Will 10.4 have new interface/cosmetic changes?

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Ever since OSX was introduced, upgrades along the way have tweaked the interface or removed some pinstriping, etc..



Will Tiger, be pretty tame in that regard, or will we likely see pretty major changes?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    kim kap solkim kap sol Posts: 2,987member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by satchmo

    Ever since OSX was introduced, upgrades along the way have tweaked the interface or removed some pinstriping, etc..



    Will Tiger, be pretty tame in that regard, or will we likely see pretty major changes?




    Nobody knows but Steve Jobs...and maybe the people actually working on the GUI aspect of OS X (but even that is doubtful, hehe.)
  • Reply 2 of 16
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by satchmo

    Ever since OSX was introduced, upgrades along the way have tweaked the interface or removed some pinstriping, etc..



    Will Tiger, be pretty tame in that regard, or will we likely see pretty major changes?




    Weeeell, hasn't Panther had the most dramatic cosmetic changes since OS X 10.0? Let's review:



    10.1 - menu extras, ability to reposition Dock left or right, system-wide font smoothing for Carbon apps (at the very end of 10.1's update releases)



    10.2 - Aqua widgets adjusted from Liquid to Glass, removed pinstripes from the Dock, textured metal windows now available to developers



    10.3 - Pinstripes everywhere toned down, menu separators back, gray title bars for windows, increased use of metal windows (including of course the Finder) across the OS, labels, adjusted Finder icon, new separated control widget replacing tabs.



    Did I miss anything? It's all a blur now.



    Here's my speculations for Tiger:



    - tweaks to the Dock to go along with some new modest Dock functionality, including reduced opacity for the Dock itself



    - new type of window w/ simplified window controls (similar to dashboard windows found in Motion) for notifications that use graduated transparency



    - increased use of "plastic white" widgets as used in Safari, Finder, and ITMS



    - a collection of modest little tweaks and changes



    I suspect we'll see some advances to made the technology enabling gradients and textures introduced in 10.4 (maybe) -- iridescence? real shadows? introduction of more 3-D elements? -- but not carried out until 10.5.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    I'll go out on a limb and say, yes, there will be appearance changes in Tiger. Considering that every release of the OS, save maybe 10.1, had these changes, my Magic 8 Ball says, "most likely."



    I think Apple is still tweaking how to use transparency more effectively, and is experimenting a bit with elements like the source view especially.
  • Reply 4 of 16
    satchmosatchmo Posts: 2,699member
    Part of me hopes Steve will say, "after everyone else has copied us and jumped on the brushed metal look, we're doing something different. That was so yesterday".



    And he proceeds to unveil a more refined and understated looking OS (whatever that is)
  • Reply 5 of 16
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by satchmo

    Part of me hopes Steve will say, "after everyone else has copied us and jumped on the brushed metal look, we're doing something different. That was so yesterday".



    And he proceeds to unveil a more refined and understated looking OS (whatever that is)




    That would be delicious.



    He can't do it until MS reveals Aero, though, eh? Otherwise it'll just become Aero in two seconds flat.



    I would love to see a shimmery, iridescent dove gray plastic/glass replace the metal... with shadows that subtly shift, as if from a real light source.
  • Reply 6 of 16
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Oooh! Oooh! And if you have an iSight set up, it figures out the *real* lighting in your area, and sets the shadows accordingly!



    Or not.



  • Reply 7 of 16
    arbernautarbernaut Posts: 182member
    Does anyone have any screenshots showing OSX's interface progression from the beta until now...? Looking back at the beta - with the Apple logo in centre of the top menu bar - I bet it seems really OTT with the shadows, pinstripes, etc.



    I'll be happy if they just remove all traces of Pinstripe and lose the brushed metal on Finder windows. I don't mind it, but there just seems no need for it...



    (Anyone know of a hack to remove the brushed metal from *just* the finder windows...?)
  • Reply 8 of 16
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    the login window and "About this Mac" window both had Aqua (blue) Apples up til Panther



    now they're Metal. (yet the Apple menu icon is still blue)



    consistency would be nice, unless the menu version signifies Aqua for another reason (Classic's icon is still the six-coloured old school version, so an argument could be made that Aqua is the menubar code for OSX and doesn't change from rev to rev)



    In which case, I'll predict that the info and login versions will change again.



