Apple may, just may, unveil Marble at this year’s WWDC, which may, just may, be in June. Marble is thought to be the code-name for a new user interface that may, just may, debut with Snow Leopard, the next version of Mac OS X.
Unlike Aqua, the name for the user interface that Apple has been phasing out for some time now—Panic’s Unison Usenet reader is a fine example of an Aqua interface—Marble is decidedly darker, and altogether more dull; it looks very “Windows” to me. (That’s pre Fisher Price Windows, mind you.) In fact, to get an idea of what Marble may, just may, look like, open iPhoto 09. The same color scheme and “feel,” to use a meaningless word, can be found there.
If, indeed, Apple hosts WWDC in June as expected, look for Snow Leopard, Mac OS X, 10.6, to be available within two months. So, just in time for back-to-school. Clever.
Maybe I’m in the minority, but I much prefer Aqua, what with its bright colors and shiny buttons, to this invasion of gray Apple has orchestrated. It’s like I’m playing Gears of War every time I use Safari (well, WebKit).
I often find my CPU tied up for 2 hours rendering 15 seconds of 2D animation in Motion. During this time, OS X is almost unusable due to keyboard and mouse latency, and my video card just sits there doing nothing to help.
I don’t care if Snow Leopard is chartreuse and magenta, just give me those speed increases.
apple is awesome!
I also miss Aqua. I’m not a fan of how Apple seems to be slowly desaturating the entire UI into this stormy gray. There was an article years back that covered the look creeping into iTunes from 6 to 7. It’s relevant to what’s happening to OS X too.
http://www.thinkmac.co.uk/blog/2006/09/disecting-gloomy-unified-in-itunes-7.html