Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

bOOzo · Mar 15, 2003, 10:57 AM

I got a couple of requests for sunken titlebar buttons in the regular SmoothStripes theme.
I have a update to SS as good as ready, but first I want to know if you like the sunken buttons better than the floating buttons?
It's one or the other, not both, that would be too many variations. Personally I think the sunken ones look much better.

kovacs · Mar 15, 2003, 12:35 PM

I prefer the sunken buttons in this version, but I also have to admit that I prefer the old version of smoothstripes with the normal apple style floating buttons, in fact I still use the old version, but these new sunken buttons look pretty good...

One more thing I really would like to see is a version with the glossy windows and menu bar but without the aqua highlight in the menu ( I really dislike that ), but I also understand that you can't please everyone...

Keep up the good work, I'm a big fan of your work

swiz · Mar 15, 2003, 12:43 PM

The sunken ones without question.

SwarmyCurve · Mar 15, 2003, 01:14 PM

The sunken variation is my pick. Looks so much better than the default Apple Aqua.

blackmacx · Mar 15, 2003, 01:52 PM

Sunken buttons look more subtle and better I think. SS is my default theme, though I have a couple of near fav's: Siemple para X and Mac OS XP Metallic.

Go for the release and thank you (Max, Swiz and all themers) for making great themes.

bOOzo · Mar 15, 2003, 02:13 PM

Ok, thanks for the feedback people

Glad to hear that so many liked the sunken ones, that means that I can discontinue the floating buttons.

kovacs - yeah, it's hard to please everyone, but you could try editing the theme yourself. I have instructions on my FAQ on the homepage.

I will release the update tomorrow, I think.

Stuphalina · Mar 15, 2003, 02:25 PM

Yay! Thanks Max! What a great way of reaching out! Keep up the amazing work.
::waiting anxiously for tomorrow's update!::

mdc · Mar 15, 2003, 02:57 PM

/me continues sitting on the couch, playing around on his ibook, waiting patiently for tomorrow

macmike42 · Mar 15, 2003, 04:56 PM

Damn, I've been playing around with Gentoo for the last couple of days, plus starting a new job, so I didn't see this poll.

Not only do I prefer the sunken widgets by far, but: For some reason, Max, your sunken widgets look much better than Apple's sunken metal widgets. I don't quite understand what subtlety you are using, but rest assured, the first thing I do when downloading the newest rev of SmoothStripes is to copy the widgets from gloss over to the normal version. This would save me a little bit of effort

Helvetica Neue · Mar 15, 2003, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by bOOzo:
Ok, thanks for the feedback people
Glad to hear that so many liked the sunken ones, that means that I can discontinue the floating buttons.

kovacs - yeah, it's hard to please everyone, but you could try editing the theme yourself. I have instructions on my FAQ on the homepage.

I will release the update tomorrow, I think.

SS has been my default forever now, and I'm very sorry to hear that Max. Have been using ss from the beginning, and the only theme that I've ever considered usable full-time - the other ones are nice sometimes, but the novelty always wears off.

With sunken buttons, I'm afraid I might have to join Kovacs, although I probably won't get around to keeping it updated and will have to stick with versions that will hopefully not be rendered unusable by OS X updates....

I understand that it's getting to the point where too many variations to please too many people is starting to get difficult.

The sunken buttons seem to me to drift away from what was SS's original aim: I feel that its floating-button state perfects the aqua look the way Apple should have made it from the start.

mrmister · Mar 16, 2003, 12:03 AM

I agree with Helvetica--if it goes to sunken buttons, looking like those, I will have to leave my machine and the machines I administer on the current edition of Smooth Stripes.

I think this is a bigger issue than the "glossy" variation.

ARENA · Mar 16, 2003, 12:25 AM

Sunken!

wreks · 12:58 AM

I think it's bearing on ridiculous with the smoothstripes variations. It's a cool theme, I've used it alot, but 8 variations, considering more? c'mon.

You should take it back to it's original intent - aqua without the stripes, right? Do a standard widget version and a sunken version. Take out the stripes and leave the rest aqua.

Personally I don't care for the square edged versions (if I wanted that I'd use a square theme), or the gloss menus (I'd use bbx mercury) or the white widgets (I'd use milk).. opaque menus vs. transparent, it's so subtle, just go transparent that's what Apple ships.

2 variations is all you need.

bOOzo · Mar 16, 2003, 01:36 AM

Originally posted by Helvetica Neue:
SS has been my default forever now, and I'm very sorry to hear that Max. Have been using ss from the beginning, and the only theme that I've ever considered usable full-time - the other ones are nice sometimes, but the novelty always wears off.

