[JCS]

Sorry if this is a forbidden topic, but is there any word on BBX Omega? I've been googling around and I can't find any news past 2004 or so. Is Bill Bart still alive and kicking somewhere?

[Kevin]

He probably got sick of all the attitude people gave him and went elsewhere.

Don't blame him.

BTW SS is still not doing the things he wanted so he can implement said theme.

[JCS]

How old is that information? IOW, what's the last time he said anything on the topic? I'm just wondering how long he's been gone, trying to gauge whether there's any hope of the theme actually being released. If there's really been no word since 2004, things seem pretty grim...

[MacDog]

He said he would release the theme when Shapeshifter supported the features he needed... which is "supposed to be" version 2.5. That would most likely put us at next year some time at the earliest (not that I have any knowledge about Unsanity and their schedule). Factor in that Tiger was a good size change to the OS and Leopard will be a HUGE change, I would guess Bill would need several months just to accommodate the OS changes alone. So in the end, if it is ever released, I would guess it won't be until 2007... but I wouldn't even put a dollar on that.

[dole]

Originally Posted by JCS

Sorry if this is a forbidden topic, but is there any word on BBX Omega? I've been googling around and I can't find any news past 2004 or so. Is Bill Bart still alive and kicking somewhere?

BBX Omega was vaporware from day 1.... No such thing has ever existed...

[Maflynn]

IBL



I'm surprised people are still waiting for the theme.

[Fonzie]

I don't see why this thread should be locked. It's just a question for God's sake.

edit..I just wanted to add that I don't think Omega will ever be out. I think Bill Bart has given up on the idea.

[Randman]

Something that has never been can not be "gone forever".

I wonder why no one has taken his ideas, preview images, and made a them from them.

[mugget]

lol... because if they took his images that'd be stealing?



but damn... it's a shame it's not out yet for whatever reason. it would be great to see it come to life, and if it does it'd be a GREAT surprise.
but i'm not really expecting it, but it would be great to just see it released one day.

also was it BBX, or someone else who released about 5 or 6 mockups and then said that whoever wanted could have all the resources he'd made to assemble the theme? well i haven't heard any news about that either, and i thought that there were 1 or 2 people that were taking on that project.

but it seems that there's alot less dedicated themers around these days...

[eyevaan]

I remember when WB released just a few animated GIFs to explain where his ideas were going. It was/is a fabulous idea - everything was going to twitch and pulse... I would imagine that until the OS actually supports the file formats he [and all of us] would need to do such stuff; the reality of building an "organic" interface is pretty limited. I also support the fact the forum got pretty nasty - he must be busy, his website has not been updated in years... good for him - if only everyones creativity could make them so busy.

[Randman]

Originally Posted by mugget

lol... because if they took his images that'd be stealing?

No, they would be copying. Or garnering inspiration from a mockup. A non-copyrighted one. Intellecctual property is one thing but to make a theme based on vaporware would be hard to make any case, in any country.

[Kevin]

Rand if anyone did that, they would get flamed to high heaven.

For good reason.

It's things like that that has caused a lot of themers to stop themeing.

[adonai]

Why doesn't someone just ask him?

[email protected]

http://www.bbxstudio.com/

[digitaljames]

+1 in the 53rd edition of the most useless thread ever.

[MacDog]

[Kevin]

[adonai]

what does the skinsfactory Windows Media Player skin for the T3 movie have to do with this?

http://www.theskinsfactory.com/skins...ortfolio&id=77

[Maflynn]

Looking at the final graphic "Assimilation Commences Fall 2003" qualifies this as vaporware.

Regardless of the reasons, we've all seen this here in this forum and over at macthemes.net. A mockup is created, giving us a taste, then its promised in a few weeks/months but it never sees the light of day.

I'm not belittling the amount of work needed to create a theme or the sheer talent to pull together some of the awesome themes (max's for example) but there's too many mock ups that are just tease us and boom they disapear. I'll get excited when (if) he releases it.

I know, I know, these works of art are free to us and we shouldn't condemn people for dedicating their free time to creating them. On the other hand, some of these people generate thier own bad-will by promising something and then breaking that promise.

