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phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 01:20 AM

1/1/2004

MacThemes.net was launched today to fill a long lasting void in the Mac GUI community. The website plans to offer theme related news, reviews, previews and interviews, something that has never been attempted before. MacThemes also provides an "Interesting Reads" section to monitor theme-related forum threads of interest and user comments. User voting and website skins are planned for the near future.

Visitors will find three theme reviews currently residing in the theme review archives, as well as reviews of Konfabulator and Candybar in the software section. In addition, there is an "Insider" interview with William Bart, in which he discusses his history as a graphics artist and his highly anticipated OS X theme, BBX: Omega.

MacThemes invites visitors to comment, feedback, and critique, as the website will continually change and improve to meet the needs of its users.

A toast, to Mac Theming of 2004!

-phill (http://www.macthemes.net)

Frisbee · Jan 1, 2004, 01:25 AM

Thank you, Phillip Ryu, Adam Betts, et all! This is the kind of site we've needed for a while in the theming/modding community; a nice, organized, centralized download and review center for all our needs. A very exciting stretch of time this is- with the release of this site, and SS 1.1 and BBX Omega on the horizon, this is the first step opening the door to a golden era of Mac OS X theming, and I for one am ready to step inside.

zachs · Jan 1, 2004, 01:29 AM

Looks good! I too have been wanting a site like this for a while.

Two little things:
- There's no e-mail address to send sample reviews to.

Where should we send them?
- I posted a comment about it; the link to the MacNN forum thread is incorrect here.

Other than that, very nice!

Kujo · Jan 1, 2004, 01:36 AM

whats teaser?

phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 01:39 AM

Originally posted by zachs:
Looks good! I too have been wanting a site like this for a while.

Two little things:
- There's no e-mail address to send sample reviews to. Where should we send them?
- I posted a comment about it; the link to the MacNN forum thread is incorrect here.

Other than that, very nice!

Fixed the email link. Good night guys, it's been a long few days for me

Glad you like it.

PS: The teaser is in the interview, found on the site.

zachs · Jan 1, 2004, 01:40 AM

Originally posted by Kujo:
whats teaser?

William Bart on Life, Omega, and Theming

div · Jan 1, 2004, 01:40 AM

MacThemes.net looks to be what people on the MacNN GUI forums have been asking for. A well designed repository--with reviews and screenshots--for MacOS X themes. I personally think the site looks great and can't wait to see what content will be added next.

Oh yeah, and the William Bart interview was awesome too.
;)

I wasn't aware of the extreme lengths that William (or is it Bill?) is taking this theme. From what I've gleaned from between the lines, it seems that SS 1.1 will support, among other things, animations in the GUI? Whatever happens, the BBX interview convinced me that William really has a fine appreciation for his work. With so many themes that are lacking that same attention to detail, I look forward to installing Omega on my system and marveling at the small details.
:)

Thanks for the nice site, the interview, and a "sneak peek" phillryu.

/ happy new year
/ div

WICKEDfour · Jan 1, 2004, 01:44 AM

Wow, great job. Thanks for sharing the awesome interview with William Bart! I hope this recent interview helps show the guy behind the theme and helps some people mellow out. Thanks for showing us the iTRM!

As far as the site goes, good use of a news system and comments. Will there be a preview page for any upcoming themes? It'd be great to have some preview-reviews for the themes being submitted to Unsanity's contest. Also, how about an in-line comments display next to or under the theme reviews and such? That'd be great!

Excellent job on everything, phillryu, Adam Betts, and the brilliant web site coder/s behind such a slick site!

cloudaj · Jan 1, 2004, 01:45 AM

in the interview it talks about the remote docking into the desktop...so let me get this straight...you design a desktop with designated regions and when a specific window passes over it / rests on that spot you can have it "lock" into the desktop? if so thats one of the neatest GUI things ive ever heard of, lol.

Kujo · Jan 1, 2004, 02:08 AM

the little music widget or whatever it is? thats a teaser to the theme?

