Brush Metal Windows just replace the stripes with brushed metal, and the ability to click and drag from any point in the window. They still use Aqua elements. If Apple is including an option in Project Builder in 10.2 to just simply 'transform' the window into a brushed metal Window (using the system TIFF files), don't you think it will be easy for Apple to implement a system toggle for brushed windows?
The one thing here is that Apple is cheating. They are conforming to their standards. There is a new standard, and it is built into Jaguar. Any app can now use the brushed metal interface. Be afraid! Be very afraid!
Personally, I feel that it does not fit with Aqua. It does not blend well with the other windows opened on my screen. It should be a user theme option, rather than a developer enforced option.
Since it is an option in the Project Builder, that means that anyone can just hit that button and have his/her built application display that UI. (Spymac says that button was demonstrated on stage)
Since there are varying opinions about it, from what I read so far, I suggest you use the feedback link provided by starfleet and be nice to everyone else by asking for some kind of skins or theme support. This way each will get what they like. All will be happy.
Brushed metal/chrome is ugly. Not as ugly as pinstripes, but still ugly. Round edges are obnoxious and pointless. The gradient is really quite cheesy.
It adds so much inconsistancy to OS X. Some apps are Aqua, some apps are brushed chrome. Even some Apple apps are Aqua, and some are chrome.. i.e. Mail.app, System Preferences, everything. It used to mean that the app was an "iApp," or a "media app," but not anymore. Hell, there's inconsistancy between the iApps' different versions of brushed chrome!
There are like 4 or 5 different interfaces you could be using simultaneously in OS X now. Classic (Platinum), Aqua (Cocoa), Aqua (bad carbon port, ugly), and Chrome. Five, if you count Java applications.. a lot of which have their own blend of crappy Aqua and/or Windows-looking Java Swing "metal" classes.
[edit: oops, okay, so it's been mentioned I'm a skimmer, sosumi ]
I'm surprised that no one else has even mentioned that Apple is going to make the "Chrome" interface a toggle in IB (InterfaceBuilder) now.. they're going to tie it in to the NIB files (there's a new bit defining the window) so that when Carbon developers link to it (as they should) they'll have the option.
It's disgusting, really.
I had hoped that for XI they would remove the pinstripes, rounded edges, and either go all brushed chrome or all Aqua (a 'smooth' aqua, at least--like the theme, SmoothAqua). There's a theme called Godiva, which is almost exactly what I think Apple should go for.. Aqua elements, but instead of pinstripes or a smooth gradient, it's got the brushed chrome for the top of windows, and a nice grey as a substitute for the bright white portions that are generally striped. But who knows.. I am getting so DISGUSTED by Apple's interfaces lately...
On the other hand.. if Apple implements a "standard" brushed Chrome, that will mean a few *good* things will happen.
It'll mean that there will be no more diferent "iterations" of brushed chrome as we've seen over the years with QT4, QT5, Sherlock, iMovie (1 and 2), iTunes (1 and 2), iDVD, iPhoto, now iChat. Brushed chrome will be unified. So no more nasty brushed chrome wannabes, either.
We'll also more than likely have a way to switch between Aqua and Brushed chrome for almost any application.. it may be standard on all apps (and the system), it may be an option in some apps, and/or it may be a new hack or "haxie" that someone develops. The point is, it'll be an option,or the ability, or maybe just the possibility. Unlike now we have no possibility.
Maybe we'll even get a "brushed chrome" theme for Mac OS X 10.2. They wouldn't spoil that at WWDC, would they?!
One thing Apple *needs* to do if they're making brushed metal widely available is at least get it to draw properly. Right now, you can often see the metal UI elements being drawn in piece by piece.
Here are two movies I made a while ago outlining exactly this problem.
Personally, I feel that it does not fit with Aqua. It does not blend well with the other windows opened on my screen. It should be a user theme option, rather than a developer enforced option.