Regards
Mike

[digitaljames]

Originally Posted by adonai

what does the skinsfactory Windows Media Player skin for the T3 movie have to do with this?

http://www.theskinsfactory.com/skins...ortfolio&id=77

The creator is William Bart...same as Omega.

[MetalSnake]

Did BBX leave this forum because of all the rants or he is just busy?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by MetalSnake

Did BBX leave this forum because of all the rants or he is just busy?

Probably some of both.

He said these things thinking that ShapeShifter would be ready with the features it was supposed to have at the time.

It did not. Hence, he couldn't finish the theme the way he wanted it.

[Anubis IV]

Originally Posted by Randman

No, they would be copying. Or garnering inspiration from a mockup. A non-copyrighted one. Intellecctual property is one thing but to make a theme based on vaporware would be hard to make any case, in any country.

IANAL, but I suggest you look back over copyright law to see just what is and isn't copyrighted.

The moment he put anything into Photoshop and saved it the work became copyrighted. It is intellectual property and is under copyright protection from the moment that it becomes material. Now, whether or not it's very enforceable is another question since he probably hasn't registered that copyright with any government, meaning that the most he could get is a C&D against the offending party, not monetary reward for infringement and the like. Basically, if someone used the exact elements from his theme as they were shown at some point, he could sue them to have them stop using his elements.

Anyway, copying would be infringing on his copyright. Taking inspiration from...well, that's fine. The status of the theme as vaporware has no impact on whether or not copying the elements of the theme constitutes infringement.

[FB Eye]

He wants features that are not coded by Jason yet. Jason did mention a few times that the delay for Omega was partly/mostly his fault. Some features Billy needs where tought to be easy to code by Jason. Turns out it was not... Wanting to get 1.0 out, Jason pushed back the coding of the forementionned features to future versions...

Omega is on the back burner 'till Jason gets new features out. Like animated graphics that Billy needs for his pulsating/glowing effects...

Now you know the story. Get over it

[Randman]

Originally Posted by Anubis IV

The moment he put anything into Photoshop and saved it the work became copyrighted.
Anyway, copying would be infringing on his copyright. Taking inspiration from...well, that's fine. The status of the theme as vaporware has no impact on whether or not copying the elements of the theme constitutes infringement.

If it's identical to what was released, yes. If it was inspired by and a theme made to resemble it much as possible using SS and ThemePark's capabilities? No.

[Anubis IV]

Agreed. I just wanted to make sure you knew since you said that it wasn't copyrighted when, in fact, it is.

[aristotles]

Ok, I see nothing substantial here in terms of previews anyway so I don't see how you can "steal" something that never really existed.

BBX is a poser and a fraud. Those of you defending him are sad pathetic brown nosers.

I hope someone does create a theme in a similar vein to this vapourware so we can forget Omega once and for all.

@Anubis IV: You cannot copyright an idea. Anyone can recreate his idea with redrawn graphics, especially since it is obvious he has no intention of creating it.

I think there should be a rule against posting of teasers for non-existent themes which will never be released.

BBX has absolutely no reputation as an OS X themer so I don't understand why you guys are so obsessed this vapourware.

[Kevin]

Poser? I think not.

I would knock the spazzing down a notch or two.

[christianclark]

Originally Posted by aristotles

Ok, I see nothing substantial here in terms of previews anyway so I don't see how you can "steal" something that never really existed.BBX is a poser and a fraud. Those of you defending him are sad pathetic brown nosers.I hope someone does create a theme in a similar vein to this vapourware so we can forget Omega once and for all.@Anubis IV: You cannot copyright an idea. Anyone can recreate his idea with redrawn graphics, especially since it is obvious he has no intention of creating it.I think there should be a rule against posting of teasers for non-existent themes which will never be released.BBX has absolutely no reputation as an OS X themer so I don't understand why you guys are so obsessed this vapourware.

Ha! Bill a poser? No way man ! I have seen his personal illustrations @ an illustration web site. That's why Mercury X is always been my favorite theme besides Shinobi. I believe that Omega is not release yet.....Not because of ShapeShifter. I believe that Omega was designed for when Macs will use Intel. All designs by Bill are designed for the PC User anyways. That's my beliefs on Omega.

Plus Bill is probably around my age group [30-+] so he is not a college kid who focus on small projects. He might have a wife, kids and make a living as an illustrator.