NetworkShadow · Jan 1, 2004, 02:10 AM

Nice work.

Fonzie · Jan 1, 2004, 02:12 AM

As I say on the site. What a great interview. I might well be that this site is going to be huge if all goes well.

dole · Jan 1, 2004, 03:22 AM

That site is looking really nice. Just to give you a heads up, the link to download Power Metal on the themes pages is actually a link for FatalE.

Jan Van Boghout · Jan 1, 2004, 05:56 AM

Originally posted by dole:
That site is looking really nice. Just to give you a heads up, the link to download Power Metal on the themes pages is actually a link for FatalE.

Fixed

Cerbero · Jan 1, 2004, 10:12 AM

This looks exactly like what we've all been waiting for

Thanks, this will definitely be one of my daily visits.

sushiism · Jan 1, 2004, 11:37 AM

nice site

, much more professional than the likes of customize.org, winstyles or whatever

timdorr · Jan 1, 2004, 02:33 PM

I really like the look, and some nice stuff for a fledgling site. But no theme archive? That's kinda what I was hoping for :/

phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 03:14 PM

Originally posted by timdorr:
I really like the look, and some nice stuff for a fledgling site. But no theme archive? That's kinda what I was hoping for :/

Timdorr, I decided from the start that we would let others do a theme archive site, because I believe there are people much more capable for the job. Glad you like the look though

Nebagakid · Jan 1, 2004, 03:39 PM

how does the site work? I know it is powered by MovableType.

Are there any plug-ins or what?

mrfrost · Jan 1, 2004, 03:48 PM

Great job guys!

Sage · 04:26 PM

The site is very impressive.

(Okay, you have more divisions than you need, but I can forgive you.

)

And the teaser looks incredible! Now, just to clarify... is that the Konfabulator remote?

[edit]: Oooooh, I just realized that you guys used the text shadow property in your CSS... nice. Only seen one other site that used it (the Fluid screensaver website, whatever that is).

smeger · Jan 1, 2004, 04:08 PM

Beautiful site! Congrats Phillip, Adam & Jan! The hard work has definitely paid off.

eFX · Jan 1, 2004, 05:14 PM

wonderfull site phill, very Professional looking top class!

Great interview with BBX.

quandarry · Jan 1, 2004, 05:22 PM

looks promising as long as it doesn't become a bbx ass kissing site.

NetworkShadow · Jan 1, 2004, 05:25 PM

Originally posted by quandarry:
looks promising as long as it doesn't become a bbx ass kissing site.

You know? That's a good idea... A BBX ass kissing site.

timdorr · Jan 1, 2004, 05:54 PM

Originally posted by phillryu:
Timdorr, I decided from the start that we would let others do a theme archive site, because I believe there are people much more capable for the job. Glad you like the look though

Guess I'll work on that after all, then

phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 06:23 PM

Originally posted by Nebagakid:
how does the site work? I know it is powered by MovableType.

Are there any plug-ins or what?

This is MovableType with the paginate plug in (for separating articles like the interview into pages), MTOtherBlog (to show newest reviews in the news blog for instance) and an extra fields hack to allow download links for reviews.

phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 06:24 PM

Originally posted by Sage:
The site is very impressive. (Okay, you have more divisions than you need, but I can forgive you. )

And the teaser looks incredible! Now, just to clarify... is that the Konfabulator remote?

Divisions as in sections? If you want theme/software reviews together, set a bookmark to http://www.macthemes.net/reviews/.

And yes, it is an iTunes Konfabulator remote that you're seeing. Time to buy Konfabulator eh?

Sage · 06:54 PM

Originally posted by phillryu:
Divisions as in sections?

No no... I mean <div>.

In theory, nesting divisions isn't ideal... in your site's case, I think the ideal setup would be to have a header division, sidebar, content, and footer. But I'm just nitpicking, so ignore me if you wish.

