INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => Media Center 11 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: JimH on March 22, 2004, 04:36:02 pm
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You'll want to stick around for tonight's build (96). It has the first draft of a new skin that may become our default for MC 10. It's called Thunderstorm, and it's by Pixtudio, authors of the default skin for 9.0. This one is darker...
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Tease :-*
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Nice work. :D
Thunderstorm is the best skin so far.
I like the round corners and its colors.
How about TrackInfo and why not a Mini one? 8)
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Looks nice...but,
Do not like the centered TOP toolbar (menu, icons)...I guess I can tweak an option in the skin's xml file...right?
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Not crazy about it, sorry. The background grey seems too light, when in thumbnail view, my album covers are not as vibrant as they are using another dark skin such as Blue Steel.
The drop-down/pull-down menu's bevels are distracting, hard to read the text, just looks a little sloppy, gawky, klutzy. I'm also not too crazy about the centered menu, but I don't know why, probably because I'm not used to it.
Really not crazy about the beveled selection in the tree menu, way too much of a separation between the selected and not selected (which may actually be sub values of the selected) and the highlight is too bright.
It is a little hard to tell that the speaker icon by the volume slider is a speaker icon.
Overall a bit too busy and makes the software look more complicated than it is...
Hate to seem so negative, hopefully I've been specific enough to show where I'm coming from. Good news, seems I'm in the minority!
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Quisp,
It's OK to be negative. Really. I'm negative. A lot of my friends are negative. ::)
We really would like to hear what you think.
Jim
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well...as long as you are positive it's OK.. :)
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I like it , it makes Me think of toast and jelly :)
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Doesn't work so well with large fonts - can you make a big font version like Dragyn did for Opus MC?
I run MC on a plasma TV with DPI set at 120% and the fonts as 10pt MS Trebuchet bold. Anything smaller is not legible.
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I like it, definite change that should be used for v10 to set it apart from 9.1, but I could do without the purple buttons. Maybe if they were a dark blue, that might be more like a "Thunderstorm" but that's just my opinion.
Another thing I don't like is when you "Right-Click" and it looks like it's supposed to be buttonized. It looks as if the image is stretched out too far and doesn't look quite right to me.
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Will there be a track info template for this skin??
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I like it. The burgandy is a nice little 'pop' to the view. Good job.
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Nice slider on the Action Window... :o
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Hey All,
First, screenshots for those who are interested but not brave (that is, if it's ok with the MC team that i post the links here...just edit these out if you would rather keep it secret...)
http://marcoe.net/images/mc1.jpg (http://marcoe.net/images/mc1.jpg)
http://marcoe.net/images/mc2.jpg (http://marcoe.net/images/mc2.jpg)
I'm gonna try the new skin for a week or so and see what happens. My first impressions (and support for a few comments made by others):
- Overall, a healthy step away from the brushed metal look of iTunes.
- As mentioned by another here, I think the menus up top should remain left-justified. It's standard issue, recognized fair in the computing world. From a usability standpoint, why mess with it?
- The volume speaker really is hard to pick out.
- Drop-down menus look great but could do without the light bevel on the left. Seems excessive.
- Personally, I think the maroon is great, but I could see the use of perhaps one or two more variations on this one...differing the color scheme slightly to something more light, thus avoiding the "one size fits all" rut for this particular skin. Of course, I'm not sure what the designer's resources are like to whip out another one.
A lot of repeats, I know. But what's been said already is right on. I wanted to echo these sentiments.
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well...as long as you are positive it's OK.. :)
Now I don't know. Are you sure you're OK with that?
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The buttons are "candy apple" red, but that may not help if you've never been to the state fair.
We may offer several variations with different colored buttons.
Thanks, starflyer, for posting images. Here's a small screenshot of a corner:
(http://www.jriver.com/~jriver/misc/candyapple.jpg)
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Overall, I like it. However, I think it can be even better with some of the changes suggested above.
I agree that the File Edit menu should be left justified. Also, the shading on the pulldown menus is distracting.
The white/gray shading works nicely on horizontal portions (like top of each window), but no so good vertically.
