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Of all the Mac OS X topics to cover, why did I choose Aqua? Simple: Aqua is the most important factor in the success of OS X. More important than Linux, native applications, ripping Napster files, or watching The Matrix on your Mac.
Before you start writing me flame mail, let me tell you a little bit about my swim through Aqua. Then I'll resume my argument on why I'm going to write a series of articles for O'Reilly on this very subject.
I began my journey by printing out and reading what seemed like 500 million pages of reference materials regarding Aqua, Quartz, and Carbon/Cocoa. During my migraine, I started to ponder where I would begin this series and what I would cover. I couldn't possibly pull all of it together in a series of articles, but maybe I could paint a broad enough picture that, in retrospect, developers and end users would have enough fuel for the fire.
The technical aspects of working with any OS are staggering, so instead of attempting to cover every facet of Aqua, I've tried to fashion an overview that attempts to tie together the Apple Human Interface Guidelines for Aqua, discuss the nuances between 9 and X, and show how to build a successful Aqua interface. I am going to do my best to pull together not only the technical information required by Aqua, but to meld that with the philosophy behind its structure. I have already begun the daunting task of deciphering the Apple Human Interface Guidelines for Aqua. Sure enough, the butler did it.
So, briefly, I hope I've given you some idea of where we'll be going in upcoming columns. Before we begin that swim, however, I have a few personal observations about this huge risk taken by Apple.
Aqua is the biggest step forward in computing since the first Macintosh rolled off the factory floor. If anything, it certainly is the largest gamble that any computer company has taken in the past 20 years. While other companies have played it safe, Apple has poured years of research and plenty of cash to roll out the biggest craps shoot in the history of computing.
I say let it ride.
By next year OS X will either be a huge success or a dismal failure, and it all hinges on Aqua. A bold statement considering that most analysts are preaching that the success resides on third-party hardware support and native applications. I disagree.
Regardless of what is under the hood, if Apple's Aqua interface can't capture newbies and die-hard users, then Apple is done, for real this time. |
While all of that is extremely important, what is the number one reason people have consistently purchased a Macintosh in the last 20 years? It was not the ability of its software; we've seen those options ported successfully over to other platforms. Was it because of the hardware? The new Apple designs have helped to save the company, but prior to that we had beige boxes like everyone else. The number one reason people still use a Mac to this day is the ease of use that revolves around their Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the Macintosh "experience" that it creates. Apple didn't just create an interface, they created a culture. Gosh darn it, it was Dogcow. Moof!
What always made a Mac was not the hardware or software. These things continued to change and evolve drastically over the years. What makes a Macintosh is that lovely chime and smiling Mac that greets us at start-up. It's the familiar feel we get seeing the little Apple in the upper left-hand corner of the screen and the all-knowing Finder in the opposite corner. There is our familiar trash can, our control panels, our little hard drive icon, and our cluttered desktops. Apple has always been about the OS and the OS has always been about the GUI. Regardless of what is under the hood, if Apple's Aqua interface can't capture newbies and die-hard users, then Apple is done, for real this time.
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Aqua is not only a big step forward for Apple and its users, it is a giant step forward for the computing industry. Apple has broken every metaphor, graphical link, and limitation from OS 9 that they could get away with. The question is, will we be daring enough to embrace change or are we too afraid to accept something new? Will we regress into the same old structures? Will we hack OS X to make it function like OS 9? Apple feels it is time to move forward, and I happen to agree. The old GUIs out there have grown stale. I can't believe that in 20 years of GUIs there isn't anything better than what we have. Time to move forward.
Aqua is already a success because it challenges the way we look at computing and our expectations of a computer. |
I think the hardest aspect of adapting to Aqua isn't for the users, but for the developers. Apple is asking them to rethink how they conceive and build software. They've asked them to stop thinking of image and size restrictions. They've asked them to break from the idea of what an icon represents and what it can do. Software developers can no longer view themselves as just code-cutters. Apple is asking developers to evolve with Aqua.
Aqua is art. It requires that we learn to embrace ideals and concepts that illustrators, video artists, editors, painters, animators, composers and publishers have been using for years. It is no longer enough for software and hardware developers to write code and build solutions, now you have to actually embrace media and artistic concepts. Looking back on the release of the iMac, iBook, and Cube, the organic design of the hardware and the resemblance to OS X was no accident. With Aqua, developers have to take their art a step higher, and I think that is the true beauty of this interface. It will force the industry forward. Aqua is already a success because it challenges the way we look at computing and our expectations of a computer.
I have been working in some form of design for over 10 years. I have always had a sweet tooth for organic designs found in Bang & Olufsen, Goudi, Porsche, etc. I love things that are fluid, simple, and intuitive.
I spent many years working in publishing, animation, interactive design, software and web development, and video editing. The one discipline I learned from all those art forms was that every detail counts. In the past 20 years, every piece of professional media created on a Mac meant something to the designer and every detail mattered. For the first time in history, you find their attention to detail in Aqua. This isn't just a bunch of goofy special effects and resource wasting toys, this is a level of detail unparalleled in the history of computing. There is method behind the apparent madness.
For example, one of the most controversial items is the genie effect. While some find it annoying, I find it informative. It just told me where I can find that window when I need it. As a power user, I don't require it, but for newbies and people who never dig too deep into how their computer works, the window concept can be baffling. Silly to us, but empowering to others.
What Apple has done is given developers an open hand at building out and participating in the evolution of X. We now have a blank check to try new things and break some rules that always held us back before. I've heard a lot of people ask why we need 128x128-sized icons. Who knows, maybe we'll have giant projection Macs in our homes in five years. The point is that Aqua has room for growth.
In future pieces we are going to dive head first into the meat and bones of Aqua and get our hands dirty. We'll be looking into new terminology and what it means. We will dig into new metaphors and concepts. We will even build interface elements and icons. Finally we'll discuss Aqua with some developers who have been working with it for some time. I'm going to do my best to make this series informative without boring you to tears. However, if you feel moved to tears because of the eloquence in my discussions on Aqua, then I think you need to get out more.
Alan Graham is the creator of the Best of Blogs book series and is a frequent writer on the O'Reilly Network.
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