Christian

[AU_student_iceBook]

Originally Posted by christianclark

Ha! Bill a poser? No way man ! I have seen his personal illustrations @ an illustration web site. That's why Mercury X is always been my favorite theme besides Shinobi. I believe that Omega is not release yet.....Not because of ShapeShifter. I believe that Omega was designed for when Macs will use Intel. All designs by Bill are designed for the PC User anyways. That's my beliefs on Omega.

Plus Bill is probably around my age group [30-+] so he is not a college kid who focus on small projects. He might have a wife, kids and make a living as an illustrator.

Christian

I totally agree. I hope BBX releases his theme. He definitely is not a poser.

Because of bitches like aristotles themers quit theming.

[AU_student_iceBook]

duplicate post.

[adonai]

Originally Posted by christianclark

I believe that Omega was designed for when Macs will use Intel. All designs by Bill are designed for the PC User anyways. That's my beliefs on Omega.

He was teasing this theme in 2003...so you think he had the foresight to know that Apple would be switching to Intel 3 years down the road?

[PimPamPet]

Originally Posted by aristotles

I think there should be a rule against posting of teasers for non-existent themes which will never be released.

LOL

And how do you think this will be done? First people have to prove they will finish a theme? You know, somebody might make the greatest looking theme ever and at the last moment, at the last pixel decide that they don't want to release it. The reason why is not interesting, there might be 1000 reasons that are none of your concerns. What IS important is that you cannot "rule against posting of teasers for non-existent themes which will never be released", because they are.... TEASERS!!!!!!!!

Geezzz... doesn't anybody remember what that word means? Teasers are not by definition promises of "things to come" since hardly any teasers end up the way that were supposed to be when they were introduced the first time. They are mostly a good way of trying designs out on the end-users. That's you and me, and use the (hopefully) positive critisism to make something that's fun and usable in the end. For heaven's sake, it's just a theme!

So please, just wait and see what happens. If it doesn't happen, don't flame it because you can't control yourselves in means of anticipation. When it DOES happen, say cheers and enjoy. Is that so hard? There is enough negativity in this world as it is... calling people posers without even knowing those people in real life is just ignorant.

Respect to the themers who dare to show their work here and ultimately give me and others something to enjoy!

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Poser? I think not.

I would knock the spazzing down a notch or two.

How about this. Show us something you've made. You really just proved my point about the suckups around here.

It's quite sad really.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by christianclark

Ha! Bill a poser? No way man ! I have seen his personal illustrations @ an illustration web site. That's why Mercury X is always been my favorite theme besides Shinobi. I believe that Omega is not release yet.....Not because of ShapeShifter. I believe that Omega was designed for when Macs will use Intel. All designs by Bill are designed for the PC User anyways. That's my beliefs on Omega.

Plus Bill is probably around my age group [30-+] so he is not a college kid who focus on small projects. He might have a wife, kids and make a living as an illustrator.

Christian

There is a big difference between posting a bunch of illustrations and actually putting them into a working theme.

I have tried theming and can see how hard it is compared with knocking out a concept in photoshop.

I'm also aware of his work but I've noticed that he has no real interest in contributing to the "mac" community. He only releases windows skins and themes many of which are way too animated and grandiose for my taste. I think WMP is gaudy and cheap looking.

I really don't understand why so many people think he is so "great" in the mac community when he has not released a damn thing for us in terms of skinning. I really liked his icons but he has not done anything since.

He did not have a clue about whether Apple would use Intel in the future. That is the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. What does the CPU brand have to do with a skin?
*edit*
I forgot about Mercury but since Max has been doing the updates on OS X, I kind of forgot it was originally from BBX. I also remember the skins he did for Audion. Those were great and simple.

[benign]

[digitaljames]

Originally Posted by aristotles

I'm also aware of his work but I've noticed that he has no real interest in contributing to the "mac" community. He only releases windows skins and themes many of which are way too animated and grandiose for my taste. I think WMP is gaudy and cheap looking.

It boils down to being paid. Billy is a working graphics artist. He gets *paid* to make those items for the SkinFactory...unless some *Mac* design/developer pays him to make graphics that you get to see, you won't. He doesn't get to say *No*, wmp is to gaudy. He needs to feed his family and pay bills like the rest of us. I still don't get why everyone thinks *ANY* artist or themer owes us someting....make it or not, teaser or not...if you want something bad enough, do it yourself or quit crying. Does anyone really think cyberworld promises are cast in stone? As for the bashing or the pseudo loss of credibility, I'm quite sure he doesn't give a crap and is laughing himself all the way to the bank to cash that check he just got.

