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Dace · Apr 2, 2004, 03:07 AM

Ok, so I re-made XOSX...I toned down the green among other things. I don't promise I will make this mock-up into theme, I just wanted to see if I could get it right, make it better.

The menu, as you can see (I hope you can see) in this pic, is transparent. It was transparent in the original but you really couldn't notice it...not to mention that ugly, harsh dark green background they gave it.

Metal window:

Aqua window:

Menubar:

Holigen · Apr 2, 2004, 03:09 AM

Thats more like it! I love the window titlebar and the menu bar. The only thing I would change is the radio buttons, they look a bit sloppy. Maybe the slider too... Very nice job!

bluevertical · Apr 2, 2004, 03:11 AM

nice job!!!!

d4nth3m4n · Apr 2, 2004, 03:13 AM

pretty cool, i dunno about the line through the widgets and the toolbar button, but cool no matter.

Frisbee · Apr 2, 2004, 06:35 AM

Yes, definitely redo the radio buttons and slider. Also, have you though about what text will look like that is actually on the window? It'll be the same color as what's on the button until SS 1.5 or whatever comes.

idle · Apr 2, 2004, 06:45 AM

yes, a lot better. here is another stupid thought of mine...

what i always like about the Xbox design/ads was that eerie green glow coming out of the X. maybe you could incorporate that somewhere. it doesn't have to be very bright but just visible enough that it gives you that certain feel that there is some weird alien plasma-techonology at work. something like that.

... and i dig that small green line. its cool.

[ idle. ]

mac15 · Apr 2, 2004, 06:46 AM

I like the other one better, I like the green alot more. But this is just a cool looking

JoE950 · Apr 2, 2004, 01:06 PM

much better! the green is just about perfect now

brianwilson · Apr 2, 2004, 01:19 PM

I love it - I liked the first version too, but this one is much improved!

MacDog · Apr 2, 2004, 01:39 PM

I love it... I would use this theme!

COBRAHQ · 04:27 PM

I'm not a fan of Xbox... but man, your theme totally caught it.

Very nice indeed.

optimus_prime · Apr 2, 2004, 03:23 PM

Yeah gotta give you props for your latest try. big improvements. I agree with the glow eminating from the X in the menubar if you can pull it off. I even dig the line going thru the widgets/toolbar it reminds me of the heatsinks on the sides of the XBOX Console.

my only advice would be to offer a alternative black menubar to go along with the green one. Have that option and this would make it to my daily rotation of themes.

Lateralus · Apr 2, 2004, 03:53 PM

Hate the Xbox: Love your theme. Very well done.

bOOzo · Apr 2, 2004, 04:25 PM

Now you got the colors going, nice!
I have a few suggestions for improvement:
- Reverse the selection on Segment Tabs, Push Buttons and Finder View button.
Now it looks like both the list and column view is selected in the Finder, since the bright green is the unselected color for other elements.
- Improve the plastic bevel around Radio buttons, Titlebar Buttons and Sliders. It looks jagged.
- The empty white part of the Progressbar looks out of place, it's the only element with white in it. What you could do is make that part black glass, or hollowed out like the scrollbar well.
- Possibly make the menu separators just on pixel high, but that's no big deal.

wibs · Apr 2, 2004, 05:40 PM

much better, definitely easier to look at.

I agree with max on everything he said, epecially reversing the color of selected items with selected (tabs, etc)

I only have 2 other thoughts... the rounded selected menu item seems out of place... trying to work in the hard, straight edges like the rest of the theme would be much cooler imho. Also, the finder sidebar selection seems a little weird because the drive icon seems to be doing a weird float above it, it doesn't seem very integrated.

that's all that stands out to me, but again... much better. the colors look a tad washed out (not in the menubar but in other elements), but i guess that's the price you have to pay to prevent the over saturation that hurt it so much before.

