Aqua (GUI)

From ArticleWorld

Aqua is the name of Mac OS X's graphical user interface, and also the name of one of these GUI's themes. Aqua is based around droplet-like elements and a serious amount of transparency and reflection. The theme itself came to replace the Platinum theme, known from Mac OS 8 and 9, and is very popular. The Aqua interface is handled by a very heavyweight drawing engine, the Quartz Compositor.

History

The first time Aqua was shown to the public was in February 2000, at the MacWorld Expo in Tokyo. It was later included in the Public Beta of Mac OS X and quickly became a trend, even on non-Apple platforms.

Aqua came to complement the look of the Apple computers. The plastic G3s and G4s, and the iMac fitted the standard Aqua look perfectly. Later, as Apple cases started to be made out of brushed metal, a brushed-metal theme for Aqua appeared as well.

The dock and the gel-like buttons are the distinctive features of the Aqua UI. These features have been imitated by many, but most clones lack some of the more subtle features.

Criticism

The Aqua UI and the Aqua standard theme received their share of criticism as well. Many users criticized the Aqua theme for being inconsistent, raising a great deal of controversy among members of the OS X community. Many of them also complained that the colors are too strong and that the theme abuses transparency. As a reaction, the Aqua interface has been modified, making use of weaker colors, softening the widget edges and making the dialog windows less translucent.

Apple has also received its share of bad words after threatening skin developers with legal action if they used the Aqua look&feel. It was not the first time when Apple tried to protect or patent their look&feel, but nothing ended up in the court of law.