First Platinum, then Aqua. What next?

os10geekos10geek
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
The Graphic User Interface on the Mac has gone through many evolutions. First came the barebones look of pre-OS 8. Then came the blocky, slightly more animated grey of Platinum. Next, the brilliant hues of Aqua were born, relieving sore eyes. What will the next evolution be? Will Apple continue with the emerging brushed metal theme of Safari, the iApps, and Quicktime? Or will Apple come out with a brilliant new look that will make Aqua look dull? A penny for your thoughts. (Of course, I'm to cheap for that, but post anyway )
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 54
    spartspart Posts: 2,060member
    Brushed metal is meant to compliment Aqua, not replace it.



    Personally, I like it how it is, though I'd like to see a Quicksilver theme (alongside Blue and Graphite, or maybe replacing Graphite) along the lines of the style of the X logos seen <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/server"; target="_blank">here</a>.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    applenutapplenut Posts: 5,768member
    each major change came with a significant change in technology (hardware and software)



    right now, i think Aqua is pushing the limits of both and on the software end it still has rom to grow.



    what next? who knows... im sure things such as resolution independance.... pehaps 3D?...would that improve the UI though?





    i've always wanted a system wide Final Cut Pro theme.
  • Reply 2 of 54
    ringoringo Posts: 329member
    My guess is that MacOS will never have another big UI revamp. OS X is, after all, just a stopgap before the next big thing is developed. Apple is merely using the Macintosh as a way to fund its development.



    This was originally going to be the Newton... but we all know how that ended.
  • Reply 4 of 54
    i-bent-my-wookiei-bent-my-wookie Posts: 326member
    [quote]Originally posted by Ringo:

    <strong>My guess is that MacOS will never have another big UI revamp. OS X is, after all, just a stopgap before the next big thing is developed. Apple is merely using the Macintosh as a way to fund its development.



    This was originally going to be the Newton... but we all know how that ended. </strong><hr></blockquote>





    Huh? Read the question again and then email me some of what you are smoking <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    my guess,

    Chromium - flowing-morphing-shiny-metal-look. Desktop objects morph smoothly between shapes and glow and pulse.
  • Reply 5 of 54
    alpha macalpha mac Posts: 463member
    [quote]Originally posted by I-bent-my-wookie:

    <strong>





    Huh? Read the question again and then email me some of what you are smoking <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />

    </strong><hr></blockquote>

    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 6 of 54
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    I think that a interface technology that allows reflection would be a nice touch. See your mouse pointer reflected on an active window...thats it! There needs to be more of a difference between active and inactive brushed-metal windows.
  • Reply 7 of 54
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    apple will probably use aqua for a while, i'd say least till OS XI or XII, that should be another half decade or so. It will probably be continually refined. Think of OS 8 compared to 9 or even 9.0 to 9.1. When did they change the GUI...when it went from 68k to PPC? I'd say it MIGHT change before the next processor technology, but it should be on aqua for a long time; though it will evolve very might it think.
  • Reply 8 of 54
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    [quote]Originally posted by ast3r3x:

    <strong>Think of OS 8 compared to 9 or even 9.0 to 9.1. When did they change the GUI...when it went from 68k to PPC?.</strong><hr></blockquote>"Classic" Mac OS has had the exact same GUI (with exception of some very minor additions like the Window menu in the Finder) since Mac OS 8.0. The 9 and 9.1 you cite are the same as 8.



    The UI was changed in Mac OS 8 not because of a major hardware change. PPCs had been around and supported since System 7.1.2 and support for 68040s was not dropped until Mac OS 8.5. "Platinum" was actually an appearance that was scrapped from the dead Copland project and tossed on Mac OS 8 for kicks.



    [ 03-01-2003: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 54
    cybermonkeycybermonkey Posts: 604member
    The next UI will just be a face of either a woman or a bloke (depends on your preference) that will read to you your emails and tell you how wonderfull you are, will get jealous when your partner is around and then track your every move via satelite and change the traffic lights right when theres an artic coming from your right!!

    And we will all be forced to live in cardboard boxes in a sewer.

    Oh sorry, i thought this was the M$palladium thread! DOH!

    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 10 of 54
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    [quote]Originally posted by Brad:

    <strong>"Classic" Mac OS has had the exact same GUI (with exception of some very minor additions like the Window menu in the Finder) since Mac OS 8.0. The 9 and 9.1 you cite are the same as 8.



