Forums | MacLife

Antonio · 2008-06-17 4:41 pm

Like the OS X theme is a bit overdone?
It's wearing off a bit, now that I've been posting to forums and trying to get Firebug to work as it should for a bit, but boy that theme is very classic car or Flash Gordon in grey plastic or some such.
I think I need it to be a bit more flat.
I hope some more generic themes come out soon.

Booksley · 2008-06-17 5:43 pm

The back button. If it was styled the same as the forward button, as opposed to being 2x the size, all would be well.

PHUSMC · 2008-06-17 7:30 pm

I like it.

Miles · 2008-06-17 11:15 pm

Booksley wrote:
The back button. If it was styled the same as the forward button, as opposed to being 2x the size, all would be well.

Try Customize Toolbar > Use Small Buttons.

Aqua OS X · 2008-06-18 1:23 am

I'm fine with it. Some of the UI elements could use a bit of polish, but I prefer it to the old theme, and I'm an anal interaction designer. shrug

That said search looks clunky, I would prefer a darker bookmark bar, and as cool as the new bookmark star is, that feature is going to confuse the hell out of my mom.

arkayn · 2008-06-18 9:42 am

I am currently using Classic Compact, makes the UI look a little better.

Qute is also updated, but for some reason I do not see the scroll bars with it, they are there though.

ScifiterX · 2008-06-18 11:11 am

Theme: GrApple Yummy (Blue)

Extensions: Stop or Reload

Toolbar Customizations: Remove Home button, Add Bookmarks button to left side of Bookmarks Bar

about:config Customizations: browser.tabs.tabMaxWidth = 180,
browser.tabs.tabMinWidth = 82, browser.tabs.tabClipWidth = 82,
layout.spellcheckDefault = 2, browser.search.openintab = true, ui.click_hold_context_menus = true (OS X only)

ephemeron · 2008-06-18 11:16 am

Yeah, it's like the Uncanny Valley of UI design -- it looks enough like a OS X app that the idiosyncrasies of the theme really jump out at me. Fortunately, there are GrApple themes.

Now I'm much more annoyed that FF3 doesn't seem to know my FF2 bookmarks exist, and that Morning Coffee isn't compatible with it yet.

Antonio · 2008-06-18 11:56 am

I'm also fond of GrApple, I would just prefer to hve things simple out-of-the-box, and a browser UI is something I would think to be simple and remain that way through the iterations.

What's bothering me more than that, though, is that Firebug doesn't fully work yet. It doesn't reveal margin and padding areas while selecting elements.
Not that it was perfect in FF2, it's always been buggy (which I sort of expect from a plugin of this nature), but it's a wonky pain-in-the-arse with FF3.

FF3 does perform solidly, however, at least for me. No complaints there.

CrashingtehWarehouse · 2008-06-18 1:36 pm

I don't mind the UI much. I think it's something that I'll easily become accustomed to.

AFA the back button, I think it's logical. Most people go back more than they go forward via those buttons, so the one used most is larger, easier to see, etc.

Donkey Butter · 2008-06-18 1:59 pm

it seems overly cluttered to me, but then I don't use ff so maybe it's been this way all along.

ScifiterX · 2008-06-18 3:37 pm

Oops found a couple more

Theme: GrApple Yummy (Blue)

Extensions: Stop or Reload, Fission, History Submenus (just discovered a bug disabled it until it's fixed)

Toolbar Customizations: Remove Home button, Add Bookmarks button to left side of Bookmarks Bar

about:config Customizations: browser.tabs.tabMaxWidth = 180,
browser.tabs.tabMinWidth = 82, browser.tabs.tabClipWidth = 82,
layout.spellcheckDefault = 2, browser.search.openintab = true, ui.click_hold_context_menus = true (OS X only),
browser.download.manager.retention= 0

bratboy · 2008-06-18 3:41 pm

I've been using it for a few weeks now and I like it better than the old one (I don't use themes or things like that).

Pariah · 2008-06-18 4:37 pm

Does anyone actually use FF in it's default state? I ask because I have always thought that FF's default UI has always been a horrible crime against design but with so many excellent skins it doesn't matter.
I am also a Grapple fan. I use the EOSpro theme.
Personally I think that all the effort put into OS specific UI elements is a HUGE smurfing waste of developer hours.

Last edited by Pariah (2008-06-18 4:39 pm)

ScifiterX · 2008-06-18 5:15 pm

Pariah wrote:
Does anyone actually use FF in it's default state?

I did for a while until I actually found something I thought was halfway decent.

I ask because I have always thought that FF's default UI has always been a horrible crime against design but with so many excellent skins it doesn't matter.

Maybe a bit of an exaggeration but it wasn't that much either.

Personally I think that all the effort put into OS specific UI elements is a HUGE smurfing waste of developer hours.

Depends on the UI element, now doesn't it?

