A friend pointed out to me the similarity between Microsoft's icon set for the new Office 2010 beta and Adobe's icons for its Creative Suite. Looking at the two sets, it's clear that they are alike in some ways, but that Adobe has gone for the more graphically "pure" design while Microsoft has favored a busier image.
New icons from the Microsoft Office 2010 beta on the left, and Adobe's program icons, introduced two years ago in CS3.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Microsoft's icons retain the rounded edge introduced in the 2007 version, but the introduction of the single, graphically recognizable letter is an obvious nod to Adobe. Ignoring the size discrepancies in my screen capture above, what seems to make Adobe's icons pop off the screen more than the cleanness of the image are the color choices: Adobe's orange and red are more vibrant than the muted shades for Microsoft Office. However, the darker bottom of Adobe's darker-colored icons doesn't seem to play well with the solid-black lettering. In contrast, Microsoft's decision to give the letters gradient shades makes the icons softer, but they appear to stand out more from a cluttered field.
With the larger taskbar in Windows 7, though, the icons may stand out enough anyway. How important do you think icon design and choice is to your software? Let us know in the comments.
When you look at your Windows desktop, what do you see? A neat and tidy display with a few judiciously picked icons, or a meaningless morass of files, folders, ancient pictures, and Web links that were dumped without logic and continue to steadily march across your computer screen? Stop me if this sounds familiar. Stop me again if the thought has crossed your mind to clean house on a dozen occasions in the last few years, but the prospect of sifting through the refuse has deterred you every time.
Look Ma, I cleaned my desktop.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)Happily, a pretty darn good solution is at hand. ... Read more
(Credit:
CNET)
I use both Windows and Mac machines at my desk for testing and reviewing software for each platform. While both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, I recently found a simple program that fixes one of my pet peeves about Windows.
One small Windows XP and Vista interface quirk that has always bothered me is the inability to move items in the taskbar. Though it might not bother other people, I always like having my programs set up in a certain way--Outlook on the left, my browser after that, my chat program, and then other programs to the right of those. The problem is that sometimes I open programs in a different order depending on what I'm doing, and I've even gone so far as to quit programs and re-open them in order to get them set up the way I want. Maybe I'm crazy, but it's just the way I like to work. I always figured if I could shift tabs around in Firefox, I ought to be able to do the same thing with the Taskbar.
A simple settings window lets you have the program start with Windows and a few other useful options.
(Credit: CNET)The other day, I stumbled across a free program called TaskBar Shuffle whose sole purpose is to be able to shift items around on the taskbar and in the system tray. With Taskbar shuffle running, simply drag and drop the item or icon, and that's it--just like tabs in Firefox. Even if you like to use group buttons, Taskbar shuffle lets you reorder those up or down within each group. As an added bonus, you can tweak the settings so a middle click to a taskbar item closes that item immediately. You also can check a box in the settings to have it start up with Windows so you never have to think about it again.
This program isn't newly released, but it was definitely new to me and now that I know about it, I've installed it on all of my Windows test machines. I even showed it to my coworker, Jessica Dolcourt, and she included it in her one-trick applications collection because she had always wanted something like Taskbar Shuffle, too. The bottom line is, if you've always wanted to be able to move those items around in the Taskbar because you have a particular way of doing things, this free simple program is an easy way to do it.
One of Power Downloader's pet personal computer peeves is the Safely Remove Hardware icon that pops up and nags him anytime he removes a device. External hard drive, thumb drive, a USB-powered fan--there's no escaping that pesky pop-up.
Except, of course, there is a solution. In fact, there are two easy solutions, says Power Downloader: One uses a small program, while the other involves tweaking the QuickLaunch bar's properties.
The tiny and free program called Icon Remover comes with two functions: a button to remove the Safely Remove Hardware icon, and a second button to restore it. That's all the app does, but it's certainly the simplest way to tame that unruly icon. Simple and effective, it's a reasonable way to solve the problem without having to remember various twists and turns in the QuickLaunch properties box.
The QuickLaunch bar properties give users control over pop-up icon behavior.
(Credit: CNET Networks)If that labyrinthine pathway to icon removal appeals to you, or if you prefer to not download a 500KB program for such a tiny issue, there is a way to access that icon's behavior from within Windows that doesn't involve hacking the Registry. Right-click on the QuickLaunch bar in the tiny space below the clock, and select Properties from the context menu that appears.
Under the Notification area, hit Customize and then scroll through the choices until you see Safely Remove Hardware. Change the default setting of Hide When Inactive to Always Hide--you've now taught that annoying pop-up to stay down, and you've prevented one of Power Downloader's pet peeves from becoming your own.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Part of the reason people buy Macs is because of Apple's attention to style. Whether it's bondi blue, smooth white, glossy black, or brushed metal, Mac hardware is as much about functionality as it is the overall aesthetic. Of course, attention to aesthetics doesn't stop at Apple hardware. Mac OS X and most Mac software shares the same smooth lines and beveled edges of the hardware surrounding it. The application icons in the Dock are bright and slick, and the open and close buttons on documents and applications are like pieces of candy. Anyone who has turned a new Apple laptop on for the first time knows what I'm talking about. Not only does it work smoothly, it just plain looks good. But what if you could make it look better?
Panic Software, the makers of long-standing Mac user favorites like Transmit for FTP needs, and Coda for Web design, knew early on people would want to customize the Mac OS. So they put together a program that makes it easy to replace all your system and Dock icons to change the overall look and feel of your desktop. CandyBar lets you load up what they call iContainers with replacements for all your program and Dock icons. If you don't want to pick and choose each icon, CandyBar works seamlessly with the Iconfactory Web site, which offers premade iContainers featuring specific themes. You'll be able to use icon sets depicting the Transformers, characters from The Family Guy, or snowy Christmas themes to completely change the look of your Mac desktop. As an added bonus, CandyBar 3 lets you edit icons using Pixadex which is now built into the software.
Simply drag and drop icons into the appropriate slots to get a new look.
(Credit: CNET Networks)I'm not sure why this is the case, but CandyBar 3 only works with Mac OS X Leopard. Those who haven't upgraded to the new Mac OS will need to use an earlier version of CandyBar, but I assure you, you won't be disappointed with older versions of this great software.
Though Apple and the Mac OS probably don't need much help in the aesthetics department, there's something to be said for personal style. With CandyBar you'll be able to customize your desktop the way you want to with icons and Dock styles you can change with the click of your mouse.
- prev
- 1
- next
