Journal entries in the "Mac" category
iTunesque: small Aquaffic update
iTunes 8.0.2 came out, and as I guessed with 8.0.1, Apple is changing data within the iTunes resources at every update.
As such, if you apply one of the iTunesque variants with the “Aquaffic” traffic lights, stuff will go wrong.
Here is a small updater for these resources, and sorry for forgetting about it the other day when the update came out.
Combining Leopard themes your way
I’ve recently been asked to make a small tutorial on how to combine one aspect of iTunesque with iLeopard, because iLeopard did not include that specific option and did things differently.
Here is therefore a tutorial on how to combine elements of themes you like on Mac OS X Leopard.
iTunesque updated for iTunes 8
iTunes 8 came out a few days ago, and with it came some changes to the iTunes file used in a number of iTunesque variants to change the traffic lights. As such, an update was necessary.
This means the installers for all Aquaffic variants are bigger now (around 45 MBs compressed), but they’ll work whether you have iTunes 7 or iTunes 8.
Leopard glyphs: update
The Leopard glyphs for Mail and Preview have been updated to fix some issues, and a second set of glyphs has joined them.
The glyphs now come in two formats: there is the “normal” state, which puts general usability first, and there is the “Leopard+” state, which puts consistency first.
iTunesque update: glyphs for Mail & Preview
Finally. It took me some time, because my law internship kind of broke the pace of things (wink wink nudge nudge), but I have finally completed reworking the glyph designs made by Dustin Schau for Mail.app and Preview.app in order to replace the “Aqua” ones that have existed for the past X years, and have compiled the whole thing into one package with automated installer & uninstaller and with manual installation instructions.
So, what exactly do these glyphs look like?
Apple’s App Store a month after launch
For the uninitiated, Apple launched the iPhone 3G a month ago, and with it came a software update for all existing iPhones & iPod Touches (well, I’ve no idea how to write the plural for “iPod Touch”).
This software update was “the big one”, because Apple launched an application store (the “App Store”) accessible to all iDevices with that new OS update. As any self-respecting Apple fanatic, I promptly upgraded my iPod Touch. And boy, am I amazed at this thing.
iTunesque: small themes for Leopard
The all-new iTunesque page has just gone live!
I won’t describe all that is inside, but if you feel something is slightly wrong with one or two aspects of Mac OS X Leopard’s User Interface, I suggest you take a look.
Snow Leopard, iPhone: certainties, hopes
I’ve been studying all day for an exam I have on Wednesday, and I only started learning anything useful two hours ago.
It so happens that this Monday, the WWDC kicked off with a keynote by Steve Jobs, the prophet who guides all Apple fans throughout the world. For the uninitiated, “WWDC” stands for “Worldwide Developer Conference”, and it is one of the major yearly Apple-related events.
Last year, Steve Jobs showed the world a feature-complete version of Mac OS X Leopard, among others. But this year, big disappointment if you’re not much into the iPhone and were hoping for a sneak preview at “Snow Leopard”, the next version of the OS. Disappointment, but surprise right afterwards.
My Leopard’s Look: part III
In this series, entitled “My Leopard’s Look”, I talk about the different aspects of customising the appearance of Mac OS X “Leopard”: icons, the Dock and wallpapers, and finally theming.
Check Part I of this series to read about icons, and Part II to read about the Dock and wallpapers.
Themes
I never was interested in themes under Tiger (Mac OS 10.4), partly because I had a 1999 G3 iMac, and partly because the only tool “average users” could use to apply themes was Unsanity’s ShapeShifter (which came at a hefty price for a student, and which is a “haxie” that requires “Application Enhancer” [APE] to run, and APE has caused me a couple of problems in the past).
Then Leopard came along, and while I was very happy with the new unified metal look for all applications, the blue aqua (scrollbars, list headers, …) was starting to feel old.
So I decided to take a look at Leopard theming options.
Read the rest of this entry »
My Leopard’s Look: part II
In this series, entitled "My Leopard’s Look", I talk about the different aspects of customising the appearance of Mac OS X "Leopard": icons, the Dock and wallpapers, and finally theming.
Check Part I of this series to read about icons.
Dock
The Dock itself
The 3D Dock introduced in Leopard was one of its most controversial features. Many users far preferred the 2D Dock from Tiger. But then someone found how to customise the 3D Dock, and now, you can find Dock skins and instructions on how to install them all over the place (LeopardDocks.com and LeopardDocks.net spring to mind).