With sunken buttons, I'm afraid I might have to join Kovacs, although I probably won't get around to keeping it updated and will have to stick with versions that will hopefully not be rendered unusable by OS X updates....

I understand that it's getting to the point where too many variations to please too many people is starting to get difficult.

The sunken buttons seem to me to drift away from what was SS's original aim: I feel that its floating-button state perfects the aqua look the way Apple should have made it from the start.

Sorry to hear that you do not like the sunken ones.. It's always like this though - I show a alteration and some like and some don't, and I too often end up doing variations.

I really hope that goMacs new format is very flexible and allows you too include many variations. I think I will post a mockup of how I would like a flexible theme format to be...

I could release 2.7 as it is now, with no floating buttons. Then I could post a poll of which SS themes are the most popular and then discontinue the ones that are not vey popular. How does that sound?

mrmister · Mar 16, 2003, 02:01 AM

Well, ultimately it is your choice. If I were you I think I'd break this out into a couple of different themes if the files are getting too huge when you have gloss, non-gloss, square, non-square, etc.

bOOzo · Mar 16, 2003, 03:23 AM

Yeah, I thought about braking it into a couple of themes, but I'm not so sure about that either.

I've released SmoothStripes 2.7 on my homepage now. Read the news and please vote in the smoothstripes poll (there are two, so you might have to reload the page to get the right poll to show up). I still have SmoothStripes 2.6 available until I decide what to do with the floating buttons.

Click my signature to get to my homepage.

Helvetica Neue · Mar 16, 2003, 05:27 AM

Originally posted by bOOzo:
I've released SmoothStripes 2.7 on my homepage now. Read the news and please vote in the smoothstripes poll (there are two, so you might have to reload the page to get the right poll to show up). I still have SmoothStripes 2.6 available until I decide what to do with the floating buttons.

Click my signature to get to my homepage.

Hi Max

As always, thanks for the great work. A couple of us have indicated that the direction SS seems to be taking might run the risk of turning into 'yet another theme', and people will always have different opinions on certain aspects of such a theme's implementation.

The original idea behind it was to take the stripes from aqua, and Smoothstripes is the one thing that has made working on OS X bearable for me, and I hope we will see updated Smoothstripes 'Aqua minus Stripes' versions in the future.

But thanks again for the good work, but what's with the brushed look on your website

?

H.

mdc · Mar 16, 2003, 10:24 AM

max, 2 things.

1. the sunken look of 2.7, imo, looks *so* much better than the floating ones. whether you keep them or not, i do not mind, i have ver 2.7

2. on your server the file name is .sitx. i renamed it to .sit and it downloaded fine for me.

smooth stripes 2.7 (not opaque not glossy)

digitaljames · Mar 16, 2003, 10:50 AM

Sunken for sure Max....

deadmole · Mar 16, 2003, 12:52 PM

Max, do whatever you want with the widgets just PLEASE don't ever take out the gloss variation. I could seriously eat the gloss up with a spoon.

bOOzo · Mar 16, 2003, 01:07 PM

...
The original idea behind it was to take the stripes from aqua, and Smoothstripes is the one thing that has made working on OS X bearable for me, and I hope we will see updated Smoothstripes 'Aqua minus Stripes' versions in the future.

But thanks again for the good work, but what's with the brushed look on your website ?

I might do such a theme later on. I want to wait and see what the new format offers.

I wasn't planning on having brushed on my homepage, it just turned out that way..

I'm glad all of you like the sunken buttons.

on your server the file name is .sitx. i renamed it to .sit and it downloaded fine

It's sitx format, but it seems that safari does not understand that it's supposed to download it..

mrmister · Mar 16, 2003, 05:47 PM

"I'm glad all of you like the sunken buttons"

Just to be clear--we do not all like the sunken buttons.

Michaelm8000 · Mar 17, 2003, 01:43 AM

I like the unsunken ones. Can I get them back?

bOOzo · Mar 17, 2003, 02:32 AM

Originally posted by Michaelm8000:
I like the unsunken ones. Can I get them back?

Yeah, ok I know not all like the sunken ones. I'm thinking about what I should do. Hopefully goMacs new format will allow me to have many variations without making the theme so huge.

monkeybrain · Mar 17, 2003, 05:41 AM

Are you going to include a version with the smooth scrollbars? that looked really nice.

sorry if you've already answered this question before.

Stuphalina · Mar 17, 2003, 07:19 AM

Max- maybe for this theme you should make it in more small parts instead on a big one. Personally, I only use one or two versions out of each of your themes so most of the time the others just take up space. That way we can pick and choose. Thoughts?

