Aqua - January 03, 2004
Author: Apple
Version: 10.3
Reviewed by: Daniel Shannon
User Rating: 
66%
Themes are all well and good, but dare we forget the basics? Let's face it, ladies and gentlemen: Aqua is probably the best "theme" around. You've all seen it, and you've all used it... but have you considered just what makes it so cool?
Aesthetics
Aqua has only been getting better since its debut with OS 10.0 Public Beta. Back in the day, it was bright and glaring, sometimes to the point where using OS X for an extended period of time could hurt the eyes. But now, in OS 10.3, things are looking better. The infamous "stripes" are much more subdued, and have vanished from title bars. Panther also has much more contrast than previous versions of Mac OS X: for example, preference windows' category rows alternate between a light and dark color, which makes them easier to differentiate. The selected item in a preference pane is now drawn with a gray background, and a line on either side, making it crystal-clear which pane is open. All toolbars are now lighter than the window contents, with an extra-dark dividing line between them.
Brushed metal has not change much... for better or worse. Although many claim that the metal look is unnecessary, and makes the OS more difficult to use, it actually works to add a comfortable amount of diversity to the look. Try using Unsanity's Metallifizer with the metal disabled. It looks quite nice for a while (and I highly recommend Metallifizer anyway), but it feels good to go back to the combined metal/Aqua look. I think that Aqua & metal are a good team, because they help to create balance in the overall look and contrast. However, I beg Apple, and all programmers, to back off from metal. In order for the "balance" thing to work, there has to be... well, balance.
Usability
Aqua is wonderfully usable. As I've discussed, metal creates a comfortable amount of variety in the OS. Furthermore, the fact that Panther's Aqua is much more subdued, subtle, and dark makes it easier to use for long periods of time. Brushed metal does not confuse most people (even my mother could handle the combined interfaces)... if it did, we could probably expect Apple to take care of the problem. For those who are against Aqua's colorful widgets, there is always the Graphite option in the system preferences.
Extras
Apple's backgrounds and screen savers are sometimes good... but sometimes not. The basic "Apple Background" set has a handful of attractive wallpapers, including the new- and old-style "Aqua Blue" and "Aqua Graphite" designs. The "Lines" images are not too bad either. "Flow" is somewhat appealing, but not something that I'd ever use. The "Ripples" and "Tiles" wallpapers are too small for most monitors, and look quite ugly when stretched out. The "Nature" collection earns Apple a few points, just for "Faux Fur." I have to wonder, though... where's the panther fur? The "Abstract" series is patently ugly, and does not work well with any aspect of Aqua.
(Below: Look, Safari how it's supposed to be!)
The screen savers are fair, overall. "Computer Name" needs to be spiced up a bit. "Abstract," inexplicably, takes those amazingly ugly abstract wallpapers and turns them into a screen saver. Why? "Beach" is an interesting one, reminiscent of Strong Bad's "Take a Break" program. "Cosmos" is wonderful, and so are "Forest" and "Flurry." The last one is just cool, and always elicits some "Oooh"s and "Ahhh"s from a crowd of PC users, while the first two have wonderful photographs of space and forests, respectively.
Conclusions
Why theme? Apple has worked hard to create a delightful look-and-feel for Mac OS X, and it's only been getting better. My only real qualm with Aqua is that it's a little too sterile and corporate. It would be nice for the occasional easter egg to appear—something in the spirit of the code-name "BHA" in place of "Sagan." But that's not really an issue with Aqua so much as one with Apple.
So uninstall ShapeShifter, delete those theme files, and get you back to Aqua! You'll be glad that you did.
Comments
Posted by rorschach at January 4, 2004 11:24 AM | Edit | Delete
But...the progress bars! The progress bars! Gah...please, Apple, update them. They seem to have completely forgotten about their existance. (Of course, that's where ThemePark and a copy of SmoothStripes come in handy ;)
I would like brushed metal if it weren't so...clunky. I dunno, it just feels bloated to me.
Posted by Brian at January 4, 2004 01:41 PM | Edit | Delete
Aqua is the GUI equal of HTML blink tag.
I'll be satisfied when it retires.
