As rumored all over the place, I think one of the top secret features is a new UI for Leopard. It makes perfect sense, especially if Apple has some interesting tricks up their sleeves. They said they do not want Microsoft to be able to copy the features, and a new UI revealed at this point would have no effect on Microsoft in the short run. They are already full steam ahead with Vista and Aero. It also might convert some of those interested in Vista to OSX. Despite how lame it sounds, a LOT of people think looks are the most important aspect of a computer. Hence Aero and all the hype surrounding it...
A GUI change would be very easy to implement fairly late in the game because it don't require much beta testing at all, so this is very likely. But it doesn't make sense that they have started to make a few changes to the current GUI. Could they just be testing out a few isolated concepts on the developers?
This is just an anology related to the debate of just how important looks are in software...
There is a big sector of the computer user population that thinks it's more important to spend $400 on a new video card than $60 on a new mouse or keyboard, even though the latter are your main modes of physical interaction with the computer.
More to the point, though, you can't seem to repeat it enough: good UI design is not about making things pretty; it's about making them usable. "Pretty" will always be debated, and as long as it the aesthetic pleases the majority of users, it's not the key concern of design (and not the key advantage of OS X over other OSs; if only the Linux crowd would take simple guideline that more seriously.)
This is just an anology related to the debate of just how important looks are in software...
There is a big sector of the computer user population that thinks it's more important to spend $400 on a new video card than $60 on a new mouse or keyboard, even though the latter are your main modes of physical interaction with the computer.
More to the point, though, you can't seem to repeat it enough: good UI design is not about making things pretty; it's about making them usable. "Pretty" will always be debated, and as long as it the aesthetic pleases the majority of users, it's not the key concern of design (and not the key advantage of OS X over other OSs; if only the Linux crowd would take simple guideline that more seriously.)
Right. Usability is obviously more important than looks, but looks are very important also.
A GUI change would be very easy to implement fairly late in the game because it don't require much beta testing at all, so this is very likely. But it doesn't make sense that they have started to make a few changes to the current GUI. Could they just be testing out a few isolated concepts on the developers?
Hmmm.
Vista is Frozen and has Gone Gold with it already being launched to Business Customers
Who knows, maybe I'm a rare case, but I absolutely refuse to use any UI that makes me want to rip my own eyes out no matter how functional it is. Somebody can have the most feature rich and easy to use UI in the world, but if it looks like a piece of s*** I won't touch it, because yeah, I am generally staring at it when I'm using it.
So maybe I'm the rare one, but no UI is worth torturing your own eyes.
Vista is Frozen and has Gone Gold with it already being launched to Business Customers
It's too late
Sebastian
Umm............... what?
I'm not talking about vista. I'm talking about Mac OS X. And the reason why they would keep a GUI change secret is not so that Vista could not copy it but rather so that it adds more hype when it IS announced late in the game.
I'm not talking about vista. I'm talking about Mac OS X. And the reason why they would keep a GUI change secret is not so that Vista could not copy it but rather so that it adds more hype when it IS announced late in the game.
Oh... I thought you were talking about Vista ripping OS X off. Sorry, I've been far more tired then usual lately.
someone has to move off of this paradigm. The windows based OS is essentially dying.
We need the (no pun) neXt step.
What are we to see in true OS Evolution?
The incremental add a slide bar change the color of the background and pay 299 isn't cutting it for me. The finder still sucks.
Let's invent a new Paradigm Apple. C'mon think different!!
It's true... the Macintosh UI has been the Apple gold standard only since 1984, but I'm sure under Jobs (remember they had been developing for use on Intel in parallel for 4(?) years without anyone knowing about it) they continue to push the envelope and do R&D work for whatever they think will follow. I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the secret meetings...
It's true... the Macintosh UI has been the Apple gold standard only since 1984, but I'm sure under Jobs (remember they had been developing for use on Intel in parallel for 4(?) years without anyone knowing about it) they continue to push the envelope and do R&D work for whatever they think will follow. I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the secret meetings...