Brien · Mar 17, 2003, 09:12 AM

Sunken ones are nice, but so are the floating ones. C'mon max, why not 10 variations?

bOOzo · Mar 17, 2003, 11:06 AM

I will bring back the floating ones somehow. I'm going to wait and see what conundrumsoft announces, and if it allows 12 variations (without getting to large), I might just do that. But I would like to remove the least popular themes, but I don't know which they are. And if I did I would get complaints about it.. But I'll wait and see. The ultimate solution would be the one I described in "How resource theme switching could work".

Macanoid · Mar 17, 2003, 12:41 PM

would it be possible to make all of Aqua's buttons sunken?? I really like the sunken look a lot!!

DeathMan · Mar 17, 2003, 01:00 PM

the sunken buttons look nice. My number one dislike of aqua (common with your theme here) are the scrollbar gutters. I think they just look awful. I also don't like how they are there even if there is no scrollbar. why don't they just have it go away? they could add some placeholder or something....

I really like your themes. I haven't been too into using themes since I got rid of my iBook. I haven't been able to get them working for some reason. Keep up the good work, though.

bOOzo · Mar 17, 2003, 01:36 PM

Are you going to include a version with the smooth scrollbars? that looked really nice.

No, I'm not.

would it be possible to make all of Aqua's buttons sunken?? I really like the sunken look a lot!!

Sure, it's possible. I actually made a mockup of it, but it does not look good.

[quote]My number one dislike of aqua (common with your theme here) are the scrollbar gutters. I think they just look awful. I also don't like how they are there even if there is no scrollbar. why don't they just have it go away? they could add some placeholder or something....[quote]
That's actually a nice idea! It's possible (and easy) to change it so that inactive scrollbar gutters are just a plain bright grey or so. I will think about it.

Macanoid · Mar 17, 2003, 01:45 PM

Sure, it's possible. I actually made a mockup of it, but it does not look good. [/B]

sorry to hear that. Not a big problem though, SmoothStripes is excellent the way it is now. Thanks for creating it!

kovacs · Mar 17, 2003, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by bOOzo:

My number one dislike of aqua (common with your theme here) are the scrollbar gutters. I think they just look awful. I also don't like how they are there even if there is no scrollbar. why don't they just have it go away? they could add some placeholder or something....

That's actually a nice idea! It's possible (and easy) to change it so that inactive scrollbar gutters are just a plain bright grey or so. I will think about it. [/B]

Sounds like a good idea

KidRed · Mar 19, 2003, 09:53 PM

I could care less what you do.

My smoothstripes glossy aqua already have sunken widgets

mdc · Mar 20, 2003, 08:20 AM

i have always wondered about the idea of the gutters. i really do not like what they look like when they do not have a scroll bar in them.

themechanger for example:

sushiism · Mar 20, 2003, 10:33 AM

i hate sunken

love the look of floating. I actually like the gutters too apart from the horizontal ones, but horizontal scrollers anyway are pretty awful

swiz · Mar 20, 2003, 01:13 PM

Originally posted by mdc:
i have always wondered about the idea of the gutters. i really do not like what they look like when they do not have a scroll bar in them.

themechanger for example:

I agree. I just made the scroll gutters look exactly like the list headers look in your screenshot.

Lyric OS 13.0 · Mar 24, 2003, 12:37 AM

Max--I like the sunken buttons... The way it looks gives it a classy feel. I like the new one without the gloss--but I am currently using the gloss variation. (a damn sexy variation...) Either one looks very good.

bOOzo · Mar 25, 2003, 05:32 AM

I will post an update to SS with the floating buttons, aswell as the sunken and the gloss. However, I'm busy updating my other themes right now.

Zimphire · Mar 25, 2003, 12:36 PM

Originally posted by bOOzo:
I will post an update to SS with the floating buttons, aswell as the sunken and the gloss. However, I'm busy updating my other themes right now.

You should just keep the sunken ones. That would indeed differentiat it from SimpleAqua.

superfula · Mar 25, 2003, 01:52 PM

I don't mind the sunket widgets. They look cool, but the floating ones should stay. I really think the glossy look should probably be it's own theme. It's quite a bit different enough from the rest.

ARENA · Mar 25, 2003, 04:21 PM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
You should just keep the sunken ones. That would indeed differentiat it from SimpleAqua.

Like that was the only difference with your theme...btw, does Simple Aqua still exists?

Zimphire · Mar 25, 2003, 11:13 PM

Originally posted by ARENA:
Like that was the only difference with your theme...btw, does Simple Aqua still exists?

Yes, I have updated it ever since pre Public Beta days. And Yes, I have many people that use it.

A new update will be coming out soon.

Yeah I know, that isn't the only difference... Max's theme is a percentage of a shade lighter. Not much different.

