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Skeuomorphism – I want MORE, not less!

Since first using a Mac in 1989 I have always enjoyed personalizing my Mac AND having the life-like features, classy icons and so much more that made using the Mac fun, enjoyable, aesthetic and easy-- intuitive!


So when I hear all this talk about removing the leather on Calendar and Notes, flattening the 3D icons and removing the personality of the OS - I cringe…


Don't people realize that the interface is what enables fast, easy computing? And let's face it, not many of us are doing factorial calculations or heavy statistics on our Macs, iPads, iPods, iPhones, PC's or tablets… (a bit!)-- -- rather we are primarily creating photo albums, recording our voices, sending eMails, watching the Soyuz launch, checking out "les années folles" 1920's dance this weekend, facetiming, facebooking, booking tickets for shows, banking, buying stocks, SKYPEing, timing, browsing the www, watching movies, keeping a diary, a calendar, writing visit reports… and on and on…


Isn't it fun to do this in a max-skeuomorphistic way? For me it is! (We've got all these super-fast, super-powerful computers so let's take advantage of this!)


But if some people want boring B&W flat icons (by the way, thank you TotalFinder for colored sidebars in Mountain Lion and tabbed Finder windows, too!)--- at least give us the choice. In System preferences for Mac OS X 10.9 (and maybe in iOS7 too somehow) --- let US CHOOSE if we want superskeuomorphism, or just for some apps or none whatsoever. That really should not be so difficult! Worried about Hard Drive Space--- hey, my SE has a 40 mb drive-- MEGAbit not GB and today 40 gb is so small that only iPads or iPhones have less. (iPad 3 with 64 gb and my next iPad will have the option to go to 256 gb I hope!)


I'd love to get feedback here and also to know where I might post these ideas if perhaps this section is not the best. Then again I argue: If you turn on your Mac or PC or iPad and the first thing you see makes you say "Yuck, boring, dull…" -- you are not prone to have a great computing experience! So this may just be the ideal place to post this to get some feedback to see if I'm the only one who feels this way. Sure, I'll be eMailing APPLE, too.


Wednesday 29 May 2013

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion, Also a Mac SE running 6.0.4 - not upgrading that!

Posted on May 29, 2013 1:44 AM

Reply
45 replies

May 29, 2013 2:13 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

Stephen Schulte1 wrote:


....not many of us are doing factorial calculations or heavy statistics on our Macs, iPads, iPods, iPhones, PC's or tablets… (a bit!)-- -- rather we are primarily creating photo albums, recording our voices, sending eMails, watching the Soyuz launch, checking out "les années folles" 1920's dance this weekend, facetiming, facebooking, booking tickets for shows, banking, buying stocks, SKYPEing, timing, browsing the www, watching movies, keeping a diary, a calendar, writing visit reports… and on and on…

Not true. Some of us (though apparently not you) have serious work to do, and computers have a role to play in that.


What was the problem you wanted help with?

May 29, 2013 3:10 AM in response to Tom in London

I must say a rather synical, even a bit nasty of a reply that you have written. Are you really from the world's most polite country – the UK?


I think all of the things we do on a computer are important --- for example the person making a film or organizing a show is doing very serious work on his or her computer -- and social communication like fb and ft -- not to mention Linked-In – is defining our society today! I use my computer to book tickets at the show. I also write a flow diagram for a project at work; a chart of sales vs. sales targets; a trip report--- and so I don't know what your "serious work" is but don't get on your high-horse please.


If you had truly read my eMail you would have seen that this is a plea for some help from every Mac-User out there. I said this may not be the right "forum" for this - (see my last paragraph)--- but just like Apple took away the helpful colored and special icons in the sidebar and replaced them with dull, standardized gray… if the Mac User who is a fan of Skeuomorphism doesn't speak-up now, it may be too late. (And in the interim I have eMailed Apple directly).


So the "problem" is much broader and greater than just asking something like "how do I change a font in Keynote"-- it is a "plea" to every Mac-User out there to send some feedback about Skeuomorphism - positive, negative or neutral --- because it seems a change to dull is continuing and I for one don't like it.


If this bothers you, Tom, please just don't reply because I have a greater purpose in this post than to get into an argument with you or anyone.


Thanks so much.


Wednesday 29 May 2013

May 29, 2013 3:31 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

Back in the old days, there were 3rd party add ons that allowed a

user to modify the apperance of windows, icons, etc.


Somewhere, as I recall, around System7 or System8 (perhaps earlier,

been so long I don't recall exactly when) Apple decided that they would

be the sole authority on how a user interface should look on Apple products

and it has been that way ever since.


Personally, I am not a big fan of "eye candy" but won't chastize those that

are. To each their own.


