Leopard is Fugly
Look, I know everyone else is doing it. And I know that I tend to hate Apple stuff until I get used to it. Still, I have to say it. Apple’s new OS, Leopard, is fugly.
- The space theme? Instantly tired. You’re gonna regret it. (I already do.)
- The new default folder icons are amazing in their lameness.
- The red/yellow/green window controls are even more garish than before. Didn’t think that was possible.
- The transparent/blurred-like-Vista menu bar is both uglier and harder to use. They rounded the corners of all the menus, but removed the rounded corners from the menu bar? Why?
- The active Finder window is dark, but the windows in the background are light. Huh? OS X got this right in the first version: windows should get less bright when they’re backgrounded. (Here’s a hint, Apple, if you have to put a giant drop shadow around the active window, you’ve got a bigger problem.)
- White blue, white blue, white blue, in list view. Busy and distracting. Please let me turn it off.
- Time Machine. OMG, Time Machine. Most useful feature I have to blindfold myself to use. A moving background animation, Apple? Really? Does the word “vertigo” mean anything to you?
- White drop shadows on text – especially in the bookmarks bar in Safari. In the last version of the OS, there was the occasional light drop-shadow on the metal interface, but it was subtle. In Leopard, they’re so bright, when I close my eyes, I can still see them.
- The reflective, glass-bottomed dock? Jeebus. The dock has always been a train wreck of a demo gone awry, but this is ridiculous. At least it’s more tolerable on the side.
Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot to like, too – but I’m a visual guy, and these changes are making it hard for me to enjoy.