And yes, it is an iTunes Konfabulator remote that you're seeing. Time to buy Konfabulator eh?

Heh heh... Most certainly.

MacDog · Jan 1, 2004, 06:50 PM

The site looks fantastic! Nice, clean and easy to view site. An archive would be a welcome addition - and though other people here have stated *interest* in doing an archive site, nobody has stepped up to the plate, so I would say go for it.

phillryu · Jan 1, 2004, 08:18 PM

Originally posted by Sage:
No no... I mean <div>. In theory, nesting divisions isn't ideal... in your site's case, I think the ideal setup would be to have a header division, sidebar, content, and footer. But I'm just nitpicking, so ignore me if you wish.

This is a known shortcoming, and needs to be addressed should we add site 'skins' as is planned. Cleaning up the code is indeed on our list. Just imagine poor Jan working till midnight in 4 frantic days to convert a mockup into reality, (and rendering correctly in IE 6 no less) and you get your nested div's.

Sage · Jan 1, 2004, 09:59 PM

Originally posted by phillryu:
This is a known shortcoming, and needs to be addressed should we add site 'skins' as is planned. Cleaning up the code is indeed on our list. Just imagine poor Jan working till midnight in 4 frantic days to convert a mockup into reality, (and rendering correctly in IE 6 no less) and you get your nested div's.

Ah, I see... good deal, good deal.

Synotic · Jan 1, 2004, 10:14 PM

Originally posted by Sage:
Ah, I see... good deal, good deal.

Yeah... it also might already have been done

Just needs to be popped in...

Apple Pro Underwear · Jan 1, 2004, 11:21 PM

cool site

need resources though...i want a place that is the end all of all mac theme sites

link me to more themes you haven't reviews

Fonzie · Jan 2, 2004, 02:32 PM

Originally posted by phillryu:
This is a known shortcoming, and needs to be addressed should we add site 'skins' as is planned. Cleaning up the code is indeed on our list. Just imagine poor Jan working till midnight in 4 frantic days to convert a mockup into reality, (and rendering correctly in IE 6 no less) and you get your nested div's.

Why does it have to render correctly in IE6? As far as I know Internet Explorer does not follow the guidelines set by W3C. And since it's a _Mac_ website I see no point of it being done to please Windows users.

Jan Van Boghout · Jan 2, 2004, 02:55 PM

Originally posted by Fonzie:
Why does it have to render correctly in IE6? As far as I know Internet Explorer does not follow the guidelines set by W3C. And since it's a _Mac_ website I see no point of it being done to please Windows users.

If people are at work and �uhm� not entertained

� they could go have a look. Plus, why give Windows users a chance to say how crappy Mac theme sites look and how great theirs are

Fonzie · Jan 2, 2004, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by Jan Van Boghout:
If people are at work and �uhm� not entertained � they could go have a look. Plus, why give Windows users a chance to say how crappy Mac theme sites look and how great theirs are

hmm, a good valid point there Jan

phillryu · Jan 2, 2004, 05:40 PM

Originally posted by Apple Pro Underwear:
cool site

need resources though...i want a place that is the end all of all mac theme sites

link me to more themes you haven't reviews

At the rate the reviews are going atm, expect 15+ themes in the archives this month, and the number to quickly rise... Though we are never going to review every OS X theme, the majority probably will.

Holigen · Jan 4, 2004, 04:29 PM

Very nice site, although it could use a theme archive in addition to the reviews, I like it a lot. Thank you for working so hard on it.

TheIceMan · Jan 4, 2004, 05:31 PM

phillryu: Congrats on the site. Nicely done.

OwlBoy · Jan 4, 2004, 06:44 PM

Very cool looking.

and as others have said... it needs a Theme Archive.

Even if they are old non SS themes, or even old non 10.3/10.2 themes.

Oh, a forum would be cool too...

-Owl

phillryu · Jan 4, 2004, 09:13 PM

Originally posted by OwlBoy:
Very cool looking.

and as others have said... it needs a Theme Archive.

