Leopard and 2.0 Creep
So I’m a bit behind on this one, but I just installed Mac’s latest operating system, Leopard.
To be clear, this is less a new operating system and more an update on the OS look and possibilities for organization. The latter is pretty sweet (and already well documented, so I’ll leave discussion of those perks to others), while the former falls short in a number of ways.
A few complaints off the bat: the brushed metal skin is out, dull gray gradient appearance is in. Gradients and reflections are fun, but the new look is crowded with both (this doesn’t even speak to the unremarkable revamped medical blue folders on the desktop). Ultimately the brushed metal - and a little color here and there - injected the former OS with much needed variety.
The dock gets a reflective makeover, and stacking folders and files warrants note. However, the ticker that signifies an open application is updated as an indescribable and hard to see blue orb thingie, ultimately compromising its intended purpose.
Application windows get a less than subtle makeover too, with the addition of an extended drop shadow (think 50px around any open window). Drop shadows obviously add a nice depth of field, but this new look crowds the surrounding space on a white background.
And where are all the epic Carl Sagan meets Stephen Hawking deep space desktop backgrounds? Admittedly Leopard comes with (just) one Space Odyssey pic, but bonus stuff falls way short of the sweet graphics gracing the Apple website and Leopard’s holographic packaging.
If this is the future of OS (and, by assocation, deep space), I’m disappointed. The final product brings to mind “feature creep”, a symptom typified by overloading a site with too many - and more often confusing than simplifying - features and tools. In this case, Leopard is a victim of 2.0 creep, wherein too much of one idea - shiny toys, gradients, and vintage stereo facade grays - leads to a homogeneous presentation.