Keifer · Apr 2, 2004, 09:14 PM

Looks cool. I'm not to fond of the way that you chose to make the gloss effect with the rounded heighlight, but to each there own. Over all, it looks very good, and is maybe one of the best looking darktheme's I've seen for a while.

Synotic · Apr 2, 2004, 10:26 PM

Max and wibs both kind of mentioned what I was thinking but anyways...

I like the update but the colors seem to be a bit inconsistent, doesn't seem to be any clear active, inactive, unselected, inactive unselected, active unselected... all those

You could reverse the colors but if you want to keep the "lit-up" look of selected widgets by reserving the lime green for selected items, like tabs, active buttons, and then making all other unselected widgets the dark green color. It would give your theme a different but I think it might work.

NetworkShadow · Apr 3, 2004, 12:16 AM

A good deal better. Not sure I like the green menu bar.

bbxstudio · Apr 3, 2004, 01:23 AM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Hate the Xbox: Love your theme. Very well done.

Who could hate the Xbox??? It's the best console going by far... anyways, much improved on the green

Waaaaaay more Xboxy.

NetworkShadow · Apr 3, 2004, 01:25 AM

Originally posted by bbxstudio:
Who could hate the Xbox??? It's the best console going by far...

I 2nd that. M$ doesn't do everything crappie as hard as that is to think.

Lateralus · Apr 3, 2004, 01:49 AM

Its a ****ing PC rammed into a VCR case. What is there to love about it?

NetworkShadow · Apr 3, 2004, 02:04 AM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Its a ****ing PC rammed into a VCR case. What is there to love about it?

It's going to be like trying to tell a PC user who thinks Macs suck why Macs are better. I'm not going to bother.

Keifer · Apr 3, 2004, 09:18 AM

Besides, M$ takes a huge loss on every xbox they sell, so aslong as you don't buy around 20 games, they aren't making any money off of you.

bbxstudio · Apr 3, 2004, 11:56 AM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
Its a ****ing PC rammed into a VCR case. What is there to love about it?

Some amazing games, better graphics and sound than any other console, nice controllers, Xbox live, spilling out on the couch on a saturday night, flaring up a doobie and playing SplinterCell with 3 buddies spread around the continent. I'd much rather play from the couch than propped up in front of a computer screen anyday. If you hate Xbox because you hate PCs or MS, you're going about it all wrong - this is one case where this truly is the top product.

bOOzo · Apr 3, 2004, 02:52 PM

Originally posted by Keifer:
Besides, M$ takes a huge loss on every xbox they sell, so aslong as you don't buy around 20 games, they aren't making any money off of you.

Actually, I would think just a few games would be enough, games are so expensive..
I'm also an Xbox user, cause I thought it was the best buy of the current generation.

Lateralus · Apr 3, 2004, 02:52 PM

I wont knock Xbox Live!. It is one of the things that is truly an asset for Microsoft going into the next generation console war.

As far as games... Halo made the Xbox. Say what you will, if Halo hadn't been released for the Xbox the system would still be seen as a PC in a VCR case that plays ports of good PC games. They are getting some good games now, but that is inevitable. I think it is sad that the Xbox enjoyed such a dearth of high quality games for so long.

As far as hating PCs... I don't. I love PC hardware. My bitch with the Xbox is that it isn't exactly revolutionary. Okay, so they put a bunch of standard PC components into a box that could fit in a home entertainment center. So what? The GameCube and the PS2 were each more revolutionary since they were both developed from the ground up as gaming systems. I sometimes wonder if the Xbox was meant to be a gaming system, or a DVD player with an 8GB HD for MP3s.

And as much as I will say that Xbox Live! has been well implemented, it is also nowhere near revolutionary. Ever heard of Sega Net, ahhh.... yes.

The Xbox is just more proof that Microsoft is better at taking preexisting products and popularizing them. It is more proof that they are incapable of developing something new and on their own.

