SafarIcon - January 05, 2004
Author: Reinhold Penner
Cost: Free
Version: 1.8.2
Reviewed by: Phillip Ryu
User Rating: 
65%
SafarIcon has become widely used Safari toolbar sets are now included with most themes. However, while SafarIcon has evidently had a lot of work put into it, the user interface is overcomplicated, nonstandard, confusing, and slow, which brings me to the conclusion that SafarIcon is a lot more complicated than it could have been.
Features
As a Safari toolbar icon switcher, SafarIcon has lot of features, some useful, and some useless. Useful features include options to launch Safari on quit, create custom themes, and install "perforated tabs", which are actually quite interesting. (Though unnecessary I suppose.) However, the application also includes features required only because of it's often confusing interface. There are options to select the "start up tab". These options include the "Read Me" tab, the "Icon Themes" tab, and the last used tab. Quite frankly, is this option really necessary? Can't users open the read me if they need it, and get to the actual theme switching by default? And why the heck is the read me in a tab? Which brings me to the next point.
Ease of Use
This application is not easy to use. Unless you choose to explore the rather annoying preference tab, users open the application (after dragging the downloaded theme file into your user Library/Application Support/Safaricon/Themes/), select the Icon Themes tab, select the theme to use, wait until it loads the preview, click install, and quit. I understand the need for SafarIcon's advanced options for those creating icon theme sets, but what would really be ideal for me, as a regular user, would be an almost invisible application that opens theme packages on a double click, installs, and quits.
And another thing. Why is the developer scared of using multiple windows? Preferences should be in its own window. The read me should be a help file, or even an included RTF document. Even without slimming it down to ideal proportions, SafarIcon could easily ditch its whole tab system, and become much more standards compliant and intuitive to boot. The interface could become much better with just a few changes, and could ideally become almost invisible.
Price
Refreshingly, SafarIcon is free. This fact almost makes me want to reward the app, and it will get rewarded with a perfect price score, but the fact is, it's almost not even worth the free price tag. I believe the author's best choice would be to spin off a minimal version of SafarIcon, with support for theme packages reminiscent of Panic's "iContainers". Compared to this user interface nightmare, I'd seriously consider paying for something much more "crippled" in the features department.
Of course, as toolbar sets become synonymous with system themes, another logical evolution is that SafarIcon's functions become rolled into the theme changer utilities, and that's another future that I am welcoming. In any case, SafarIcon is obviously the result of a lot of tinkering by its developer, and the free price is appreciated, but there is much improvement that this application could see, and I hope the author will put some of his time towards a better user interface in the future.
Comments
Posted by Allan Nyholm Nielsen at January 7, 2004 02:53 PM | Edit | Delete
Good review. But I can certainly live with the tabs. I also think that the help file should be seperate. But the preferences in it's own window !? I think he has simplified it by putting the prefs and all in one window.
Posted by Benjamin at January 7, 2004 06:13 PM | Edit | Delete
I have always felt this way about SafarIcon, and I am happy to see it voiced publicly. I would like to see the developer of this team up with someone who's expertise is in UI design and combine an obviously talented programmer for a great overall app.
Posted by NetworkShadow at January 8, 2004 01:08 AM | Edit | Delete
Don't think you could ask for much more when it comes to an app that just replaces .png files for you.
Posted by at January 8, 2004 03:34 AM | Edit | Delete
I've used both of Reinhold Penner's products (this and Caminicon) and have had none of the problems the reviewer here states. I found the interface intuitive and easy to use. What's so confusing about a tab that has the app prefs in it? Is there something confusing about clicking to the preferences tab to change the app's behavior? I don't think so. As for the idea about simply having a "theme package" you can double click to install, that makes no sense at all. How would you preview it to know if that's what you wanted to use? How would you change the behavior (preferences) of an application that doesn't stay open?
The so called problems with this app are nothing more than the reviewers own preferences/idiosyncrasies rather than legitimate problems with the application. Indeed, some of the "recommendations" for improving the app are self contradictory with other comments, e.g. having a separate preferences window in an app that just launches, does its thing, and then quits. This is simply pure illogic.
Please put more thought into your reviews, and time into investigating the products you review. I've been using Caminicon since it was first available as a beta back when Camino was still Chimera. I've never had any gripes with it what so ever, and NEVER had any need to use the included read me, the app is that transparent.
Posted by honz at January 8, 2004 06:39 AM | Edit | Delete
These reviews get stranger and stranger with each one I read. The theme reviews come across as 'ass-kissing' too much, there's very little objectivity in them. Now with this review it seems to be based solely on the reviewers own personal opinion.
First and foremost.... SafarIcon is FREE, and it does exactly what it says it will do. The reviewer scores the app very badly for ease of use and i cannot understand this at all. The only hard thing about SafarIcon is putting the folder in the correct location and if you can not do this properly then you really should not be thinking of tampering with customization.
There is nothing complicated about the user interface what-so-ever. Let's run through it:
The ReadMe tab: Simple reading here... nothing complicated at all. Actually a good idea to put it in the app since most people never read the thing.
The Icon Themes tab: No "interface nightmare" here. Select the theme you want from the drop down menu, preview it and if you like it hit the install button.
The Preferences tab: Some checkboxes and radio buttons to select from... again nothing difficult here.
