially the label "back" which seems off centered below both the back/forward buttons.
I'm sure a lot will be cleaned up. I wonder if it uses the WebOjects for it's display.
On the left hand side of the Finder screenshot it show what disks are mounted. One of these is an Install Internet Explorer .dmg. I didn't think a .dmg would be recognized as a mounted volume unless it had been opened. Of course, I could be mistaken.
Good call, if it had been mounted and displayed there, that should not e the icon to show.
Comments
Originally posted by knee
What I don't understand is why Apple seems to be consistently screwing around with the UI of the operating system. One of the hallmarks of the OS before X was how consistent it was from update to update - Apple added functionality, but kept the wrapper basically the same.
With every major upgrade and application release from Apple it seems the concept of UI consistency has been thrown out the window. So much for the great idea of an OS-wide style (the Mac HIG).
Be patient. Apple is simply trying to perfect Aqua. It is so much more complex than Platinum that it has taken quite some time to work out the various problems. The numerous changes may be annoying, but they are worth it.
Originally posted by Barto
You are assuming all the applications are finished, it's just the core OS that is alpha.
Barto
I wondered about that because it looked weird to have the windows in the finder metal but not the menu bar.
I like the metal look as an option. I don't dislike Aqua I just get really tired of it.
although, i DO NOT [from the preview shots] like the finder being brushed metal.
... time will tell
Originally posted by ducasi
. Not much different in Mail:
- "+" icon for new mail folder
- New "Compose" icon - old one was too difficult to hit.
Actually, I was hoping for a Safari style brushed metal interface and icons.
Also hope there is httpmail protocol as well for Hotmail and yahoo mail support.
I don't know about brushed metal Finder though...
The odd-colored title bars don't work for me; the toned-down pinstripes do.
Note in the 'iChat' screenshot that the selection around the 'video' on the toolbar is not symmetrical about the icon; it is one pixel off.
Also note in the Finder screenshot that the back/forward combo button is labeled 'Back' and is not centered with respect to the button it labels.
The 'View' is also uncentered.
There are all kinds of other minute spacing details... FAKE.
Do like the toned-down aqua stripes though. Wouldn't mind seeing that throughout.
The 'Macintosh Desktop Experience' bit seems a bit much, as well. Especially considering the introduction of what appears to be a completely new paradigm (as shown in the Finder shot)... which is completely the opposite of the 'Macintosh Desktop Experience' of old.
in short: FAAAAAAAAAAKE.
Originally posted by woudstock
More scrutiny please.
Call me crazy but we could just hold our breaths for two days and then get the real story from the horse's mouth. But I suppose that's not what AppleInsider is about, eh?
if there's a new finder icon (in the dock), why has the finder icon on the (misnamed, by current standards) About the Finder window not been changed?
Especially if someone's gone to the trouble to code in 'The Macintosh Desktop Experience'...
FAAAKEEEEEEE.
Originally posted by knee
What I don't understand is why Apple seems to be consistently screwing around with the UI of the operating system. One of the hallmarks of the OS before X was how consistent it was from update to update - Apple added functionality, but kept the wrapper basically the same.
With every major upgrade and application release from Apple it seems the concept of UI consistency has been thrown out the window. So much for the great idea of an OS-wide style (the Mac HIG).
I for one think the new finder looks like sh** with totally incongruous crap all over the place. Yo, Apple: fix the problems with the Finder first before you start revamping the look and feel.
Guys - its a freakin Alpha. Even if it is a build just from this past week - its ALPHA! That's when developers screw around trying to see how things work and fit.
Sheesh. Some of you people seem to think that developers have it all figured out before they write any code. Sometimes, you have to WRITE the code to figure it out.
And who knows how early of an alpha this is!
Originally posted by long AAPL
Overall I like the quick silver look and for the most part what I've seen, but if this is all we get, I'll be kinda disappointed. I expected this to be BIGGER than Jaguar. What's the deal with censoring iChat. There must be some pretty kick a$$ features they're hiding to make the "Stevenote" at least somewhat exciting.
I'm pretty sure they just censored iChat so that it wouldn't display their account information. Nothing like exposing yourself and you buddies to Apple's legal wrath.
Unlike other people, I kind of like the metal look. So sue me, I have no taste. But especially if the new towers have a metal finish I think these screen shots look pretty sharp.
Unless there's some very enterprising interface designer/hoaxer out there -- but why bother, two days before Panther is about to be previewed?
Anyway. Some really interesting stuff there. Reduced pinstripes and optional brushed metal sounds just about right. Exposé sounds great; it's what I've been pining for over two years now. Labels menu looks diasppointing -- I can only hope this the beginning of the much cooler metadata system. The new Finder.... looks really unfinished. Some promising ideas there, especially if the Search field is combined with a killer new instantly searchable filesystem improvements... I don't quite get how it works though. Where does the pane to the left showing drives and network go if you're using Column view? The new Finder definitely takes a page from XP, too, but XP isn't wholly evil; there some very good ideas in XP's Windows Explorer, buried under all the marketing nonsense, cartoon characters, and exasperating overhelpfulness.
Does seem like it'd be somewhat clunky and confusing with Column View, though, no....?
Speaking of which. I'd love to see a screenshot of Column View in Panther. I'm dying to see how they're going to add the ability to sort by date modified and keep it clean. Same w/ Open/Save dialogs.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
Originally posted by Apple Legal
Oh come on Sue .... all's fair in love and war (and rumors)
Dave
Originally posted by vitaflo
Not sure why people don't like the finder. If you look at it, it's the same as every other iApp. Look at iTunes, you have your playlists on the left, you highlight them and get a listing on the right, same as this finder shot. They're just making everything consistant.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
I completely agree. I think the Finder is something of a sacred cow for people, but if the filesystem improvements for Panther are true, the interface has to adjust to reflect those changes.
I do wonder if they've gone the Siracusa route toward seperating the file-browser-based and spatital navigation of the Finder... It's interesting to note, too, that one of rumors discussed the Finder being "very extensible". I can totally seeing Apple saying, "look, we don't think spatial-only navigation is the future, but if you disagree, go ahead and write an extension for it."
Originally posted by vitaflo
Not sure why people don't like the finder. If you look at it, it's the same as every other iApp. Look at iTunes, you have your playlists on the left, you highlight them and get a listing on the right, same as this finder shot. They're just making everything consistant.
The only difference is the finder has much larger icons than iTunes, et al. But it works just the same. Me thinks that this is how they'll introduce the "smart playlists" for the finder.
I agree with you, the Finder looks to be one of those items that is hard to judge by picture alone. One of those things you'll need to play with to get a feel for it.
Doesn't seem like it's that bulky either with the column. I have my screen at 1280x1024 and the graphic only takes up a quarter of the space.
One of the things I don't like, and I have to remind myself it's only a Beta (alpha, whatever it is), are the labels below the navigation buttons. Especially the label "back" which seems off centered below both the back/forward buttons.
I'm sure a lot will be cleaned up. I wonder if it uses the WebOjects for it's display.
theFly
www.flyonthemac.com
Rumors You Can Bet On
Originally posted by InactionMan
On the left hand side of the Finder screenshot it show what disks are mounted. One of these is an Install Internet Explorer .dmg. I didn't think a .dmg would be recognized as a mounted volume unless it had been opened. Of course, I could be mistaken.
Good call, if it had been mounted and displayed there, that should not e the icon to show.