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Official Leopard GUI discussion thread (Page 9)
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0157988944
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Nov 11, 2007, 06:15 PM
 
How did you catch that?
     
MindFad
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Nov 11, 2007, 06:24 PM
 
I just happened to notice. I hate little things like that. Perhaps they should've used something with a mask instead of the same square close button as the active tab.
     
0157988944
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Nov 11, 2007, 06:29 PM
 
I would have thought that it would have been a pNG or GIF with transparency, that way they wouldn't need to make 4 different ones.
     
MindFad
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Nov 11, 2007, 06:33 PM
 
I would've thought that, too, like with OS X's GUI itself. Maybe it's a performance thing? Even still, there should be a separate down state for inactive tabs.
     
daystartech
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Nov 12, 2007, 07:06 PM
 
I liked the move to the consistent sidebar, at first.

But after working with Leopard, I get confused. I normally just click a Window in the background to bring it forward. I normally have mail, itunes, the finder windows and a few other apps open. Now I can't tell if the window is a Finder window, iTunes, Disk Utility or Mail when it is in the background. All the sidebars look the SAME!. I would like to be able to at least change the background of the sidebars by app if wanted!
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besson3c
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Nov 12, 2007, 07:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by daystartech View Post
I liked the move to the consistent sidebar, at first.

But after working with Leopard, I get confused. I normally just click a Window in the background to bring it forward. I normally have mail, itunes, the finder windows and a few other apps open. Now I can't tell if the window is a Finder window, iTunes, Disk Utility or Mail when it is in the background. All the sidebars look the SAME!. I would like to be able to at least change the background of the sidebars by app if wanted!
This is exactly why I have a problem with the advocation of a completely unified GUI. There is a tradeoff in complete unification and that is difficulty in differentiation. Unification can be a good thing, but not simply for the sake of it. There has to be a reason to do so - a sense of familiarity that makes sense to leverage, and I have a hard time believing that all cosmetic decisions Apple has made translate to a measurable impact in usability.
     
marsbt
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Nov 12, 2007, 07:55 PM
 
I tested Leopard on a USB external device. Even though I was running it from a USB disk, the performance was quite nice. The interface is definitely very polished and unified. But for me it too much unified to the level that it feels a bit cheesy. I didn't test time machine as I backup using my own rsync script. The effect of folders/files in the Finder (huge folders going from left to right or right to left depend on which way you scroll - don't remember the name of the effect) is OK to see, but after about 10minutes it was kinda of superficial and I had to go back to the trusted detailed view. The is still better in Tiger. Ah, and the Software Update window is much better in Tiger than Leopard small window telling which file it is downloading.

But I do commend Apple in doing so much polishing and graphics effect for a casual user and no huge requirements for new hardare unlike Vista.

In the end, I wouldn't go and buy Leopard for $129 as I already have a quite nice OS i.e. Tiger.
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Kevin  (op)
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Nov 12, 2007, 10:11 PM
 
Originally Posted by MindFad View Post
Sloppy Safari tabs!



OS X is a GUI mess right now MindFad. I think we both know this. I don't think their Planned IR GUI was ready in time. So they put out a half baked version of what it's going to look like.

10.5 also has a few bugs here and there that have nothing to do GUI so much. Well they do but, things like icons losing their icon and turning into a blank white rectangle instead. Especially aliases.
     
lpkmckenna
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Nov 12, 2007, 10:49 PM
 
So far, I'm pretty happy with the Leopard GUI.

I actually like the new Dock. I tried the black, HUD-style Dock but found it too dark. The black Dock looks better at tiny sizes, but that's the only benefit.

The new folders and window colors are much nicer.

I don't like the translucent menu-bar. Why would I want a pink or baby-blue menu bar? 'Cause that's what I get from my favorite blue or red desktop pictures.

However, the biggest GUI flaw is in Quick Look. When looking at a wide picture, the floating palette takes the shape of that picture. Arrow over to the next picture and the palette frame stays wide, even if the picture is tall and thin. That's annoying.
     
0157988944
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Nov 12, 2007, 11:10 PM
 
You'd like to have a window spontaneously change shape on you, causing you to have to move your mouse to click next over and over again?
     
Kevin  (op)
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:03 AM
 
Originally Posted by lpkmckenna View Post
So far, I'm pretty happy with the Leopard GUI.
So you don't mind 3 or so different GUI element Ideas into one Window? I wish I was so easy to please.
     