    The UI was changed in Mac OS 8 not because of a major hardware change. PPCs had been around and supported since System 7.1.2 and support for 68040s was not dropped until Mac OS 8.5. "Platinum" was actually an appearance that was scrapped from the dead Copland project and tossed on Mac OS 8 for kicks.



    [ 03-01-2003: Message edited by: Brad ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    well u kicked my ass with that one

    *shrugs and go back to my jello*



    [ 03-02-2003: Message edited by: ast3r3x ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 54
    patchoulipatchouli Posts: 402member
    A little off the road here but, isn't the 'X' logo that Apple uses for OS X still the old Apple font that was since replaced? Does anyone think (or know) if Apple will replace the current 'X' logo with an 'X' that matches the new font that they are currently sporting?
  • Reply 12 of 54
    spartspart Posts: 2,060member
    The "old" font is called Apple Garamond, and it's still in use alongside Adobe Myriad (the new font.)



    If you actually take a look at Apple's site, it's all over the place.



    To me, Myriad fits in with Apple's new modern look. Most of it anyway. Myriad+TiBook=Bleh! (Not that I've seen it in use and can actually judge, mind you. Just what I'm seeing in my head. )
  • Reply 13 of 54
    lemon bon bonlemon bon bon Posts: 2,383member
    [quote]

    Huh? Read the question again and then email me some of what you are smoking



    <hr></blockquote>



    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    I think we could see 3d elements. Fancy ways of having multiple desktops.



    An all aluminium/white look. Glass/Steel.



    Apple could Sage/Ruby-ise it according to 'this season's' colour.



    Really. I think it's Aqua for the next five years.



    They may allow some colour theme ideas/skins as the 'look' becomes standardized as the OS for 25 million Mac users instead of Five million.



    They may 'relax' a little then.



    It's hard to second guess Apple. But, the consumer lines are all white. Maybe an all white OS would be alittle too much...







    Lemon Bon Bon <img src="graemlins/cancer.gif" border="0" alt="[cancer]" />
  • Reply 14 of 54
    os10geekos10geek Posts: 413member
    Maybe the GUI could introduce things like refraction and color bleeding, turning our Finder into a 3d render stage.
  • Reply 15 of 54
    ibrowseibrowse Posts: 1,749member
    [quote]First Platinum, then Aqua. What next?<hr></blockquote>



    Robots!
  • Reply 16 of 54
    cindercinder Posts: 381member
    Refined Aqua.



    They're doing this slowly.



    They wouldnt have to so as much work if they hadn't thrown out the Apple GUI Guidlines book when they designed it in the first place.



    I expect there will be no small amount of 'tweaking' with 10.3



    They need to load X up with customizable power features! (for the dock, finder, etc etc)
  • Reply 17 of 54
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Aquatinum?



    No, seriously...



    It would be interesting to see another window manager sitting on top of the Darwin core, but it would just be another window manager...nothing more. This is almost better as a Software Forum question because I really can't imagine that anything concerned with OS X will be anything else OTHER than a windows-oriented interface. How the windows actually work is anybody's guess.



    Improvements would be interesting though...is that the question?
  • Reply 18 of 54
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Dock must be more customizable. Right now it's pretty cruddy.



    Also, a theme similar to Max Rudberg's "Rhapsodized" would be so cool. I just dig the smooth, polished, refined platinum look. No stripes to distract and uglify, just a simple gray theme. At least tone down Aqua a bit. Square it up a bit, make it flatter (they've already started with that), a little more subdued. Look at the evolution of iMac colors - they've always been kinda weird, especially the "five flavors" and "flower power/blue dalmation" stages, but the graphite, snow, indigo, ruby and sage ones were very good looking. Now Apple's hardware is all white. I expect the interface to go through a similar evolution, eventually arriving at an attractive yet simple interface much like today's Macs.
  • Reply 19 of 54
    costiquecostique Posts: 1,084member
    The next step in UI design is virtual reality, RDF pills and artificial intelligence to power the Start button.
  • Reply 20 of 54
    whisperwhisper Posts: 735member
    [quote]Originally posted by os10geek:

    <strong>The Graphic User Interface on the Mac has gone through many evolutions. First came the barebones look of pre-OS 8. Then came the blocky, slightly more animated grey of Platinum. Next, the brilliant hues of Aqua were born, relieving sore eyes. What will the next evolution be? Will Apple continue with the emerging brushed metal theme of Safari, the iApps, and Quicktime? Or will Apple come out with a brilliant new look that will make Aqua look dull? A penny for your thoughts. (Of course, I'm to cheap for that, but post anyway )</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Dude, I don't know what things are like for you, but where I come from, thoughts go for $1.50 each.
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