p.BigFirst::first-letter{background-color:rgb(234,237,220);border: 2px solid #5A5A5A;color:#666} #content a:link, #content a:visited, #content a:active, #content a:hover{background-color:transparent;border:none;color:rgb(152,225,225);text-shadow:rgba(25, 25, 25, 0.7) 0px -1px 1px;} #content a:hover{color:rgb(203,255,255);} .pubdate{color:rgb(234,237,220);} .storytitle{color:rgb(240,240,240);} #content{background-color:#666666;}Like many themers for Mac OS X 10.3 ("Panther"), I was awe-inspired by the beta releases of a theme called "Cathode" back in 2004. (...)

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I recently released a major new version of CrystalClear Interface (CCI). Among the most significant enhancements in version 2.5 are its full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6 ("Snow Leopard") and its ability to finally theme the Finder. Because of new limitations to system add-ons imposed by Apple, taming Snow Leopard has been a daunting challenge, but the final outcome is a version of CCI that's the most stable, robust, and compatible yet. The extended struggle with Snow Leopard over the winter is one of the primary reasons I've decided to require a license fee for CCI 2.5 ($12.00).

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I've observed that one of the most intractable problems bedeviling computer users, which makers of operating system software never seem to solve, is that of "Window Clutter." The inability to …

• Stay focused on the window you're working in, while
• Keep auxiliary windows handy and visible when needed,
• Avoid confusing any of these windows with those of other running applications, and
• Maintain some reasonable level of aesthetic quality to your computer desktop.

… is a nettle that keeps on pricking. At least, judging from continued user grumbling about it and the continued, less-than-satisfactory, though often valiant, solutions that user-interface experts keep offering users as the final salvation from this longstanding hindrance to productivity, I conclude that the nettle is alive and well.

That Window Clutter should still be a topic of conversation among engineers at Apple (I don't think Microsoft has any high-level staff who really care about or understand the issues surrounding interface usability, and Linux developers don't have the time to do so) is testament to their failure to stamp out a problem that appears from Mars to have a fairly simple solution, namely:

• Make it so that only one application's windows are visible at any one time.

Affectionately referred to as Single Application Mode, or SAM, this is the default desktop environment on Mars. It's also widespread on Earth, though its human adherents often practice SAM quietly or even in secret because it's not an official, supported Mac OS X desktop environment.

Still, we find SAM the best way of dealing with today's large monitors, huge RAM capacity, and equally huge software options—all of which spell Window Clutter at a scale never before experienced.

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Another feature of the forthcoming CrystalClear Interface 2.5 is a new set of eight beautiful preset themes, shown below. (Click the images for a closer look.) The themes are designed to complement the eight Frosted Crystals desktop pictures released with CCI 2.2. Of course, you can still set colors, frames, and transparency settings for Mac OS X windows to your own taste, as always. The preset themes are ones I've enjoyed and find a convenient shortcut to designing custom themes.

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.frostHolder {position: relative;margin-right: 0px;margin-left: auto;width: 329px;height: 312px;}.frostedBg {position: absolute;width: 329px;height: 312px;background: transparent url(/images/frostedimages/background.png) no-repeat;}.frostedimg {position: absolute;right: 0px;width: 324px;height: 307px;margin-top:2px;margin-left:2px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;-webkit-box-reflect: below 0px -webkit-gradient(linear, 0% 0%, 0% 100%, from(transparent), color-stop(0.82, transparent), to(rgba(255,255,255,0.9))) 0 0 0 0 stretch stretch;}.title {float: left;margin-left: 12px;width: 120px;height: 320px;top: 7px;position: relative;}.gradientBox {position:relative;width:470px;left:0px;right:0px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;margin-top: 45px;padding:15px 12px 10px 2px;height:381px;background: url(/images/frostedarticle_bg.jpg) top left repeat-x;-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 3px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); -moz-box-shadow: 0px 3px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.65); -webkit-border-bottom-left-radius: 8px;-moz-border-radius-bottomleft: 8px;-webkit-border-bottom-right-radius: 12px;-moz-border-radius-bottomright: 12px;-webkit-box-reflect:below 1px -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(transparent), color-stop(0.9, transparent), to(rgba(255,255,255,0.9))); } This is a set of 148 document icons intended to complement CrystalClear Interface and the set of Crystal Albook system and application icons I released a couple of years ago. (...)

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