The Xbox may be a high quality item, and I wont say that it isn't. But if it is a high quality item, then it is the PC component manufacturers who made the RAM, HD, motherboard, GPU... etc who deserve the thanks, not MS for putting it all together. Because like I said, the Xbox is nothing that couldn't have been done a long time ago by another company. It only wasn't done because the idea of merging home consoles with personal computer hardware made no sense, and still doesn't. Even MS now thinks it was a bad idea.

Keifer · Apr 3, 2004, 02:55 PM

Originally posted by bOOzo:
Actually, I would think just a few games would be enough, games are so expensive..
I'm also an Xbox user, cause I thought it was the best buy of the current generation.

Lol, good point. I need to work on my math. But then again, I just have halo, and erm, well, halo for my xbox.

justinp · Apr 3, 2004, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by PowerMacMan:
*** Lots of stuff you can read two posts up, I'm not quoting it but this is directed at PMM ***

Consoles do not have to be revolutionary. Each generation of machines need not bring about radical change. Don't let Sony fool you into thinking otherwise.

A console needs to do one thing only. Provide a standard platform for developers to create games for. Anything else is a bonus or a feature.

Ozzpot · Apr 3, 2004, 04:54 PM

This whole Xbox hating thing is the only thing that annoys me sometimes about the Mac community. I have been playing on games consoles since 1982, currently own 9 consoles, and work in a store selling them all day. The Xbox is unquestionably the best console by a long way. It is the most powerful, has a hard drive (no memory cards to buy, can store custom soundtracks, and enables quicker loading times), has the most comfortable and well designed controllers, and many of the best games. All the multi-format games look best by far on the Xbox, plus have cool Xbox-exclusive features such as custom soundtracks. The Xbox's exclusive games are also awesome, such as Halo, Ninja Gaiden, Project Gotham, DOA3, etc.

Let's get one thing straight - I hate PCs. Thankfully I don't need to use them anymore in my daily routine. This does not necessarily mean I hate Microsoft, although I must admit I do more than a little bit ;-) . But to shun the Xbox just because you hate Microsoft is just cutting off your nose to spite your face. You're missing out on SOOO much.

Anyway, has anyone heard about the Xbox 2 being based on Apple hardware? Any truth in that at all?

Love the theme, by the way! Much better than how it started out. Keep up the good work.

justinp · Apr 3, 2004, 05:09 PM

Yes, Xbox 2 or whatever they end up calling it will use IBM Power5 chips.

Lateralus · 03:14 AM

I never said that a console had to be revolutionary. But the Xbox should be revolutionary to warrant the praise that it receives from so many people. Fact of that matter is that it is nothing special, none of the current consoles are particularly. And it has nothing to do with my liking or disliking of Microsoft.

Also, the next Xbox will not use the POWER5 chip. Nor will it use a POWER4 chip. Both chips are far too costly to ever be seen in a game console. You may see a PowerPC that is derived from the POWER family, but you will not see a POWER in the next Xbox.

fireside · Apr 4, 2004, 01:37 AM

Originally posted by Ozzpot:
has the most comfortable and well designed controllers,

that is purely your opinion. i know MANY people who think that the XBOX controller is the worst designed controller ever, myself included.

mac15 · Apr 4, 2004, 01:47 AM

I can't stand the xbox remote, I'm a PS2 lover

themarvelous3 · Apr 4, 2004, 02:35 AM

it may have been a good product...till microsoft got their hands on it.

my friend was excited when he got his because of the THX capabilty. BUT he couldnt get it to play THX on DVDs..just the games. i told him that knowing microsoft you had buy a chip or something the get it to play it on DVDs...he came back a week later after he talked to the company about it...

...he had to buy a chip to enable the THX on DVDs

i hate microsoft.

I THINK, the main menu bar should look the same as the top of your metal windows. the menu bar seems to stick out too much. i think it should be black and light up green when you click on the Apple menu, FILE, EDIT...etc. (right now it's green and turns black when you click it in your mock up)