[AU_student_iceBook]

Originally Posted by digitaljames

It boils down to being paid. Billy is a working graphics artist. He gets *paid* to make those items for the SkinFactory...unless some *Mac* design/developer pays him to make graphics that you get to see, you won't. He doesn't get to say *No*, wmp is to gaudy. He needs to feed his family and pay bills like the rest of us. I still don't get why everyone thinks *ANY* artist or themer owes us someting....make it or not, teaser or not...if you want something bad enough, do it yourself or quit crying. Does anyone really think cyberworld promises are cast in stone? As for the bashing or the pseudo loss of credibility, I'm quite sure he doesn't give a crap and is laughing himself all the way to the bank to cash that check he just got.

Exactly DJ. Exactly.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by digitaljames

It boils down to being paid. Billy is a working graphics artist. He gets *paid* to make those items for the SkinFactory...unless some *Mac* design/developer pays him to make graphics that you get to see, you won't. He doesn't get to say *No*, wmp is to gaudy. He needs to feed his family and pay bills like the rest of us. I still don't get why everyone thinks *ANY* artist or themer owes us someting....make it or not, teaser or not...if you want something bad enough, do it yourself or quit crying. Does anyone really think cyberworld promises are cast in stone? As for the bashing or the pseudo loss of credibility, I'm quite sure he doesn't give a crap and is laughing himself all the way to the bank to cash that check he just got.

Yeah, he does not owe us anything but we don't owe him anything either.

I did not bring up this subject, why don't to go complain to the topic starter?

He is a commercial artist. That's great but what's up with the personality cult?

Do you think he goes around saying, "I wish more people would worship me"? Do you really think he gives a damn about all his fanboys?

If he wants to create a theme for the community because he wants to, great but i don't want to see a bunch of theming primadonas strutting around demanding praise for nonexistent themes or icons.

If someone creates an actual theme or icon set and i like it, I will give praise where praise is due.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by Kevin

He probably got sick of all the attitude people gave him and went elsewhere.

Don't blame him.

BTW SS is still not doing the things he wanted so he can implement said theme.

If he is a professional artist, i doubt he is such a fragile personality who would take much stock in what people say about him or his work one way or another.

BTW. Great suckup job.

[air]

Originally Posted by aristotles

He is a commercial artist. That's great but what's up with the personality cult?

http://www.kaleidoscope.net/cgi-bin/...or=williambart

and im talkin' about history.

[.saNNic.]

Well, he lost credibility with me when he stated that anyone using asian symbols/characters in the marketing of their gui product would be a rip of his marketing of his "BBX" series.............. I mean, c'mon dude.

[Groovy]

IMHO, the truly great themers are the ones who can and have put out awesome themes without the need
for gimmicks. No need for in your face over the top animation effects and no need for SS even. For me
a touch of class and subtleness in themes that can be used day to day are best.

As for BBX the guy has talent for sure but IMHO he is leaning too much on SS and the animation it promises
in future versions. I can just imagine loop animation that never stops even when there is no mouse over user
interaction. A screen full of pulsating this and sliding that which you can't turn off. *cringe*

IMHO, first glance WOW factor via animation everything themes are not usable day to day and get old fast.

Just my humble opinion of course

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by .saNNic.

Well, he lost credibility with me when he stated that anyone using asian symbols/characters in the marketing of their gui product would be a rip of his marketing of his "BBX" series.............. I mean, c'mon dude.

Exactly. I noticed several "artists" on this forum who claimed "rips" on flimsy evidence such as that their theme was black with highlights and the other theme did too in other threads.

Here are my crocodile tears.

[cloudaj]

Originally Posted by aristotles

If he is a professional artist, i doubt he is such a fragile personality who would take much stock in what people say about him or his work one way or another.

BTW. Great suckup job.

It's hard to be offended when the people that insult him have no lives whatsoever. I mean, I could say he might be offended that a fellow artist thought of him as a hack, but i mean, all he has to do is look at your work and he can have himself a good laugh.

