Welcome

The latest version of Mac OS X, 10.5 “Leopard” has been out in the wild (pun intended) for over a week, so I figured I’d chime in with my quick review. If you’re interested in a real review, from actual tech journalists, check out the Ars Technica review, or the Editor’s Review from CNet.

The packaging for previous OS X releases (top row), and for Leopard (bottom)

I might as well start with the branding and packaging. Obviously, Apple has evolved quite a bit over the years in the overall art direction. Back in 2001, glossy, plasticly buttons were all the rage. Teal blue, semi-transparent Xs were the stamp of the original OS X and it worked. Considering how flat, grey, and boring OS 9.2 was in comparison, the new OS X was something from sci-fi, or at least the right part of the brain.

Over the years, the system has become more austere. The X itself lost the serifs, and became more of a mechanical object — almost like a false idol to be worshipped. While Apple kept the big cat codenames (Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, and Leopard), they lost any references to the cats’ patterns, spots, stripes or fur. Instead, we are now treated to something truly space-age.

OS X Leopard Packaging: small and spacey

The first thing one notices about the new packaging is that it’s smaller! Instead of being the size of traditional software boxes, with the footprint of a large programming book, the new disk comes in a small, cardboard box comparable to a double-CD case. But immediately after the size, we notice that there is a 3D starfield effect as the artwork.

OS X in spaaaaace!

Where did this new aesthetic come from? The future, obviously. But seriously, this came out of left field as far as I’m concerned. Are we, the users, suddenly fascinated once again with space travel? Or is Apple trying its own version of “The Wow” touted by Microsoft with their latest OS, Vista?

We see this new space-age look on the new Dock, which I personally don’t like. Reflective and shiny, it’s sure to wow Windows users and grandmothers looking for an excuse to buy a new Mac. However, for folk like us who are more utilitarian, we prefer something simpler.

We also see our beloved Menu Bar has gone translucent! I found this incredibly annoying, and had to install a little hack called OpaqueMenuBar, which sorted the problem out. But I punched the air triumphantly when I saw that they finally nicked the rounded corners at the upper-left and -right of the screen! Those were, of course, left over from the 1984 Macs which had a rounded screen. Everything in the 80s had a rounded screen, if you recall. But these days we’ve all got LCDs and with the square screen comes a square Menu Bar. Finally.

The Upper-right corner of the menu bar, sans rounded corner.

We also get a drastic update to the finder and I for one welcome our new minimalist overlords. Windows throughout the system now feature a zero-width border on the left and right, as well as very flat and simple look. The menus are collapsable with smaller, more manageable icons. Brilliant. Some people still hate the Finder, but until it gets a serious makeover, this will do nicely. It’s simple, clean, and out-of-the-way. Of course, I still use DefaultFolderX which lets me do all sorts of cool things, especially when an “Open” window appears in an application.

The new Finder windows, very minimalistic

Check out the Ars Review for a more in-depth view, including multiple screenshots of all this and more.

The bottom line is this: The aesthetic of the new OS fits seamlessly with the design style of the Apple products, and with their brand overall.

All three have evolved quite significantly in this young century, but at this moment in time, all seem to be to working together perfectly. Leopard is sharp, smart, and simple. I agree with the general sentiment on the web that some features (translucent Menu Bar, Stacks, etc.) should be options rather than standards, but all-in-all I am smiling. With a clean re-install, and the new keyboard, I feel like I’m working on a whole new computer system.

Ready for launch. Design launch, that is.

// a tale of brands & branding, computers & gadgets, design: packaging
// 1 Comment »