Since it is an option in the Project Builder, that means that anyone can just hit that button and have his/her built application display that UI. (Spymac says that button was demonstrated on stage)</strong>
I certainly hope it, the brushed metal look, is simply not a theme. A theme is just a different set of images to make a UI look a certain way. I see the brushed metal look as a different UI style with different UI conventions from Aqua, like the previously mentioned window dragging hot spot being anywhere there is a lot of brushed metal, and like the single window design seen in iTunes and iPhoto.
I suppose one other reason why I have such a strong dislike for the brushed metal interface is that its arrival has oft coincided with the "dummying down" of the application.
QuickTime Player, for example, grew mammoth in the amount of screen real-estate needed. Sure, the new interface has added a sound control button, channels button, and selection handles, but it also lost two excellent features that I used quite frequently. Oddly enough, they are still available in applications that use the "standard" QuickTime interface, but isn't available in Apple's own player. Those are the triple volume bar and the variable speed bar. See the picture below if you aren't familiar. If you old shift, the volume slider will have these two "niches" to signify levels to which you can amplify up to 300% for quiet files. The speed bar that appears over the frame advance keys when you hold the control button lets you dynamicaly choose from twelve speeds, extra slow to extra fast and either backwards or forwards.
SoundJam also lost features when Apple slapped on the metal UI and renamed it iTunes. Sure, the equalizer came back in a later version and a few new features were added, but some areas still haven't caught back up with where SoundJam was before (and probably never will).
Bushed metal simply looks tacky. If they are going to push Aqua, they need to use it in ALL of their applications. I actually liked the change in interface from iMovie 1 to 2. This is what they should do with ALL of their iApps.
Consistency is the key, and for some reason Apple wont conform to their own standards. ALL iApps should look as similar as possible. AND ALL iApps should look like the standard Aqua interface that the OS uses. Plain and simple.
1. The metal looks OK (that's just aesthetics - personal opinion), but the UI that comes with their metal look really, really bites. The Aqua equivalent is always better. If they could just take the Aqua version and metal-up the look, that would be worlds better.
2. It doesn't match everything else. OK, so they want their iApps to stand out from the crowd. At least I understand the logic; I just don't like it. I'd like everything to have the same look. If that's to be metal (without the UI problems)... well, I like Aqua's looks better, but OK. Just don't mix themes on my desktop.
Me too, I hate the brushed metal frame. It looks like cheap PC to me. The metal texture is really bad looking. Keep things simple, dammit ! Stick to the Aqua look, or change it all.
i personally dont care what color the window is. it is what it is. as long as the cool i-apps will work properly and be useful, the color is the least of my concerns.
well if they are going to embrace this new brushed metal vomit, I hope that they make it truly and fully themeable so I don't have to keep cleaning chunder out of my keyboard everytime I load up iPirate.
Actually, it would be very iMac color-like (oh god I hope we have learned our lesson on this one) to allow a method to give your brushed metal that anodized aluminum color look. Imagine that bright grape, orange, or strawberry iApps!
Quite honestly I am gonna strangle AppleFolk at MacHack's bash apple session over this one. Well, with any hope some mental giant will present that rumored "Turn off brushed-metal" option by the time the 'Hack rolls around... (not long now btw....hope to see you all there....)
<a href="http://www.machack.com/"; target="_blank">MacHack, Annual Conference for Leading Edge Developers and Woz</a>
<strong>I hate it. I think it is a terrible decision to push the metal UI back into Sherlock and adding it to iChat and Address Book.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I have one word for the spreading brushed metal look: Yeuck! Here's another one: Blech!
I just don't understand. Apple puts all this effort into developing Aqua and then they go back to the crappy brushed metal look that pre-dates OS X. WTF?
For QuickTime, brushed metal made sense becasue it created the same QT interface across platforms: brushed metal on Mac, brushed metal on Wintel. But neither Sherlock nor iChat are cross-platform.
i personally dont care what color the window is. it is what it is. as long as the cool i-apps will work properly and be useful, the color is the least of my concerns.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, of course UI designers are just bunch of girls. Playing with colors and making pretty buttons.