PaperNotes
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:10 AM
 
Duh,

1. Apple forgot to create the blur effect under QuickLook windows.
2. They also forgot to add a white border around Stack's grid view
3. The arrow at the bottom of the same grid view isn't the same transparency.
4. There should be a blur effect under that too. All transparencies should have a blur effect.
     
Kevin  (op)
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by adamfishercox View Post
How did you catch that?
People who do graphics for a living spend all day looking for inconsistencies. When they do pop up, they are like a sore thumb. MindFad is one of the few in here that can notice these inconsistencies. I remember when 10.0 first came out. It was me, him and a few other people in here showing all these odd bugs in the GUI that still happen. They need better QC.
     
MartiNZ
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Nov 13, 2007, 03:01 PM
 
Seems more and more like Leopard pulled a Vista - released late and with the idea that everything will be working nicely in about a year or so. Hmmm.
     
lpkmckenna
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Nov 13, 2007, 04:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
So you don't mind 3 or so different GUI element Ideas into one Window?
What do you mean? I just think the flat grey windows are better than what we had in Tiger. I'd like to see the gel toothpaste scrollers go away, and I preferred the glassy buttons from Tiger's Safari and Finder. But overall, I'm happy.
     
Kevin  (op)
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Nov 13, 2007, 04:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by MartiNZ View Post
Seems more and more like Leopard pulled a Vista - released late and with the idea that everything will be working nicely in about a year or so. Hmmm.
That's how I feel as well.
     
MindFad
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:30 PM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
OS X is a GUI mess right now MindFad. I think we both know this. I don't think their Planned IR GUI was ready in time. So they put out a half baked version of what it's going to look like.
To be fair, I do remember the WWDC talks way back saying that the final implementation of RI would come sometime in '08, that it was "coming in Leopard." Nothing really specific that it would or really needed to be in place for launch. If RI does come sometime in '08, I'd say it's moving right along with display density and customer needs.

And honestly, I'm not quite so averse to Leopard's GUI as some. For instance, I really like the new brighter and crisper window widgets as compared to the old. And I really don't see the few existing Aqua elements to ever disappear, like scrollbars, buttons, or widgets. Like I said before, they're the most recognizable visual branding of OS X's GUI. I wouldn't mind an iTunes-like scrollbar, but I don't dislike them. They aren't the usability or visual nightmare they're made out to be.

But all visual annoyances and sloppy graphics aside, this is the best OS X I've ever used. It's fast and functional, and these annoyances don't affect my usability—it's far from the beta test that's suggested, come on!

One thing I definitely agree on that has felt like the most "uncertain" element of Leopard is Stacks. It kinda feels like they had this great idea, but then they weren't quite sure what they wanted to do with it. They obviously had a few ideas of how to implement them (changed from how they were originally shown to be used/made).

(I think they should add both ways for Stacks—make your own Stacks via selection, in addition to just dropping in a folder—as well as stick a little "Stack Content >" context menu in there just above "Remove from Dock," and everyone will be happy.)
     
- - e r i k - -
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Nov 13, 2007, 06:58 PM
 
And that concludes this thread. Thank you MF.

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Kevin  (op)
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Nov 13, 2007, 07:06 PM
 
Well MF pretty much agrees with what I say. But I am a bit more passionate about it because I'm a spaz.
     
CharlesS
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Nov 14, 2007, 03:32 AM
 
Other than the fact that he doesn't dislike the blue scroll bars, whereas you seem to think they are the demon offspring of Hitler and Satan, whose continued existence will bring about plagues of rats, locusts, and blood, followed by the Apocalypse happening simultaneously with the nuclear holocaust and global warming.

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Kevin  (op)
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Nov 14, 2007, 07:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS View Post
Other than the fact that he doesn't dislike the blue scroll bars, whereas you seem to think they are the demon offspring of Hitler and Satan, whose continued existence will bring about plagues of rats, locusts, and blood, followed by the Apocalypse happening simultaneously with the nuclear holocaust and global warming.
Huh? What blue scroll bars are you referring to? The iTunes ones or the Finder ones? (See how an inconsistent GUI can screw up things)

And no, I don't like Aqua. For valid reasons. Not the overboard exaggerations you spoke of.

But I'd rather have consistency.

If you want to ask swiz, after I figured out that you wouldn't be able to make the Finder look like iTunes, I suggested making the iTunes look like the Finder.

But I am not touching crap right now until Apple gives out more docs about this signing stuff.
     
 
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