I wouldn't, I hear Steve hates Flys... \ So no Sneaking in as a Fly
I expect an additional use of the built-in iSight camera's in the Imacs and macbooks (pro):
To be able to control some specific osX elements with hand gestures:
expose, frontrow, dashboard and spaces come to mind. Maybe not super usefull but still very cool to invoke expose or frontrow with a simple hand-gesture instead of a mouse movement or key-combo. Would also be a nice way to lessen the chances for RSI. 8)
I expect an additional use of the built-in iSight camera's in the Imacs and macbooks (pro):
To be able to control some specific osX elements with hand gestures:
expose, frontrow, dashboard and spaces come to mind. Maybe not super usefull but still very cool to invoke expose or frontrow with a simple hand-gesture instead of a mouse movement or key-combo. Would also be a nice way to lessen the chances for RSI. 8)
that seems a cool idea, but one might end up looking like a tourrets sufferer?
the hot corners on my friends iBook REALLY tick me off, i cant imagine the same (apparently) random things happening if this feature was added.
i would most likely have to switch it off.
but it would have a LOT of potential, more so coupled with voice recognition....mmm... the mind boggles
I expect a lot more will be made of that core image technology ( or whatever its called ) which they featured as a demonstration of all the photos flying around in that scripted animation from the last presentation.
Time machine seemed to show that to an extent. The manner in which they manipulated the windows forward to back as being part of the actual look and feel and way it worked.
I expect you'll see that sort of animation and movement to the windows when you switch between them.
that seems a cool idea, but one might end up looking like a tourrets sufferer?
the hot corners on my friends iBook REALLY tick me off, i cant imagine the same (apparently) random things happening if this feature was added.
i would most likely have to switch it off.
but it would have a LOT of potential, more so coupled with voice recognition....mmm... the mind boggles
I would expect gracefull - non tourret - movements and full customizability of the sensitivity and the range of commands/programs responding to gestures.
{slightly off-topic}
Yeah, hot corners can be annoying when you're not used to them but once you are, I find them really usefull, in fact, I wouldn't want to live without them and keep finding myself wanting to invoke expose with my mouse - on my *&$(&^% work PC!
I did convince my girlfriend I need a macbook for work soon
Great discussion going on here. Although I think everyone here isn't thinking that far outside the box. We're talking about Top Secret features that Apple felt could be too important to reveal last August. New GUIs and better Finders and Independent Rez will probably definately be in the new build of OS X, but its doubtful to me that these are the kinds of things that should be kept Top Secret. We've already seen some brilliant improvements to some of the features already announced like Spaces and WebClip so we know they're even improving the improvements. My guess is that we might see more drastic changes in Leopard. Tiger is fine by itself, there isn't much reason to change it so I think we can expect something big for Leopard. Its difficult to say what the new features will be because as we all know Jobs & Co. create the market. The consumer doesn't know what it wants until it is told what it wants.
In the other Software Agents thread, (mods could you merge these?) we are having a similar discussion. In that thread, I suggested that perhaps Apple might go back to the future with a knowledge navigator like voice command user interface. Most of the pieces of the original KN are here now. The google hyper-database, the speech recognition, the isight built in and the raw computing power. They just aren't Apple simple and rolled together. Perhaps some of these are rolled into Leopard. That is Apple's main strength, taking off the shelf stuff and putting it together in a useful and novel way coupled with an intuitive and easy to use interface.
Comments
Hmmm.
There is a big sector of the computer user population that thinks it's more important to spend $400 on a new video card than $60 on a new mouse or keyboard, even though the latter are your main modes of physical interaction with the computer.
More to the point, though, you can't seem to repeat it enough: good UI design is not about making things pretty; it's about making them usable. "Pretty" will always be debated, and as long as it the aesthetic pleases the majority of users, it's not the key concern of design (and not the key advantage of OS X over other OSs; if only the Linux crowd would take simple guideline that more seriously.)
This is just an anology related to the debate of just how important looks are in software...
There is a big sector of the computer user population that thinks it's more important to spend $400 on a new video card than $60 on a new mouse or keyboard, even though the latter are your main modes of physical interaction with the computer.
More to the point, though, you can't seem to repeat it enough: good UI design is not about making things pretty; it's about making them usable. "Pretty" will always be debated, and as long as it the aesthetic pleases the majority of users, it's not the key concern of design (and not the key advantage of OS X over other OSs; if only the Linux crowd would take simple guideline that more seriously.)
Right. Usability is obviously more important than looks, but looks are very important also.
