Adrian Fogge Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 The impression that I got from it and the other materials avaliable at WWDC06 seemed to be more along the lines of "Use the system-wide resources, that is what they are there for. It promotes consistency, makes your apps look more beautiful because of Resolution Independance and improves the general feel of everything." One thing that I have been a little surprised about was that the Magnifier in 10.5 does not make use of resolution independance. I can imagine that this could be difficult to implement (well), but it could make everything look a lot more beautiful. Getting back to what I was saying, it is overall good programming practices to use system-wide, universal libraries and resources whenever possible because it makes everything consistent and can benefit from security and performance fixes downstream. But, as we have seen, companies like Oracle have needed to go in and implement their own frameworks for things like filesystem access and direct hardware-to-hardware communications over OS X to improve performance, and not just by a few percentage points, but by orders of magnitude. So, a lot of these textbook answers do not generally work out well in the real world because someone will always find some way of doing one thing much more efficiently than has been done in the past. So, this could be Apple's way of subtlely saying "do this so that everything will look consistent when a new UI comes out" but it could also be "use good programming practices." I mean, they did say that if you were not going to use the system-wide resources, then make sure that you use black-and-white (not grayscale) vector images and apply all effects and transitions with CoreAnimation to get a fully Resolution Independant UI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teehee Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 an earlier post asked "why didnt apple release the new UI/features right after the launch of vista" with the support that many would hold off on buying vista and wait a few months and get the better leopard. though this is a valid point, i dont think it would lead to many converters. I think that if they wait till vista is released, then people start buying it and seeing that it isnt worth how expensive it is, or see that it isnt as great an operating system, and then leopard is released, that this would lead to more switchers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 Well, think about it this way... According to Microsoft, most people will not be "upgrading" their computers but will simply be buying new ones. They even have numbers to back it up saying that since the release of Vista, New computer sales have gone up 68%, however their actual boxed versions of Vista have hardly sold at all, with Microsoft accounting a majority of their sales to the "Computer Enthusiast" market. So, by Microsoft's own admission, everyone who wants to run Vista should really just buy a new computer so you can be sure to make use of all the great things that Vista has to offer. I do have to say though, I have only encountered one "crash" under Vista, and that was with PowerPoint when showing a presentation via a Toshiba Wireless Video Projector and Vista's Projector Settings Wizard. While not everything works on my Macbook Pro, what does work goes fairly smoothly after you get past how horribly different everything is. Sure their are glaring UI inconsistencies and glitches all over the place, and even with Red Aero Windows, you still have a blue border along the bottom and right-hand side. But in the end, that is all stuff that will be addressed when companies start coming out with their drivers and when Microsoft starts fixing these issues that have been popping up in the real world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Puppy Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 an earlier post asked "why didnt apple release the new UI/features right after the launch of vista" with the support that many would hold off on buying vista and wait a few months and get the better leopard. though this is a valid point, i dont think it would lead to many converters. I think that if they wait till vista is released, then people start buying it and seeing that it isnt worth how expensive it is, or see that it isnt as great an operating system, and then leopard is released, that this would lead to more switchers... If you think about that, why would anyone want to spend two thousand dollars on a mac immediately after they bought a PC? However, that certainly would lead to more homebrew macs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Why spend $2000 when you can spend $1000 for a Macbook? Damn, sexy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Puppy Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Um, to get better performance? And anyhow, spring is just around the corner, around 1 or more months to go. Be patient and we'll see what comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Everyone knows that sexy beasts don't need to be great performers. Guys will get their jollies off nomatter what they can't or choose not to do. Beauty conquers all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackShadowWolf Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Even if they cant get a new UI into the release of Leopard, can't they attach it to a minor update, like 10.5.1? I would think if they had the necessary libraries in with the release, all it would really need was to finish polishing it up then send it out. And after you install the update, Apple could even ask you if you would like to switch to Illuminous or stay with Aqua/BrushedMetal. Adrian, are there any new frameworks, libraries, etc at all in the latest build that may be a backbone for a new UI? I cant torrent anything so I cant download it and check myself . