Is OS X Becoming Too Much? [OT]

[Clinton MacDonald]

Ed:

As always, just my opinions...

Ed Sutherland wrote:
> Just an observation: As I flip back and forth between Linux
> and Mac OS X  (Linux has some apps -- such as Firefox and
> Thunderbird -- that look and  behave better than in OS X, and
> OS X has some functionality not found in  Linux), I'm
> beginning to look upon the OS X Aqua GUI as being a bit too
> much, a bit too garish for my tastes.

Although I *like* Mac OS X, I agree that it can be very "in-your-face." 
Soft edges to windows and fonts, 3D effects where none are necessary, 
"pinstripes" that strobe slightly in fluorescent light, and so on.

I am also disappointed in the fact that Mac OS X places a premium on 
screen space. I first installed Mac OS X 10.0 on a 400 MHz CRT iMac. At 
800 x 600, icons, fonts and windows were too large for the screen; at 
1024 x 768, fonts were too small to read. I could never find a happy 
medium. Similarly, my Wallstreet running 10.2.8 was welded to 800 x 600, 
and windows (with all the toolbars and widgets) were large enough I 
could never move them out of the way to see something underneath. Mac OS 
9 was much more economical in its use of screen real estate.

> The Gnome interface is more subtle and to the point.

Gnome and KDE are somewhere in between, in my opinion. There are still 
too many dialogs in Gnome/KDE that are hard coded at larger than 800 x 
600, and therefore aren't usable on a reasonably sized 800 x 600 monitor 
(Linux is supposed to keep older hardware useful, right?).

That being said, on a large enough monitor, I think Mac OS X is dreamily 
beautiful (such a monitor has to be at least 1024 x 768, though 1280 x 
864 -- like my PowerBook G4 -- is better). Where Mac OS X really, really 
shines is in fonts and graphics. I give a number of scientific talks. 
While most folks use Microsoft (spit) PowerPoint, I have taken to using 
Apple Keynote. The fonts and graphics look beautiful and crisp when 
projected, shadows are hyper-realistic, blacks seem darker and whites 
more crisp, and subtle transition effects take an audience by surprise.

(And, no, I don't use Apple's garish "cube" and other over-the-top 
transitions in my scientific talks, as those draw too much attention to 
themselves. A subtle "dissolve" transition is almost unnoticeable, but 
more relaxed than a PowerPoint instant transition.)

On yet another hand, I still hate the candy-colored red-yellow-green 
dots in Mac OS X's window widgets.

Just another opinion from Dr. Clint.

Best wishes,
Clint
(who wonders what wonders await us in Mac OS XIV)

-- 
Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal DOT net>