Even though I don't like it much in large areas, it does have a logic to it (with exception IMO with Address Book). All the apps that it applies to are iApps in one form or another. They have one main window, with some optional helper windows that let the common user take do common activities. It isn't rocket science to grasp that much. By that definition, you guys better be prepared to possibly see Mail and maybe IE in brushed metal because they're also iApps.
The good news is that Apple has standarized the brushed metal as Interface Builder elements, which suggests to me that you can consistently hack the appearance like you can Aqua right now. The fact that each app won't be a proprietary mess of bitmaps and widgets in each is good news for theme-makers I would think.
And considering that it was always in OS X, I can't really say it's a throw-back.
Comments
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
<strong> Any app can now use the brushed metal interface. Be afraid! Be very afraid!
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
NOOOoooooooOOooooooooOOOOooo!
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
Since it is an option in the Project Builder, that means that anyone can just hit that button and have his/her built application display that UI. (Spymac says that button was demonstrated on stage)
Since there are varying opinions about it, from what I read so far, I suggest you use the feedback link provided by starfleet and be nice to everyone else by asking for some kind of skins or theme support. This way each will get what they like. All will be happy.
It adds so much inconsistancy to OS X. Some apps are Aqua, some apps are brushed chrome. Even some Apple apps are Aqua, and some are chrome.. i.e. Mail.app, System Preferences, everything. It used to mean that the app was an "iApp," or a "media app," but not anymore. Hell, there's inconsistancy between the iApps' different versions of brushed chrome!
There are like 4 or 5 different interfaces you could be using simultaneously in OS X now. Classic (Platinum), Aqua (Cocoa), Aqua (bad carbon port, ugly), and Chrome. Five, if you count Java applications.. a lot of which have their own blend of crappy Aqua and/or Windows-looking Java Swing "metal" classes.
[edit: oops, okay, so it's been mentioned
I'm surprised that no one else has even mentioned that Apple is going to make the "Chrome" interface a toggle in IB (InterfaceBuilder) now.. they're going to tie it in to the NIB files (there's a new bit defining the window) so that when Carbon developers link to it (as they should) they'll have the option.
It's disgusting, really.
I had hoped that for XI they would remove the pinstripes, rounded edges, and either go all brushed chrome or all Aqua (a 'smooth' aqua, at least--like the theme, SmoothAqua). There's a theme called Godiva, which is almost exactly what I think Apple should go for.. Aqua elements, but instead of pinstripes or a smooth gradient, it's got the brushed chrome for the top of windows, and a nice grey as a substitute for the bright white portions that are generally striped. But who knows.. I am getting so DISGUSTED by Apple's interfaces lately...
[ 05-06-2002: Message edited by: bradbower ]</p>
It'll mean that there will be no more diferent "iterations" of brushed chrome as we've seen over the years with QT4, QT5, Sherlock, iMovie (1 and 2), iTunes (1 and 2), iDVD, iPhoto, now iChat. Brushed chrome will be unified. So no more nasty brushed chrome wannabes, either.
We'll also more than likely have a way to switch between Aqua and Brushed chrome for almost any application.. it may be standard on all apps (and the system), it may be an option in some apps, and/or it may be a new hack or "haxie" that someone develops. The point is, it'll be an option,or the ability, or maybe just the possibility. Unlike now we have no possibility.
Maybe we'll even get a "brushed chrome" theme for Mac OS X 10.2. They wouldn't spoil that at WWDC, would they?!
Here are two movies I made a while ago outlining exactly this problem.
<a href="http://brad.project-think.com/movies/PatheticQTPlayer.mov"; target="_blank">QuickTime Player Drawing Bugs
<a href="http://brad.project-think.com/movies/PatheticiTunes.mov"; target="_blank">iTunes Drawing Bugs
[ 05-06-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]</p>
Personally, I feel that it does not fit with Aqua. It does not blend well with the other windows opened on my screen. It should be a user theme option, rather than a developer enforced option.