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Snow Posted February 13, 2007 Share Posted February 13, 2007 Adrian, are there any new frameworks, libraries, etc at all in the latest build that may be a backbone for a new UI? I cant torrent anything so I cant download it and check myself . There is a new private framework CoreUI in leopard. and inside the framework, in ressources, a Aqua.bundle. This is a strong indication of a theme feature in Leopard. it would be interesting to know if this framework is really loaded by the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanM Posted February 13, 2007 Author Share Posted February 13, 2007 Even if they cant get a new UI into the release of Leopard, can't they attach it to a minor update, like 10.5.1? I would think if they had the necessary libraries in with the release, all it would really need was to finish polishing it up then send it out. And after you install the update, Apple could even ask you if you would like to switch to Illuminous or stay with Aqua/BrushedMetal. Adrian, are there any new frameworks, libraries, etc at all in the latest build that may be a backbone for a new UI? I cant torrent anything so I cant download it and check myself . A new UI is a major thing, not something they would add in a point update. If it doesn't make it in Leopard we'll probably have to wait for 10.6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Puppy Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 CoreUI suggests that the new UI is going to be driven by Core Animation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Why does it suggest that? I mean, there is already CoreAudio, CoreVideo and a few others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asap18 Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 CoreUI, will probably used for theme but i think even more it will be used for the resolution independence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg331 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 yea the resolution independence makes more sense cause steve j said he didnt like themes, but itd be awesome if they did include a theme manager (a la shapeshifter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 But Steve also spoke often how the PowerPC Architecture was far superior to the x86 Arthitecture, and that they had no intention of supporting alternate architectures. We all know how that turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg331 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 haha yea he also said video didnt belong on an ipod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nato64 Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 iTunes 6 and the iPhone's UI are clear indications of where Mac OS X is going to go. Right now, the build of Leopard I'm running is just glorified Tiger, in a good way. That blue spotlight-induced theme has been very refined but I can't see it change everything. The glassy black UI ala Time Machine, combined with "Quick Look" and unified aqua is what's coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg331 Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 plus the diminishing brushed metal look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Puppy Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 As I have said before, the UI of mac os x follows the design of the hardware of apple. The plastic-like buttons and etc in Aqua resembles the classic translucent iMac, whereas the smooth white gradient of the titlebar of the window resembles the opaque white plastic of current Macs. The brushed metal was designed to resemble the Apple Cinema monitors, the Mac Pro and the Macbook Pro. Considering the iPhone now being black and glossy, and the increasingly black and glossy applications, it would not be wrong to believe that Leopard is going to feature a black and glossy UI, and that future macs (the hardware) would be black and glossy too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lostgame Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Well, it's that black and white thing that Apple's been doing - black and white iPod, black and white Macbooks, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 Dont forget the increasing numbers of Black, Red, Blue and Orange Macbook Pros that I have been seeing at the library lately. Sure, that is because there is an auto body place just off of campus that is doing custom computer paint jobs for $100 so a ton of people have been going for it (usually the Black 17" Macbook Pros). They are damn sexy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barretron Posted February 19, 2007 Share Posted February 19, 2007 My Theory: Perhaps Apple isn't announcing their UI like Vista did because Leopard has more substance than just a UI upgrade. When people see OS X their initial reaction is "oo pretty," but as all designers know, function ultimately trumps form. OS X works nicely, but it also has decent security features and relatively intuitive user interface. Microsoft, seeing the recent success of OS X, decides "Oh! OS X is doing so well because it looks pretty! Oh look you can put widgets on a dashboard! Oh look at Expose! People must be buying Macs because they look pretty!" and then proceeds to build an entire $500 operating system around a poorly-functioning, resource-hogging, non-intuitive user interface. Flip 3D looks nice, but by the time it actually loads properly and shows all of your windows, you're ready to shoot yourself in the head. It also manages to show about 10% of each window you have open as opposed to OS X's 100% of every window open with Expose. Aero looks nice for about 5 minutes tops. Then you realize that every window you have open has a 10 pixel border around it, which wastes space unnecessarily. The glass effect makes windows look cluttered and, quite frankly, ugly. Microsoft spent so much energy into redesigning the UI that they forgot that that's not what people want! When you go on a website, do you want to look at the well-designed website, or the clunky glass that frames the well-designed website? It wouldn't be half-bad if it didn't make my computer run at half its original speed, but hey, it's an excuse for me to buy yet another product license. Anyway, while I do think that Leopard will have upgrades to UI and a few "top secret features," that shouldn't be the point. The point is to give the end-user a better experience with the computer than before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg331 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 agreed. simply put, os x is built on top of a smarter, better designed base, so it can have all those good looks without screwing other things up (or slowing htem down) i dont think the ui redesign will be as drastic as some people are predicting, but ittl be there just the same (perhaps just brushed metal --> plastic?), alongside the other "top secret" features (or maybe it's something bigger... like themes. imagine, that would fit the bill for both the ui redesign, and could be labeled as a "top secret" feature) themes: think shapeshifter + apple's designers = leopard themes / UI redesign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlentz823 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 so check this out this is the new redesigned APPLE STUDENTS facebook group check out the UI its crazy. i can see this as a LEOPARD UI http://hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204894392 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickg331 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 similar to some of the other stuff thats popping up in leopard these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts