On Sep 22, 2010, at 7:25 PM, Steven wrote:
(unless it is just an optical illusion, I'm pretty sure the menu bar and window title bars are much larger in OS X. A 1024x768 screen in OS 9 feels like it has the same amount of room as a 1280x960 screen in OS X).
It's no illusion. My first OS X installation was Panther on my clamshell iBook with a twelve-inch screen at 800x600. After running OS X, OS 9 felt not only snappy but *spacious*.
Some of the GUI modifications I have seen for OS X do a very good job of modernizing the Platinum theme, with smooth, 3D style gradients and even a Panther-style glossy transparent rainbow Apple logo. After a long time of trying out these various patches, however, I finally gave up, because there aren't really any that fully recreate the look.
When I became a Mac owner (circa System 6), I believed that more INITs equaled more awesome. During my Mac OS 8.1 days I bought Conflict Catcher, and on OS 9 I've simply been picky about what goes in my System Folder. I haven't used any OS X hacks at all since I'm practically paranoid about stability.
It may just be that I started with Mac OS X in 2004 and never got to use the older operating systems when they were new, but there is a certain charm to the sharp, clean look of Platinum.
System 7 was an extremely tasteful color upgrade to the original black- and-white Macintosh appearance -- in contrast to pretty much every other color windowing system out there -- (Windows 3.1 shipped with a dozen alternate coloring schemes that all looked worse than the default) -- I like it for being simple but not austere. Platinum trades some of that simplicity for a more sophisticated look. It's not just a case of 'looks nicer than it is' -- I enjoyed it at the time and had no interest in switching to Aqua.
I also got to use NeXTStep on the original 68K black hardware, and that was pretty elegant too.
And also, though apparently many people hated them, I really love the operating system sounds of OS 8 and OS 9.
I don't know about usability, but they're certainly entertaining. I just turned them on for my G4 iMac, and it reminds me a bit of Deckard's photo enhancing device in Blade Runner. Or maybe a parrot imitating that. :-)
After using one of my old laptops for a while, using Snow Leopard seems startlingly quiet,
Well, you can a few sounds in the Finder (e.g. copying items, emptying the trash).
though there is no way that system sounds could have been transferred to Aqua; all the system sounds would be drips and splashes,
I still get a chuckle out of seeing NeXTStep and System 7 sounds in the same list.
Josh -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist
