“Think about it: how many of Apple’s new applications actually use traditional, overlapping windows for anything other than a frame around a unique interface? Garageband doesn’t. iTunes barely does except for video. All the Pro Apps like Final Cut, Motion, Aperture, and the like all trend toward paned, not overlapping window, interfaces. And new products like the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV don’t use windows at all, relying instead on vastly simplified buttons and interfaces. Further, consumers are gaining experience with interfaces that rely on transparent panes instead of windows on new HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies,” Aric Winton and Carl Howe write for Blackfriars’ Marketing.
“Core Animation opens up the possibility of a brand new user interface. Time Machine is an example of an application that breaks a lot of conventions about window management, application windows and general user interfaces. Core Animation is what makes it all possible,” Winton and Howe write.
MacDailyNews Note: Click here for Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard Sneak Peek: Core Animation.
“Between transparent overlays and Apple’s Spaces feature to allow multiple virtual screens, Apple has eliminated many of the needs for overlapping windows cluttering up desktops. And just as Apple first recognized that computers no longer needed floppy disks any more, ridding consumers of overlapping windows may be the first step in a radical simplification of user experiences again,” Winton and Howe write.
“Doing away with overlapping windows in most of the OS would allow Apple a marketing bludgeon to use against Microsoft. In the marketplace of ideas, it would paint Microsoft’s six-years-in-the-making Vista as a completely old school effort. It would take Microsoft’s best-known and recognized brand — Windows — and make it appear as tired as DOS. It would be a marketing shot heard round the world — and it would be one that would take Microsoft years to copy,” Winton and Howe write.
Full article here.
I guess I would haver to see a window-less (not Windows-less) OS to fully understand.
BTW misleading headline.
I disagree Martin, I have large windows throughout my house. I can’t imagine doing away with them. I mean, sure my three apple monitors provide some light, and my new apple tv sitting on my entertainment center gives off a nice white glow from the status light……
Windows is already dead.
It’s users just don’t realize it yet.
“Club Merlyn 3D”
Sounds like a fun place! Free appetizers?
I had the pleasure of Vista yesterday….is say pleasure because using this ugly piece of shit made me realise just how fortunate I was to be using OS X.
I installed Vista on an 8 core Mac Pro, I know , I know. Don’t ask! Not my computer somebody else’s. Anyway as a Switcher I am well use to Windows XP and I must say Vista is nothing but the same ugly girl with an extra bit of make up oh and she’s put on a few pounds too.
Booting back into OS X just reveals the utter class of the OS X GUI. Vista is a sad ugly joke and the joke is on those idiots that buy it out of choice.
The beautiful clean lines of OS X obviously designed by the finest design artists compared to Vista’s ugly derivative (of XP LOL!) interface designed by the tea boy. Microsoft has no class….
I think the article is right and the death of application windows to be replaced by iPhoto/iTunes panes and dashboards.
Switched
It’s fine with me if granny has it easier with fewer windows to think about.
But for any user routinely dealing with tens of applications and many tens of actually meaningful document or source code windows open at a time it would be the horror to be forced into that painful pane layout! 🙁
Exposé already took the pain out of having many windows open at the same time. A bit of improvement (cross-application window arrangement tools, for instance!) would be all I need.
Nothing against additional possibilities, but losing the capability to spread out many windows across several screens would be a major incentive for thinking about a platform change away from MacOS X!
The path has been laid for the footfalls that will carry -capital W- Windows to its resting place in the graveyard where rest already about a thousand other Microsoft products.
Good article. Well found MDN (unusual these days?)
What is the basic difference between a window (little”w” ), a screen or pane as mentioned earlier?
Yes, Leopard will “kill” windoze because every copy of Leopard will ship with a secret dvd melting acid pouch. When the user goes to sleep their copy of Leopard will put on a Robert Goulet Ninja suit and assassinate any copies of Vista in the office…….
“Kill” ain’t the word. “Slowly crowd” out would be more along the lines of what can happen.
Just my $0.02
As per “Ping” above: do people still overlap windows? Don’t we use Expose instead? Works great for me as is. I’m willing to try something new, but please keep current options available.
As per “Ping” above: do people still overlap windows?
Like crazy!!
At this very moment I have about 30-40 windows open, and I’m not even working right now!
Don’t we use Expose instead?
What do you mean “instead”? Exposé is exactly what’s making proper multi-window operation feasible!
There’s a play on words here. They’re saying that Mac OS X means the death of windows, not Microsoft Windows.
Personally, I like overlapping windows. It allows convenient access to information and allows me quickly switch between different tasks. That said, you can very easily create an “overload” with lots of windows open and it can be difficult to figure out where your information is. Expose does a good job of solving this problem.
I’m not entirely convinced that Leopard’s ability to create multiple “spaces” is something I will use. It seems a bit inconvenient and some necessary data may span multiple spaces. Sure, I could run my chat program in one space and my work in another. But if I start compiling 100 source files in my Xcode space and switch over to my chat space, how will I know when my compile is done? What happens when I want to chat with someone about the code?
On the other hand, the animation is cool switching between them.
@island girl
the difference is windowpanes inside one larger window versus many seperate larger and smaller windows that overlap each other.
Apple only has 3-6% market share. Wake me up when they hit double digits.You Apple fan boys kill me.
this is the stupidest fscking thing I have ever heard. The author apparently doesn’t actually use computers. He is obviously not a golfer.
“You Apple fan boys kill me.”
Apparently not. We must try harder.
Title should be,
“Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard to smash windows?”
I say this is idle speculation and nothing more.
Sure, many individual Apple applications run in a single window. But what happens when… get this… you have MORE THAN ONE app open at the same time? Gasp!
Unless they are suggesting that we go back to the days of System 6 and eliminate desktop application multitasking, I don’t see how this would come to pass. Apple did experiment with a “single window mode” in early Mac OS X developer builds that would automatically keep all inactive windows minimized, but it never saw the light of day, probably because it was silly.
In fact, Windows is more optimized for viewing one window at a time than the Mac, via it’s Maximize function. Can’t tell you how many Windows users I watch robotically maximize every window that shows up in front of their face, even if it makes 40% of the screen into dead space. And when they switch to Mac it makes them act all agoraphobic when they realize that function is missing.
Finally, it’s ironic that they would bring up Time Machine in an article about eliminating overlapping windows. The whole paradigm of Time Machine is… overlapping windows (receding back into the past).
It is amazing how many idiots responded to the headline without any idea what the article was about.
RTFA!
At this very moment I have about 30-40 windows open, and I’m not even working right now!
—
jerkin it?
You cannot surely want to kill the enemy, who will be the enemy? Let the enemy live in a weakened state so that we have something to strive against!
For all you Googlers out there, Take a look at this page and weep!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6645895.stm
watch the video if you can, one comment he made will have your blood boiling!!
>”In the marketplace of ideas, it would paint Microsoft’s six-years-in-the-making Vista as a completely old school effort. It would take Microsoft’s best-known and recognized brand — Windows — and make it appear as tired as DOS.”
Tiger already has this covered…
Insane article, and the guy even talks about OS “Ex” in the video.
Google’s sponsored ad links are also being hacked (MAJORLY) and killing Windows machines as well.
Article: Here
It’s a good read
Tiger Kills Windows NOW! Leopard will just twist the knife!