A GUI change would be very easy to implement fairly late in the game because it don't require much beta testing at all, so this is very likely. But it doesn't make sense that they have started to make a few changes to the current GUI. Could they just be testing out a few isolated concepts on the developers?
Hmmm.
Vista is Frozen and has Gone Gold with it already being launched to Business Customers
It's too late
Sebastian
So maybe I'm the rare one, but no UI is worth torturing your own eyes.
Sebastian
Vista is Frozen and has Gone Gold with it already being launched to Business Customers
It's too late
Sebastian
Umm............... what?
I'm not talking about vista. I'm talking about Mac OS X. And the reason why they would keep a GUI change secret is not so that Vista could not copy it but rather so that it adds more hype when it IS announced late in the game.
Umm............... what?
I'm not talking about vista. I'm talking about Mac OS X. And the reason why they would keep a GUI change secret is not so that Vista could not copy it but rather so that it adds more hype when it IS announced late in the game.
Oh... I thought you were talking about Vista ripping OS X off. Sorry, I've been far more tired then usual lately.
Sebastian
We need the (no pun) neXt step.
What are we to see in true OS Evolution?
The incremental add a slide bar change the color of the background and pay 299 isn't cutting it for me. The finder still sucks.
Let's invent a new Paradigm Apple. C'mon think different!!
someone has to move off of this paradigm. The windows based OS is essentially dying.
We need the (no pun) neXt step.
What are we to see in true OS Evolution?
The incremental add a slide bar change the color of the background and pay 299 isn't cutting it for me. The finder still sucks.
Let's invent a new Paradigm Apple. C'mon think different!!
It's true... the Macintosh UI has been the Apple gold standard only since 1984, but I'm sure under Jobs (remember they had been developing for use on Intel in parallel for 4(?) years without anyone knowing about it) they continue to push the envelope and do R&D work for whatever they think will follow. I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the secret meetings...
It's true... the Macintosh UI has been the Apple gold standard only since 1984, but I'm sure under Jobs (remember they had been developing for use on Intel in parallel for 4(?) years without anyone knowing about it) they continue to push the envelope and do R&D work for whatever they think will follow. I would love to be a fly on the wall at some of the secret meetings...
I wouldn't, I hear Steve hates Flys...
Sebastian
so APART from the UI any other thoughts?
I expect an additional use of the built-in iSight camera's in the Imacs and macbooks (pro):
To be able to control some specific osX elements with hand gestures:
expose, frontrow, dashboard and spaces come to mind. Maybe not super usefull but still very cool to invoke expose or frontrow with a simple hand-gesture instead of a mouse movement or key-combo. Would also be a nice way to lessen the chances for RSI. 8)
I expect an additional use of the built-in iSight camera's in the Imacs and macbooks (pro):
To be able to control some specific osX elements with hand gestures:
expose, frontrow, dashboard and spaces come to mind. Maybe not super usefull but still very cool to invoke expose or frontrow with a simple hand-gesture instead of a mouse movement or key-combo. Would also be a nice way to lessen the chances for RSI. 8)
that seems a cool idea, but one might end up looking like a tourrets sufferer?
the hot corners on my friends iBook REALLY tick me off, i cant imagine the same (apparently) random things happening if this feature was added.
i would most likely have to switch it off.
but it would have a LOT of potential, more so coupled with voice recognition....mmm... the mind boggles
Time machine seemed to show that to an extent. The manner in which they manipulated the windows forward to back as being part of the actual look and feel and way it worked.
I expect you'll see that sort of animation and movement to the windows when you switch between them.
that seems a cool idea, but one might end up looking like a tourrets sufferer?
the hot corners on my friends iBook REALLY tick me off, i cant imagine the same (apparently) random things happening if this feature was added.
i would most likely have to switch it off.
but it would have a LOT of potential, more so coupled with voice recognition....mmm... the mind boggles
I would expect gracefull - non tourret - movements and full customizability of the sensitivity and the range of commands/programs responding to gestures.
{slightly off-topic}
Yeah, hot corners can be annoying when you're not used to them but once you are, I find them really usefull, in fact, I wouldn't want to live without them and keep finding myself wanting to invoke expose with my mouse - on my *&$(&^% work PC!
I did convince my girlfriend I need a macbook for work soon