Since it is an option in the Project Builder, that means that anyone can just hit that button and have his/her built application display that UI. (Spymac says that button was demonstrated on stage)</strong>
I certainly hope it, the brushed metal look, is simply not a theme. A theme is just a different set of images to make a UI look a certain way. I see the brushed metal look as a different UI style with different UI conventions from Aqua, like the previously mentioned window dragging hot spot being anywhere there is a lot of brushed metal, and like the single window design seen in iTunes and iPhoto.
And that's my well reasoned view.
QuickTime Player, for example, grew mammoth in the amount of screen real-estate needed. Sure, the new interface has added a sound control button, channels button, and selection handles, but it also lost two excellent features that I used quite frequently. Oddly enough, they are still available in applications that use the "standard" QuickTime interface, but isn't available in Apple's own player. Those are the triple volume bar and the variable speed bar. See the picture below if you aren't familiar. If you old shift, the volume slider will have these two "niches" to signify levels to which you can amplify up to 300% for quiet files. The speed bar that appears over the frame advance keys when you hold the control button lets you dynamicaly choose from twelve speeds, extra slow to extra fast and either backwards or forwards.
SoundJam also lost features when Apple slapped on the metal UI and renamed it iTunes. Sure, the equalizer came back in a later version and a few new features were added, but some areas still haven't caught back up with where SoundJam was before (and probably never will).
*sigh* <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
Plus, I think that iChat client looks fugly with those big, gaudy bubbles and avatars. What a terrible waste of screen real estate!!
[ 05-07-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]</p>
Consistency is the key, and for some reason Apple wont conform to their own standards. ALL iApps should look as similar as possible. AND ALL iApps should look like the standard Aqua interface that the OS uses. Plain and simple.
1. The metal looks OK (that's just aesthetics - personal opinion), but the UI that comes with their metal look really, really bites. The Aqua equivalent is always better. If they could just take the Aqua version and metal-up the look, that would be worlds better.
2. It doesn't match everything else. OK, so they want their iApps to stand out from the crowd. At least I understand the logic; I just don't like it. I'd like everything to have the same look. If that's to be metal (without the UI problems)... well, I like Aqua's looks better, but OK. Just don't mix themes on my desktop.
<strong>....This is what they should do with ALL of their iApps.</strong><hr></blockquote>
The whole "i" prefix is getting annoying, if you ask me.
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
i personally dont care what color the window is. it is what it is. as long as the cool i-apps will work properly and be useful, the color is the least of my concerns.
Actually, it would be very iMac color-like (oh god I hope we have learned our lesson on this one) to allow a method to give your brushed metal that anodized aluminum color look. Imagine that bright grape, orange, or strawberry iApps!
Quite honestly I am gonna strangle AppleFolk at MacHack's bash apple session over this one. Well, with any hope some mental giant will present that rumored "Turn off brushed-metal" option by the time the 'Hack rolls around... (not long now btw....hope to see you all there....)
<a href="http://www.machack.com/"; target="_blank">MacHack, Annual Conference for Leading Edge Developers and Woz</a>
<strong>I hate it.
I have one word for the spreading brushed metal look: Yeuck! Here's another one: Blech!
I just don't understand. Apple puts all this effort into developing Aqua and then they go back to the crappy brushed metal look that pre-dates OS X. WTF?
For QuickTime, brushed metal made sense becasue it created the same QT interface across platforms: brushed metal on Mac, brushed metal on Wintel. But neither Sherlock nor iChat are cross-platform.
Escher
<strong>i cant believe it!! this is the girliest topic ever!!!
<img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
i personally dont care what color the window is. it is what it is. as long as the cool i-apps will work properly and be useful, the color is the least of my concerns.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, of course UI designers are just bunch of girls. Playing with colors and making pretty buttons.
The good news is that Apple has standarized the brushed metal as Interface Builder elements, which suggests to me that you can consistently hack the appearance like you can Aqua right now. The fact that each app won't be a proprietary mess of bitmaps and widgets in each is good news for theme-makers I would think.
And considering that it was always in OS X, I can't really say it's a throw-back.