Posted by Tim at January 4, 2004 03:37 PM | Edit | Delete
That's what I love AquaExtreme. I can use Aqua but have sunken widgets as well as updated progress bars. That's why I have ShapeShifter :)
Posted by Phillip Ryu at January 4, 2004 03:56 PM | Edit | Delete
Of course, AquaExtreme is still available in DLTA format, for those who are still using ThemeChanger. A guikit version would be nice, if only for the smaller file size. (SmoothStripes takes up a whopping 80, 90 megs, while a guikit version would be under ten I believe.)
Posted by allap at January 4, 2004 04:07 PM | Edit | Delete
Good review. I agree with most of the points except that the rounded edges on the title bars drive me mad!
Posted by Dan at January 4, 2004 04:41 PM | Edit | Delete
I had never really thought the progress bars to be that irritating. The only way that I can see them changing is to go to a Safari-style bar, but I don't think that would make sense with the rest of the OS
My biggest issue with metal is the extra processor cycles required to "brush it on" (if you'll pardon the pseudo-pun). It's probably not that big a deal on newer Macs, but it must hurt older G3s.
Brian, I can understand your point, but that's why I'm glad to see Aqua becoming more subtle.
Rounded title bars are fun, I think.
Posted by Ernest Liu at January 4, 2004 05:35 PM | Edit | Delete
I personally think Aqua is a comfortable looking theme, and the overall composition of it is great. The only thing I'd like changed is the default folders, which weren't so great. Of course, using CandyBar to change it would work, but I wish they would have chosen something better.
Posted by mac15 at January 4, 2004 10:10 PM | Edit | Delete
This is the best theme there is, hands down. I don't think anyone will ever create a better one unless its Apple themselves. Even 3rd party themes don't come close on this one.
Posted by Leland Jordon at January 5, 2004 01:00 AM | Edit | Delete
On both iBooks that I've owned so far (3 gig blueberry, and 800 MHz iceBook) I've recalibrated the video to be less bluish, and more like paper under incandescent lighting. No more worries about it being too glaring.
And the metal? Goodness, thanks to the metal, there's so much more "material" to grab hold of when I want to move a window around. Yes, a different look or color could be used, but the concept of dragging a piece of metal around the screen is much easier to visualize than dragging a piece of, um, whitish stripes or something.
I'll always appreciate the lack of color that the Mac OS has had. Yes, there are blue folders, menu selections, and the traffic light glassies, but at least you can turn everything to gray when you want to properly mess with colors while editing images (yes, folders are always blue, but rarely seen during image editing). Many themes in Kaleidoscope frustrated me by imposing too much of their own color when I didn't want it, and I ended up going back to Platinum exclusively. I've even hated Windows for its persistent color bar.
As far as screen savers go, I've already found more than I need. It's also really easy to use any of my diverse folders of pictures. By now, I only use a few: 20th Century Voyage (just awesome!), Flurry (light CPU usage is good), Fluid, and OSX's ability to use a folder of my choice.
Now, screen savers are counted as Extras in this review. What about Exposé? It's ridiculously cool, but I'm also not sure that it would have fit in this review anyway. We're talking about colors, patterns, & window materials, and making changes to those aspects wouldn't alter how Exposé works.
I think Apple got it right again with OSX, especially in 10.3. No complaints from me.
Posted by Dan at January 5, 2004 09:20 AM | Edit | Delete
When it comes to Exposé, I think that Apple is going in the right direction, but there's still more to do. Sun wrote a program for Linux that lets people treat windows like books on a shelf. That is, they can be turned so that only a sort of "spine" faces outwards, so that they take up very little screen real-estate, but still are convenient and accessible.
Thanks for the screen saver recommendations! My current screen saver is Fluid, with the background set to a high-res image of our Fearless Leader. He warped my civil rights... now Fluid can warp him!
Posted by danielgrenell at January 5, 2004 10:50 AM | Edit | Delete
how about reviewing older aquas too so we can compare!
Posted by Jeremy at January 13, 2004 12:59 PM | Edit | Delete
Must have been a slow day to review this one ;-).