ARENA · Mar 25, 2003, 11:40 PM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Yes, I have updated it ever since pre Public Beta days. And Yes, I have many people that use it.

A new update will be coming out soon.

Yeah I know, that isn't the only difference... Max's theme is a percentage of a shade lighter. Not much different.

Not to mention he has redone most of the widgets to match the Jaguar style of Aqua...

decursive · Mar 25, 2003, 11:47 PM

Originally posted by ARENA:
Not to mention he has redone most of the widgets to match the Jaguar style of Aqua...

stop this rivalry.

Zimphire · Mar 26, 2003, 01:00 AM

Originally posted by ARENA:
Not to mention he has redone most of the widgets to match the Jaguar style of Aqua...

Jaguar style of Aqua? What exactly does that mean? If you are speaking about the widgets in 10.2 well they are the same in Simple Aqua. If you mean he redid the widgets the way he thought Apple should have done them, then ok. Not that it makes a really big difference. I wonder how max would feel If I took say, milk, changed it a percentage darker, and added a few of my custom widgets? Not that I would ever do that, but you see my point.

I don't know why you are trying to turn this into a SA vs SS thing. There really isn't that big of a difference to warrant such a comparison.

I have no problems with max, he does what he needs to do to get by.

Zimphire · Mar 26, 2003, 01:01 AM

Originally posted by decursive:
stop this rivalry.

I never thought it was rivalry, I think ARENA got a little defensive with my post.

wreks · Mar 26, 2003, 02:02 AM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
Yes, I have updated it ever since pre Public Beta days. And Yes, I have many people that use it.

A new update will be coming out soon.

Yeah I know, that isn't the only difference... Max's theme is a percentage of a shade lighter. Not much different.

I see how you get your 23.41 posts a day... how many times you gotta reply to a topic waving your own flag trying to make a point?

Get off bOOzo's back, you're all acting like he owes you something because you made some theme, that no one remembers, that he made 10x better. How long have you been saying "new update coming soon"? Where's the download link? Oh thats right you can't find one either. Google gives me 3 hits for simple aqua, smooth stripes gets over 50.

You the same guy who was doing xthemination and red cheetah? You're all talk, looking for a difference between SA and SS? That's the difference.

/off rant

Zimphire · Mar 26, 2003, 02:18 AM

Originally posted by wreks:
I see how you get your 23.41 posts a day... how many times you gotta reply to a topic waving your own flag trying to make a point?

Well gee wreks, I am not replying to myself, it does take two to tango. Not that it matters in any way. Silly personal attacks like that are immature.

Get off bOOzo's back, you're all acting like he owes you something because you made some theme, that no one remembers,

For one I wasn't ON Max's back, and for two, I'll remember no one remembers Simple Aqua tomorrow when I check my email and get the 5 to 10 emails I get about it daily. Let me give you a hint, MacNN isn't the end all be all of Mac users. It's acutally a small perecentage of them.

that he made 10x better.

That is highly subjective. Not saying SS is bad, because it isn't. But saying it's 10x better, when there really isn't that much difference in the two is humorous. I guess all the people that uses SA over SS are just missing out eh?

How long have you been saying "new update coming soon"?

I don't believe I have ever mentioned that about Simple Aqua. The people on my mailing list get all the information about it.

[b]
Where's the download link? Oh thats right you can't find one either.

Funny, all the Simple Aqua users seem to have no problems finding it.
http://webpages.charter.net/zimphire...SimpleAqua.sit

You the same guy who was doing xthemination and red cheetah?

No, not that I recall. I never made such a theme. The only two themes I have made was.

1. Simple Aqua (IT was made before the Public Beta days)
2. And Sosumi

You're all talk, looking for a difference between SA and SS? That's the difference.

I am all talk? You might want to ask some of the people in here that has been in themeing for awhile. Ask them who put out the first full featured theme for OS X.

Give me a break, some people are so thin skinned.

Look, Smooth Stripes is a good theme, I was only suggesting Max just keep the sunken ones, to further differeniat it from Simple Aqua. What is so bad about that? Why are you guys getting so defensive? Seems most want the sunken buttons anyhow.

bOOzo · Mar 26, 2003, 02:43 AM

Originally posted by Zimphire:
...how max would feel If I took say, milk, changed it a percentage darker, and added a few of my custom widgets?

That's not a fair comparison. I did not take Sosumi and changed the backgrounds and some widgets. I took Aqua, and you did not make Aqua.
I will keep the floating, sunken and the gloss themes. I think SmoothStripes is very different from SimpleAqua, the only resemblance is that they are both Aqua variations that gets rid of the stripes. Big deal.