    Two bits says desktop pictures will get a stripey new addition
  • Reply 9 of 16
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Arbernaut

    Does anyone have any screenshots showing OSX's interface progression from the beta until now...? Looking back at the beta - with the Apple logo in centre of the top menu bar - I bet it seems really OTT with the shadows, pinstripes, etc.



    Well, just for fun.... Here you go, OS X from Public Beta to Panther.







    (1MB animated GIF)



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Arbernaut

    (Anyone know of a hack to remove the brushed metal from *just* the finder windows...?)



    Metallifizer from Unsanity will do that, but it seems stuck in a very long beta.



    If you don't mind using ShapeShifter, it's quite doable.



    It's really not so bad once you get used to it.
  • Reply 10 of 16
    I would like to see themes reintroduced. even if it is only the choice between metal and pin-striped (which I personally prefer). I think that the metal interface works better on iapps.
  • Reply 11 of 16
    atomichamatomicham Posts: 185member
    Will we get the "minimize window-in-place" feature that was in early Panther betas? Why was that dropped? Anyone know?



    I am talking about where you could iconize a window outside of the dock so that it floated anywhere on the screen...



    Also, maybe we'll get "piles." If done right, that's how I'll work as my desk around me is nothing but piles. Most recent on top...
  • Reply 12 of 16
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,625member
    Aqua seems to be getting 'flattened' little by little. I expect to see more flattening going on in Tiger. Perhaps less 'curvy' too.
  • Reply 13 of 16
    quagmirequagmire Posts: 558member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hobbes

    Weeeell, hasn't Panther had the most dramatic cosmetic changes since OS X 10.0? Let's review:



    10.1 - menu extras, ability to reposition Dock left or right, system-wide font smoothing for Carbon apps (at the very end of 10.1's update releases)



    10.2 - Aqua widgets adjusted from Liquid to Glass, removed pinstripes from the Dock, textured metal windows now available to developers



    10.3 - Pinstripes everywhere toned down, menu separators back, gray title bars for windows, increased use of metal windows (including of course the Finder) across the OS, labels, adjusted Finder icon, new separated control widget replacing tabs.



    Did I miss anything? It's all a blur now.



    Here's my speculations for Tiger:



    - tweaks to the Dock to go along with some new modest Dock functionality, including reduced opacity for the Dock itself



    - new type of window w/ simplified window controls (similar to dashboard windows found in Motion) for notifications that use graduated transparency



    - increased use of "plastic white" widgets as used in Safari, Finder, and ITMS



    - a collection of modest little tweaks and changes



    I suspect we'll see some advances to made the technology enabling gradients and textures introduced in 10.4 (maybe) -- iridescence? real shadows? introduction of more 3-D elements? -- but not carried out until 10.5.




    You missed what made Panther famous, Expose.
  • Reply 14 of 16
    wrong robotwrong robot Posts: 3,907member
    I don't care what cosmetic changes they employ as long as it's snappy!





    Someone around these parts had a really neat idea (which kick mentioned sort of, maybe it was him originally too?)





    eitherway, using the clock as a reference point, windows would have dynamic lighting phases, so, for instance, at sunrise their lighting would have a hazy blue/orange tint, at midday it'd be normal, after noon it would fade a tiny bit, sunset would be a reddish orange tinting, and nighttime everything would be darkened slightly.



    It's a total eye candy thing, but I think, if done with consideration and taste, it could be totally awesome and would add a great aspect to the feel of OS X.
  • Reply 15 of 16
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by atomicham

    Will we get the "minimize window-in-place" feature that was in early Panther betas? Why was that dropped? Anyone know?



    Also, maybe we'll get "piles." If done right, that's how I'll work as my desk around me is nothing but piles. Most recent on top...




    I think MiP was dropped just because Apple didn't like the screen clutter it created, and Expose handled many of the benefits it gave to the Dock.



    The list of UI dead-ends for OS X is almost as interesting as what's actually been introduced. We've entertained Single Window Mode, minimize in place, piles, and now fading windows. I don't think the fading windows thing will see the light of day either as it's an old patent like the Piles concept. Apple's going through the motions of re-filing for patent protection. If nothing else, this stuff gives third party developers some fodder to work with.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    nanonano Posts: 179member
    Yes
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