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Brushed metal (interface)

 

 
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Brushed metal (interface)
 
 
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Brushed metal was a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
 design used in Apple Computer
Apple Computer

Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer Inc., is an United States multinational corporation which designs and manufactures consumer electronics and software products....
's Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
 for Macintosh computers. It can be compared with the Aqua
Aqua (user interface)

Aqua is the graphical user interface and primary Theme of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects....
 interface. The first of Apple's applications to sport this look was the QuickTime Player released as part of QuickTime
QuickTime

QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation, music, and QuickTime VRs....
 4.0 in 1999.

Apple's Human Interface Guidelines state that the brushed metal interface should be used for programs that mimic the operation of, or interface with, common devices.






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Brushed metal was a graphical user interface
Graphical user interface

A graphical user interface is a type of user interface which allows people to human-computer interaction such as computers; hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household appliances and office equipment....
 design used in Apple Computer
Apple Computer

Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer Inc., is an United States multinational corporation which designs and manufactures consumer electronics and software products....
's Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 operating system
Operating system

An operating system is an interface between hardware and applications; it is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the limited resources of the computer....
 for Macintosh computers. It can be compared with the Aqua
Aqua (user interface)

Aqua is the graphical user interface and primary Theme of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects....
 interface. The first of Apple's applications to sport this look was the QuickTime Player released as part of QuickTime
QuickTime

QuickTime is a multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, media clips, sound, text, animation, music, and QuickTime VRs....
 4.0 in 1999.

Apple's Human Interface Guidelines state that the brushed metal interface should be used for programs that mimic the operation of, or interface with, common devices. Older versions (before 5.0) of iTunes
ITunes

iTunes is a Proprietary software digital media media player application, used for playing and organizing digital music and video files. The program is also an interface to manage the contents on Apple's popular iPod digital media players as well as the iPhone....
 and the Panther
Mac OS X v10.3

Mac OS X version 10.3 ?Panther? was the fourth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 ?Jaguar? and preceded Mac OS X v10.4 ?Tiger?....
 and Tiger
Mac OS X v10.4

Mac OS X version 10.4 ?Tiger? was the fifth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers....
 Calculator
Calculator (software)

Calculator is a basic calculator application made by Apple Inc. and bundled with Mac OS X. It has three modes: basic, scientific, and programmer....
 both use brushed metal because they mimic real-world devices, while iSync features the theme because it interfaces with PDA
Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant is a handheld computer, also known as a palmtop computer. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones, , web browsers, or portable media players....
s.

Brushed metal primarily differs from Aqua in its appearance, but there are a few functional differences. Brushed metal windows can be moved by clicking any part of the window; Aqua windows can only be moved by clicking within the title bar
Title bar

In computing, the title bar consists of that part of a Window where the title of the window appears. Most graphical operating systems and window managers position the title bar at the top of the application software window as a horizontal bar....
.

Continuing the growth of Apple-sponsored, non-Aqua themes, Apple also introduced a Pro theme
Pro theme

Pro Theme is a GUI style used by Apple Inc. for its Mac OS X operating system. It is reserved for Apple's high-end video, music and image editing products, such as Final Cut Pro HD, Soundtrack Pro and Aperture ....
 that is used in its high-end video, music and image production and editing software. At the same time, with the release of Mac OS X v10.4
Mac OS X v10.4

Mac OS X version 10.4 ?Tiger? was the fifth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers....
 and new iLife
ILife

iLife is a software suite from Apple Inc. for Mac OS X. The suite consists of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, Garageband, and iWeb, which are for organizing, viewing and publishing digital content ....
 applications, brushed metal was being slowly replaced with a darker Aqua theme, often dubbed Polished Metal. Mac OS X v10.5
Mac OS X v10.5

Mac OS X version 10.5 "Leopard" is the sixth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system for Apple Macintosh computers, and the successor to Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger"....
 fully replaced brushed metal with the new darkened Aqua theme, finally restoring a consistent look and feel to Mac OS X.

Criticism


Brushed metal has been criticised by user interface purists, who point out that Apple frequently violates its own rules for the use of the brushed metal look. The most notable of the supposed violations are Safari
Safari (web browser)

Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc.. First released as a beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3, commonly known as "OS X Panther." Apple has also made Safari the native browser for the iPhone OS....
, Apple's web browser, and the Macintosh Finder
Macintosh Finder

The Finder is the default application software program used on the Mac OS and Mac OS X operating systems that is responsible for the overall user-management of files, disks, network volumes and the launching of other applications....
 itself. With the release of Mac OS X v10.3
Mac OS X v10.3

Mac OS X version 10.3 ?Panther? was the fourth Software version of Mac OS X, Apple Inc. desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 ?Jaguar? and preceded Mac OS X v10.4 ?Tiger?....
, Apple further expanded its list of acceptable uses for brushed metal to include windows that navigate lists of information. This absolves the Finder, but Safari's use of brushed metal remains a mystery. Opponents of the theory point out that even Apple's guidelines for the use of brushed metal are inconsistent, and that the motivation behind the alternative appearance's existence is unclear.