Posted by Brook Bowers at January 15, 2004 11:11 PM | Edit | Delete
Probably my favorite OS X interface ever is the original Aqua found in 10.0-10.1. Those huge pill buttons were just the grooviest things ever. I can't tell you how disappointed I was when 10.2 made Aqua flatter, and when 10.3 made it even flatter than before (and added a goddamn brushed metal finder)
Posted by Jason Williams at January 25, 2004 08:52 AM | Edit | Delete
I love Aqua as it is, but I tend to use Aqua Extreme because I can't stand the black stroke around the toolbar. I could easily take the progress bars, scroll bars, widgets, and everything else, but that black titlebar stroke in Aqua was making me make everything I could brushed metal until Aqua Extreme came out!
Still, a very good theme though.
Posted by Keyser at February 21, 2004 02:06 PM | Edit | Delete
This is the best theme bar none. The 3rd party themes are cool but for wome reason I keep going back to Aqua. I'm pretty sure Apple did market studies with consumers and probably had some themes that looked similar to the 3rd party ones available now. What they probably found out is that Aqua appealed to a wider audience. Even PC users drool over Aqua, but I guess I can understand that since they are stuck with Luna. The only thing I'd like is for a pro appearance that would do more than turn the buttons graphite. Something along the lines of AquaPro or SS Studio Pro. If Apple did that I would never bother with a 3rd party theme again.
Posted by Corey Klinck at February 21, 2004 04:41 PM | Edit | Delete
I switch themes very frequently, no matter how good they are. While aqua might have been great, I need change. As soon as I discovered themes back in the 10.1 days, I have always been switching around... now more than ever. I have my fill of aqua on the computers at school, and when I visit people who don't use themes.
Posted by Sam Bredeson at March 14, 2004 12:49 PM | Edit | Delete
I just wish I could opt to change the UI of Panther back into the original white-stripedy-ness. That would be cool.
Posted by Brian Reading at March 18, 2004 06:13 PM | Edit | Delete
I just can't believe no one has written a theme for Panther yet to restore the old 10.0-10.1 look. I miss the overly done Pinstripes and 3D Buttons on everything. It just looked so much like it's own GUI style, that I think it blew away all the old aesthetics of all other GUIs. Now with every release of OS X, Aqua is becoming flatter, with less vivid textures and designs. It's beginning to feel like Windows XP's Luna without transparent title bars! Since the pill buttons are becoming flatter, it just looks like any other OS. I think a lot of people like me would appreciate a restoration of these effects by a theme artist. It's too bad I'm not skilled enough to do it, because I would have a long time ago. Who's with me?
Posted by Vincent Grouls at March 31, 2004 07:10 AM | Edit | Delete
Aqua indeed is one of the best themes for OS X. And Apple has improved it tremendously. The only thing that annoys me about the Panther interface, is the Metal Finder. Brushed works okay for all iApps imo but not for the filesystem.
Want to measure the popularity of Aqua? Just see the massive amount of Aqua-based themes and ports as well as all those websites based on the interface.
Brian R., you should try this one: http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?threadid=206815
Posted by Brian Reading at April 6, 2004 09:24 PM | Edit | Delete
Thanks a lot Vincent! The Puma theme is a bit underdeveloped I notice. The Panther "button style" tabs are still there and transparency in the Pull down menus and titlebars are also not the correct shades of transparency. It's odd, but it's like SOME of the title bars look correct, and the others are only barely transparent, but more of a dark grey color. Does this work the same for you? Anyways, thanks a lot for the link. I appreciate it!
Posted by Dave at April 23, 2004 09:07 PM | Edit | Delete
Aqua is a great theme, but I've grown tired of the striping. Max's SmoothStripes is the best 'Aqua' theme that I've seen.
Posted by devboy at April 24, 2004 02:38 PM | Edit | Delete
This theme could really be improved.
Posted by MacDragon123 at May 11, 2004 10:05 AM | Edit | Delete
down with aqua
Posted by Nicholas Adams (NYZE Designs) at August 15, 2004 06:55 PM | Edit | Delete
Get rid of the spammers PLEASE, anyway, personally, I miss the Jaguar theme. I liked that a whole lot better than Panther. The sunken close/minimize/maximize buttons, they bother me, incredibaly. That's why I still workin' on a theme for Panther in the look of Jaguar, and have made a iTunes 3 theme for iTunes 4, as well as a Quicktime Skin with no sunken close/minimize/maximize boxes.
Posted by Rimshot at January 7, 2005 08:23 PM | Edit | Delete
Just the best theme ever made