Whether choices will be given only time will tell, but in general, it seems the

trend is moving away from user choice on many products, and not just at Apple.

May 29, 2013 3:56 AM in response to woodmeister50

I really appreciate the feedback and your personal comments on this.


It is interesting to me (for example in the NOTES app) that people call things like the leather-look and tear-off of pages -- and yellow legal pad look -- they call this "eye candy" -- whereas to me it is some of the essence of the program. It is:


  1. Immediately apparent that I am at the program "Notes" - (TextEdit, Word & Pages can be confusing - not Notes!)
  2. Soft, friendly, familiar interface – I'm not using this to write an annual report, just to jot some notes --
  3. Similar friendly interface on my iPad, iTouch {and if I had one-- iPhone (I will, I will…)}
  4. And hey, it works great, too!


An Analogy: (And I hope this analogy is taken in the light and inoffensive manner in which I am using it): I guess to me if Apple eliminates this "eye candy" it would be like a certain magazine eliminating the pictorials because, as everyone knows: "We just buy PB for the articles". Yeah, let's just forget the pics…


(Imagine facebook without photos?!)


I don't mean to directly relate "photos" to "eye candy" or "Skeuomorphism" but I think you get my drift.


But maybe I'm the only one on the planet who has all my folder icons personalized. (Try "FolderBrander). The only one who wishes there were 100 color-labels and that not just the text bar was colorable (didn't use to be like that!)--- I could be the only one who color-and-photo-codes folder window backgrounds, who has every album artwork for every song in iTunes---(OK only 485 albums…) So it may just be me…


Wednesday 29 May 2013

May 29, 2013 4:35 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

What you are describing is the transitional state. Once you know that the Notes app is a Note taking app, you no longer need the visual feedback of a yellow notepad with torn off sheets.


Some people prefer that the content of the windows are what is important, not the frame arround it.

The only time I can remember looking at the frame on a painting was when the painting was crap.

May 29, 2013 4:39 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

I hear what your saying, but your best bet is to give your views direct to Apple. I don't imagine you'll get a reply, but perhaps they do review and consider end-users comments:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/


Just to mention, don't be surprised if this thread disappears as it's sailing close to the wind as regards the Terms of Use. You're not talking to Apple here as this is a user to user forum intended to help people resolve specific issues - we're are not allowed to speculate on what Apple does/might do/doesn't do 🙂.

May 29, 2013 4:47 AM in response to Barney-15E

Wow! What a narrow view of the world and what a sad way to live life.


Another analogy might be your wife or companion: it's a transitional state the way she looks when we first meet; and once I know it's her as long as she can cook I don't care if she's wearing a yellow dress (or how she looks).


The wonderful look of the current notes program or app is reassuring every day and a pleasure.


And I would love to hear the reaction of the picture framing industry to your analogy above. Even great masterpieces can be wonderfully enhanced by an artistic frame. Why don't you take your analogy one step further: as long as you have a car that can get you safely from point a to point B you don't really care what that thing looks like do you? So let's gone back to dull grey and function only for the auto industry, too!


Ah the replies to this post are wonderfully revealing: I did not know there were so many narrowminded people out there.


29 May 2013

May 29, 2013 5:00 AM in response to stedman1

That may have been the incorrect terminology "narrowminded". What I was trying to convey is that someone comes out and says that the frame on a piece of artwork is only worth looking at if the artwork itself is crap. That's a fairly definitive statement about something isn't it?


So yes it was probably incorrect to say that that's narrowminded but it certainly is a very strong statement implying that a frame is worthless. Just like you are then implying that all the "eye candy" is crap.


So I apologize using the word narrowminded. What I meant to say is: Wow this is really revealing how many different opinions are out there.


Sure would be great to hear some comments from people who like picture frames. Anyone out there?

May 29, 2013 5:01 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

Stephen Schulte1 wrote:


That may have been the incorrect terminology "narrowminded". What I was trying to convey is that someone comes out and says that the frame on a piece of artwork is only worth looking at if the artwork itself is crap. That's a fairly definitive statement about something isn't it?

It's a true statement. If you have to wrap something in pretty bows to make it appealing, you should go back and rethink your design.

May 29, 2013 5:08 AM in response to Stephen Schulte1

Stephen Schulte1 wrote:


No no no no no: The total package is the frame plus the artwork. It's the aesthetic lines on a car plus the motor and transmission. It's the lovely eye candy look to notes plus the functionality. The total package.

Just like the fake air scoop on the hood, pinstripes down the side, spoiler on the back. All eye candy that doesn't improve the car in any way.

Skeuomorphism – I want MORE, not less!

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