The theme isn't out, who knows if it will ever be. BBX isn't a hack or untalented or a liar. He didn't release his theme because it can't be done now. Lets move on already, and not get upset over something so trivial. And while we're at it, some of you can maybe try to find some semblance of a life, if not for your own sake, for the sake of me not having to read such ignorant bull****.

Oh, and this isn't a suck up post. Its a "**** you aristotles" post. Just thought i'd clear that up for you, as it seems when someone disagrees with you, that means they suck up to the other guy. Let me spell it out for you - You're an ignorant little twit.

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by cloudaj

It's hard to be offended when the people that insult him have no lives whatsoever. I mean, I could say he might be offended that a fellow artist thought of him as a hack, but i mean, all he has to do is look at your work and he can have himself a good laugh.

The theme isn't out, who knows if it will ever be. BBX isn't a hack or untalented or a liar. He didn't release his theme because it can't be done now. Lets move on already, and not get upset over something so trivial. And while we're at it, some of you can maybe try to find some semblance of a life, if not for your own sake, for the sake of me not having to read such ignorant bull****.

Oh, and this isn't a suck up post. Its a "**** you aristotles" post. Just thought i'd clear that up for you, as it seems when someone disagrees with you, that means they suck up to the other guy. Let me spell it out for you - You're an ignorant little twit.

You really hurt my feelings.

Say, how is it that you find the time to write such a long post if you have a life?

You really need to learn to take what people write less seriously, especially if they are writing about someone else. I think BBX probably wants you to take your lips off his arse now.

I never claimed to be professional artist but I also never promised to release something and then blamed my tools on being unable to finish the project. Anyone who has ever worked on anything artistic knows that a piece of art is never totally finished but you have to find a point where you decide that it conveys what you are trying to express. Refinements are for future releases and versions.

I do what I do because I enjoy it. Whether you like it or not means nothing to me.

How about you stop swearing at people, take a chill pill and come back here once you have gotten over your fanboyism m'kay? It is quite embarrassing to see a grown man behave as you do.

Can we see an example of your work?

[aristotles]

Originally Posted by Groovy

IMHO, the truly great themers are the ones who can and have put out awesome themes without the need
for gimmicks. No need for in your face over the top animation effects and no need for SS even. For me
a touch of class and subtleness in themes that can be used day to day are best.

As for BBX the guy has talent for sure but IMHO he is leaning too much on SS and the animation it promises
in future versions. I can just imagine loop animation that never stops even when there is no mouse over user
interaction. A screen full of pulsating this and sliding that which you can't turn off. *cringe*

IMHO, first glance WOW factor via animation everything themes are not usable day to day and get old fast.

Just my humble opinion of course

This is what I'm talking about. I remember the Windows theme scene with windowsblinds and some of the gaudy animated themes. I found those themes to be a nice gimmick but once that wore off, I found them to be completely unusable for even a day let alone a daily basis.

We want usable themes, not gimmicky effects. I have to say that Max's port of Mercury is a great example of a usable theme.

If BBX was to release a nice and usable "static" theme in the style Omega, I might use it if Shapeshifter supported dark themes properly. But if he did eventually release a pulsing/moving Omega, I would keep it as far away from my system as possible.

[roosta]

is there a screenshot to give us an idea of what this was to look like?

[TheSpaz]

Originally Posted by roosta

is there a screenshot to give us an idea of what this was to look like?

I've seen a screenshot of an early early early super early Omega theme and it was simply beautiful. Don't try asking for it because I lost it on a bad hard drive and I wouldn't show another soul anyways.

[air]

Originally Posted by TheSpaz

I've seen a screenshot of an early early early super early Omega theme and it was simply beautiful. Don't try asking for it because I lost it on a bad hard drive and I wouldn't show another soul anyways.

...............riiiiiiiiiiiiiight

[christianclark]

Originally Posted by adonai

He was teasing this theme in 2003...so you think he had the foresight to know that Apple would be switching to Intel 3 years down the road?

Well yes! Many people knew and myself too, knew that Mac was going to use Intel or just like a PC computer very soon. We were just waiting for Apple for do so. I didn't like it @ first but I knew.

So to anwser your question. Yes, Bill knew about Intel deal.

Christian