Antonio · 2008-06-18 5:21 pm

ScifiterX wrote:
Pariah wrote:
Personally I think that all the effort put into OS specific UI elements is a HUGE smurfing waste of developer hours.
Depends on the UI element, now doesn't it?

Yeah, users of a specific OS will be used to certain elements being a certain way, so you definitely want your sofware's interface to integrate into the environment.

I, personally, want to keep it to just that with eye candy kept to a minimum in a browser, as for me it's all about whatever site I'm visiting with as little external distraction as possible.

Pariah · 2008-06-18 6:21 pm

Antonio wrote:
ScifiterX wrote:
Pariah wrote:
Personally I think that all the effort put into OS specific UI elements is a HUGE smurfing waste of developer hours.
Depends on the UI element, now doesn't it?
Yeah, users of a specific OS will be used to certain elements being a certain way, so you definitely want your sofware's interface to integrate into the environment.

I, personally, want to keep it to just that with eye candy kept to a minimum in a browser, as for me it's all about whatever site I'm visiting with as little external distraction as possible.

Meh, the Grapple theme I use looks damn near the same as Safari and how is FF possibly going to look like the horrendous UI of IE7?

What the core FF team should do is concentrate on the guts and let the theme makers provide the UI polish. Just seems like the best devision of labor to me.

ScifiterX · 2008-06-18 6:26 pm

Other than the theme most of the tweaks I do are to get things out of my way when they aren't needed yet have them easily accessable when they are needed.

Just saying.

Zaimejs · 2008-06-19 6:53 am

My son uses skins on his Firefox. I thought it was like putting 18 inch rims on an old beater car or something. I'm a big fan of stock stuff. I don't love the GUI, but I don't hate it. Whenever I've tried a skin, it always feels weird... usually looks tacked on. Something I'd find at Wal-Mart.

I'm sure there are some good ones. I wouldn't mind a simple, clean, elegant skin. But I haven't found one of those.

pottymouth · 2008-06-19 8:16 am

It's just a bit dark for me. Small icons is a must.

Antonio · 2008-06-19 11:13 am

pottymouth wrote:
It's just a bit dark for me. Small icons is a must.

Yeah, that's another thing I noticed: dark with even darker dropshadows.
Again, in small quantities, ok. I t just seemed like bit much.
With GrApple applied tho, its ok big_smile

Zaimejs wrote:
I'm sure there are some good ones. I wouldn't mind a simple, clean, elegant skin. But I haven't found one of those.

See above.

pottymouth · 2008-06-19 11:16 am

Antonio wrote:
pottymouth wrote:
It's just a bit dark for me. Small icons is a must.
Yeah, that's another thing I noticed: dark with even darker dropshadows.
Again, in small quantities, ok. I t just seemed like bit much.
With GrApple applied tho, its ok

GrApple looked the same to me. It's like it's perfect when it's not the active app, but then when I bring it to the front it gets ridiculously dark. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Antonio · 2008-06-19 11:21 am

Hmmm. Aren't there lighter variants? I thought it was at least a shade or two lighter than the default skin.
Well, at least it's a more simple design -I'm not waiting for Ming the Merciless to come jumping through my browser window with lasers blasting.

Freakout Jackson · 2008-06-19 11:41 am

Am I the only one with ugly drop "shadows" (more like double vision) on the tab text?

matt · 2008-06-20 2:38 am

Aqua OS X wrote:
I'm fine with it. Some of the UI elements could use a bit of polish, but I prefer it to the old theme, and I'm an anal interaction designer.

That sounds like a very difficult job.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2008-06-17 4:41 pm

Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#2 2008-06-17 5:43 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#3 2008-06-17 7:30 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#4 2008-06-17 11:15 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

Booksley wrote:

#5 2008-06-18 1:23 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#6 2008-06-18 9:42 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#7 2008-06-18 11:11 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#8 2008-06-18 11:16 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#9 2008-06-18 11:56 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#10 2008-06-18 1:36 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#11 2008-06-18 1:59 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#12 2008-06-18 3:37 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#13 2008-06-18 3:41 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#14 2008-06-18 4:37 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#15 2008-06-18 5:15 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

Pariah wrote:

#16 2008-06-18 5:21 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

ScifiterX wrote:

Pariah wrote:

#17 2008-06-18 6:21 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

Antonio wrote:

ScifiterX wrote:

Pariah wrote:

#18 2008-06-18 6:26 pm

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#19 2008-06-19 6:53 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#20 2008-06-19 8:16 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#21 2008-06-19 11:13 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

pottymouth wrote:

Zaimejs wrote:

#22 2008-06-19 11:16 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

Antonio wrote:

pottymouth wrote:

#23 2008-06-19 11:21 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#24 2008-06-19 11:41 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

#25 2008-06-20 2:38 am

Re: Does anyone else find FireFox 3's interface distracting?

Aqua OS X wrote:

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