Even if they are old non SS themes, or even old non 10.3/10.2 themes.

Oh, a forum would be cool too...

-Owl

All themes will be 10.3+, because they will only be entered with a review. Which means, as I have said, no archive.

Sorry.

And the thing about forums was, I didn't really see a point with competing with the best theme forums out there: here! The macnn gui customization forums are already well known, members know each other here, and I could offer no real advantages, so I didn't think there was much of a point. Unless anyone could convince me otherwise..

swiz · Jan 5, 2004, 12:25 AM

Originally posted by phillryu:
All themes will be 10.3+, because they will only be entered with a review. Which means, as I have said, no archive. Sorry.

And the thing about forums was, I didn't really see a point with competing with the best theme forums out there: here! The macnn gui customization forums are already well known, members know each other here, and I could offer no real advantages, so I didn't think there was much of a point. Unless anyone could convince me otherwise..

I agree, I dont have the time to browse any other forums during the day.

MorphOSX · Jan 5, 2004, 04:09 AM

well, Phill has a unique opportunity here:

Macthemes is going to be the end all, be all of theme community news and reviews. XThemes, which just was announced, seems to be actually archiving/hosting themes for the masses. So, the two go inevitably hand in hand as you can jump from MacThemes with its reviews to XThemes and grab the files.

Dave

WICKEDfour · Jan 5, 2004, 10:29 AM

Exactly. As far as XThemes and MacThemes go, why not have an alliance of sorts? I mean, the function of each site compliment each other, so why not intertwine them? Example: XThemes has a link back to the MacThemes review; XThemes hosts the themes so they can:
A. Distribute themes easily and reliably (I mean, not everyone that makes themes is going to have the bandwidth to host it, especially if it's a popular theme)
B. Review themes in XThemes database (so we can see how high quality all of these new themes are with a nice review

)
C. Give users what they want: a comprehensive archive database of existing themes and reviewed themes all in one.

I think it could be done, what do you think, phillryu and brien?

iNeusch · Jan 5, 2004, 10:57 AM

Good idea ! The site rocks
Hope it won't be to hard to get all the themes from the different authors...

phillryu · Jan 5, 2004, 04:19 PM

Originally posted by WICKEDfour:
Exactly. As far as XThemes and MacThemes go, why not have an alliance of sorts? I mean, the function of each site compliment each other, so why not intertwine them? Example: XThemes has a link back to the MacThemes review; XThemes hosts the themes so they can:
A. Distribute themes easily and reliably (I mean, not everyone that makes themes is going to have the bandwidth to host it, especially if it's a popular theme)
B. Review themes in XThemes database (so we can see how high quality all of these new themes are with a nice review )
C. Give users what they want: a comprehensive archive database of existing themes and reviewed themes all in one.

I think it could be done, what do you think, phillryu and brien?

Well, MT is indeed going to link to XThemes for themes that are being hosted there. (Download link/website.) It's up to them if they want to link back to a review or not. However, there is no integration beyond that planned. Think of XThemes as imdb.com, and MT as rottentomatoes. The analogy isn't perfect, but we concentrate more on reviews, they concentrate on keeping a complete database.

MacDog · Jan 6, 2004, 03:48 PM

I see your point. It pays to focus on certain aspects. And I'm sure it's no easy task keeping a database up to date - especially since many themers change web addys, email, etc. without you knowing - and trying to maintain an accurate DB along with reviewing the themes is a bit much.

Patcarla · Jan 8, 2004, 09:32 AM

Hey Phil,
I really like MacThemes and the way you're handling the site.

iNeusch · Jan 8, 2004, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by MacDog:
I see your point. It pays to focus on certain aspects. And I'm sure it's no easy task keeping a database up to date - especially since many themers change web addys, email, etc. without you knowing - and trying to maintain an accurate DB along with reviewing the themes is a bit much.

Yes and as it takes a lot of time to do good reviews on interesting subjects, it's a good things they don't do too many things at once.