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What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

developer.apple.com

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Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#121

Post by 72deluxe »

breakfastduck wrote: post #40
henriquez wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple locks down MacOS more and more with each major release. Some of it seems well justified but the totality of it is concerning to me. Being able to defeat some of it in the console doesn’t change what is an increasingly abusive relationship. I feel like we’re rapidly approaching a point where Apple enforces the same strict control over MacOS that they do over the iOS App Store and they’re softening people up towa…

I disagree, I don't think they're anywhere near locking down to the iOS level. Could you explain some of these incremental lock downs? I honestly can't think of any that are genuine restrictions, but that might just be because I don't encounter them with what I do.

How about the non-modifiable hidden system partition? Inability to create directories under /

That alone has stopped me moving my Macs to the latest OS after testing.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#123

Post by codyb »

rahkiin wrote: post #69
dimmke wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, any change will be frowned upon. It just annoys me that I feel like they're drawing the completely wrong conclusions. Apple was the company that dropped the headphone jack from their phone, shipped a laptop with only USB-C ports etc... they don't shy away from making big controversial decisions if they feel like it's good for them. If Apple was going to do this to MacOS, they'd have already done it. They wou…

I am mostly upset about the low contrast. I hope that gets improved before release. And sad about the change in sheets and alerts... I’ll probably get over that.

This is a bit off topic but in regards to contrast, I’ve been using Apple’s Music program lately and I absolutely cannot tell the difference between shuffle/repeat on or off. It is the lowest amount of contrast I have ever seen on a toggled button.

I figure it must be something with my machine but haven’t really delved too deeply and couldn’t find much when I looked.

Was hoping for a bit more out of Music. It’s decent, and certainly better than what iTunes had become. But sometimes I’m left wanting.

Although having my Pops be able to share a playlist over iMessage with me was a stellar experience in terms of how seamless it was and having it sync from my phone to my computer.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#124

Post by masswerk »

SllX wrote: post #110
masswerk wrote: post #93

Two observations regarding the former title bar: * Putting the title (folder name) before the controls introduces a fundamental instability, much like OS X did with the menu bar by placing the named app menu before any other menus. Also, the amount of available space for displaying a longer title/file name seems limited. * It seems, the proxy icon is gone. I can't see which element could bear the functionality in pla…

The proxy icon is still there, it seems you have to hover or click to show it though.

So discoverability is finally replaced by the "Ahhh" paradigm?

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#125

Post by arexxbifs »

Well, if it isn't my old favorites: low contrast, no affordances, junk in the title bars and so little difference between active and inactive windows it's nigh impossible to spot.

I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't that every sucker and his dog will take this as definitive proof that all the bad UI fads of late are actually good.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#126

Post by _bxg1 »

RivieraKid wrote: post #117
saagarjha wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I download an app (.dmg) and click it, it shows up as a new disk. How do you think it should show up?

As an installer program, like on Windows. Or as an installable package (Mac OS should have an integrated package management system like Homebrew).

macOS installers exist; I think they were used more commonly before the .app format, but that's how you get the Windows situation where the "uninstall" operation is a crapshoot because relevant files are scattered across your system.

I don't know the exact purpose behind the "mount a virtual drive to install an app" model, but it seems far too deliberate to not have a purpose.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#127

Post by derefr »

userbinator wrote: post #103
derefr wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally, yes; but sometimes the change required to help one group doesn't hinder anyone else, and also is very hard to automatically derive the "accessible" version of the UX in a way that doesn't cause more harm than help (by e.g. accidentally pushing critical buttons out of visibility into a slide menu; or breaking a menu onto two lines such that there's less viewport left than originally designed for at minimum h…

doesn't hinder anyone else Complete BS --- it absolutely slows down those who don't need elephantine UI elements to use a computer.

In this particular case, the new design is just trading element-internal padding for inter-element margin or element-group margin. The total space that each element-group takes up is the same. The only change is that more of the previously "dead space" around each element is now clickable, because it's now considered an internal part of the element.

It's a bit like making the UI into a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voronoi_diagram — any area on the UI chrome becomes "associated" with the nearest interactive element.

Like I said, I don't see how that hinders anyone.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#128

Post by 72deluxe »

yssrn wrote: post #13

Virtually all of these changes reduce contrast and differentiation between controls while simultaneously decreasing information density. All bad news for people who work on their computers for a living.

I thought the “white everything” UI approach of metro apps under Windows 10 was bad enough but this is even worse with all the bluriness and similar colours. I am going to have to get another job soon else I’m going to go blind with all these “improvements”. I’m not joking.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#129

Post by _bxg1 »

EamonnMR wrote: post #85
dimmke wrote: post #18

I have to be honest and go completely against the crowd here - but I think the UI updates are very good. They make the two OSes look cohesive but in a tasteful way. The extra padding in all of the UI is the only thing that I chafe at a little bit, it feels unnecessary. I really don't think they're going to put out touch screen Macs. So I'm not sure what there is to get upset about. I don't see any big functional chan…

I don't care what they do with the UI (unless they fixed it somehow.[1]) The reason I'm always disappointed to see a new version is the breakage that every MacOS update brings, both to developer tools and apps. I have to choose between keeping my various environments functioning and getting the latest MacOS so I can run Jira Desktop. 1) Delete spotlight, Siri and 'look up,' make alt-tab handle multiple windows of the…

Tip: Cmd + backtick cycles through windows within the current app. Once I learned this I much preferred the Mac's way of grouping windows by app.

Re: What’s New in macOS Big Sur: Human Interface Guidelines

#130

Post by saagarjha »

RivieraKid wrote: post #117
saagarjha wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I download an app (.dmg) and click it, it shows up as a new disk. How do you think it should show up?

As an installer program, like on Windows. Or as an installable package (Mac OS should have an integrated package management system like Homebrew).

DMGs aren’t installers, though, they’re disk images. There are separate installer packages, and disk images don’t have to contain software in them.
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