The only impression that I get from this review is that the reviewer has had a previous personal encounter with the developer which turned nasty and the feeling have persisted.... either that or the reviewer is trying to justify all the other ass-kissing reviews done so far.
One point I do agree with the reviewer on is that in future I too see this type of thing being handled by theme managers like ShapeShifter.
Overall it's very unfair review for a very useful and FREE application.
Posted by cybergoober at January 8, 2004 09:32 AM | Edit | Delete
My only problem, if you can really even call it that, is SafarIcon changes the permissions of the files it replaces. Just kind of annoying when I run a repair permissions and it brings back all these permissions problems with Safari. Of course, permissions repairs are soooo much faster on my new G5 at work.
But that is obviously a minor issue. Given the functionality of the app, I can live with it. Perhaps it would be nice to have the option to apply the themes with admin privileges…
Think I might send an email to Mr. Penner.
Posted by Phillip Ryu at January 8, 2004 02:15 PM | Edit | Delete
Honz, and others,
I agree that SafarIcon is free, and that's why it got the perfect price score. However, its price should not affect the score beyond that.
Perhaps I did not explain my idea thoroughly enough, but obviously even a nearly invisible app (one that launches on double click of a skin pack, installs, and quits) needs a few prefernces and windows. For example, perhaps on first launch it would ask for the location of Safari (if it can not find it, something SafarIcon can not do). In addition, the app should be able to be opened manually (not from a themepack) and have a preference window, where you could select options for quit on successful installation, etc.
Does this make more sense now?
Another thing: sure, users can learn SafarIcon's interface, but this is something users should not have to do. Apple has Aqua HIG posted on their developer site for a reason, and that is to preserve consistency throughout the system to prevent confusion. SafarIcon, while remaining relatively benign, still participates in a flagrant abuse of the HIG, and along with how much easier it COULD be to use, deserves the low ease of use score.
Posted by Adam Iser at January 8, 2004 03:05 PM | Edit | Delete
An application should not be shielded from criticism (or given perfect scores) because it is free.
Anyone commenting that this application's interface is standard, easy to use, or even 'okay' needs to seriously sit back and think about what they're saying.
With a little work the developer could turn this into something very nice. The honest truth is that it's a shame to have such a functionally sound application crippled by this interface.
Posted by David at January 8, 2004 05:40 PM | Edit | Delete
I've used Safaricon since the day it was rolled out and have never had a single gripe about it. I find the interface perfectly simple to use -- self-explanatory & straightforward. It's not hard to use -- just read what it says on the tabs/controls!
The developer has always been very quick to update it when Apple tinkers w/ Safari and he's been very helpful to me in the past when I was trying to learn how to make Safari buttons and/or port exisiting themes over to Safari (I started as a total graphic idiot & probably still am by most folks' standards). And, as the reviewer pointed out, he's even kept it as freeware when others are charging for software that isn't nearly as useful.
My point is, what is there to complain about? But as my grandpa used to say, some people would bitch if you hung them with a silk rope.
David
PS: It's a free world, so if someone feels Safaricon is all that bad, then they should write a better one. (And I wonder if they'd be willing to put the time into it this guy has & still leave it as freeware. I'd bet not.)
Posted by d0le at January 9, 2004 11:29 AM | Edit | Delete
I have been using SafarIcon for awhile now and I have never had any complaints. I don't think the interface is hard to understand at all. If I want to install a theme, I click the Icon Theme tab, choose which theme from the drop down list and hit the install button.
I don't know what is so hard about it. I guess people love to complain about anything or whine that it doesn't follow Apple's Guidline for an Interface, and it seems like Apple has a hard time following it too
Posted by lebowski at January 11, 2004 09:03 AM | Edit | Delete
I too have used Safaricon for quite some time now, and i'd have to say that i find this review to be absolutely spot on!
Yes it's a free app that does what it's supposed to, saving me much time and effort in swapping .png files - for that, it deserves some credit. However, i have always found this app to be one of the worst (if not the worst) designed applications on os x.
I feel that most of the people posting comments here are probably looking too much from a functionality point of view. As i keep saying to my Windows (tm) friends, the best software doesn't just function well - it does it in an elegant way. That is what sets the mac os apart from windows, and that is where Safaricon falls down.
It does the job, nothing more, nothing less.
L.
----
While i'm here, perhaps someone could help me with this:
Since upgrading to Panther and re-installing Safaricon (clean install) it has started behaving strangely. It will not quit normally (always requiring a force quit). If i delete the pref file, the problem persists AND it then asks me to locate Safari each and every time i use it (so i end up putting the old pref file back). Why won't the app close properly? I've checked for updates but there's only a Japanese-specific update available.
Posted by Phillip Ryu at January 11, 2004 04:01 PM | Edit | Delete
I had the same problem here, but the newest version fixed it for me. Try downloading the newest version.
Posted by daniel Grenell at February 4, 2004 04:45 PM | Edit | Delete
it's too slow, and ugly!
Posted by Heiesuke at April 30, 2004 10:10 AM | Edit | Delete
i tired to use it way back when and could not get it to work, i'm not sure if it was just my system @ the time, [my then girlfriend got her's working] but i've never bothered with it again then with the advent of SS 1.2 i have even less need for it. but i'll admit i've not really looked into what all this app does and how many icons were made for it.
Posted by Sam Smithe at October 4, 2004 09:48 AM | Edit | Delete
I agree with you.