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Love the new skin!!! I think it'd be cool to add a feature to change colors of a skin on the fly. More control over indivudual items than Skin effects currently allows for. Then, if you have a skin you really like, you can just change colors when you feel like it. (Was that redundant?)
Brian Palmer
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When Using The "Skin Effects" I Think GrayScale Makes It Look Better.
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You could at one point...
What ever happened to MC's display DSP?
10-27
edit: King may have answered
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I like the colors but hope the toolbar will be left justified too. :)
-=Tim=-
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edit: King may have answered
there may be a bug, note the grayscale setting makes most things grayscale and the 4 icons under search only 3 of them are converted to gray scale.
It would be nice if you could have more control over the colors.
also effects like wipes and fades would add a bit to media center.
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Lovely skin, pleasing colors, nice contrast, smooth, sleek, elegant.
I think I am in love ::)
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I like the colors but hope the toolbar will be left justified too. :)
-=Tim=-
Well I guess I'm the only one that likes the centered toolbar and the shaded pull downs...
Well if you change them can you make them both be available?
(ps are ya still gonna finish off BZero?)
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Well I guess I'm the only one that likes the centered toolbar and the shaded pull downs...
I think it's fine.
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I absolutely love it!!!
It looks like REAL plastic...
BUT I don't like the light grey left edge to the menu - It makes me feel all wibbly...
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Too dark.
Don't care for the candy apple/burgundy color.
Don't like the centered menu.
Don't like the rounded corners.
Currently using Z as my default skin because it is not too light (like PixOS) or too dark (like Blue Steel and Thunderstorm) and it has square corners.
I was using the Windows Classic fullscreen skin, but it seems it hasn't been updated for quite a while. Are the Windows skins for MC9.1 fully compatible with MC 10?
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=15333
Maybe you guys can get Pixtudio to do Windows Classic and XP skins. :)
Rob
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I'm diggin' it!
I would love to see different colors available, I'm not so hot on the candy apple red. The file menu in the middle isgreat. It makes the skin look really sleek with everything lined up down the center. I think people will come around once they get use to it. However, I could do well without the gradient in the menu. I find them distracting.
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me too...
Don't like the beveled menus with the too wide light grey left edge...very distracting...makes you think "What the heck is wrong with this thing!?"
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Overall I like the skinexcept for 3 things:
1: the Volume Options button should be made to match the Shuffle/DSP buttons
2: I don't particularly like the bevelled edge, particularly on the top of the AW and in menus. As Zrocker says it looks like something is wrong with the skin
3:Menus should be left justified (It's what we're used to in windows)
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The new skin is very au current...grey and red is chic and of the moment. It impressed my son (almost 20 years old) for it's techno feel. But those buttons are definately more plum than candy apple red...having once had a candy apple red 'vette, and being a member of the fashion police , I know the color well. Of course I fiddled with the skin effects and made it my favorite - blue.
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I just spent about an hour Saturday trying different skins and effects, but I just decided to stick with Blue Steel. I have to admit I really like Thunderstorm!
Comments:
1. I actually like the bevelled edge, but the lighter side is a bit too wide.
2. The rating stars are a bit overbearing.
3. A couple of other color schemes would be nice. Maybe something like the old Tekno and Optimal skin colors would be cool.
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I think it's great. I laughed when I first saw it. Quite different to the others.
It makes MC look like a pro app with its own distinct interface.
Keep the centred menu's too. I always hated putting tool buttons up at the top because it just didnt look like a toolbar at all. It was ******* messy. But with it all centred and between the black tabs on either side, the tool buttons look ok.
I agree that the bevelling on the menus is a bit much at the mo. And given the choice I'd probably change the colour of the buttons.
Also, I think that the font of the lists makes the text look a little bit thin and inadequate in this skin. Kind of like looking at a notepad file. I'd beef up the font a bit so that the lists look like they're part of the skin.
Cool.
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It's kind of ok -- kind of forgettable -- nothing about it really creates an 'identity' for MC10. Everything is easy to read, which is great.
Would be nice if skins were considered 'complete' only if they included a matching mini-version.
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darn its dark and brooding...i like the MC name in the upper left...ive gotten pretty used to blue steel so switching is always hard, however ...
i like that i can finally see how many stars things have got - the colour differential in blue steel was pretty low, and during the day was often funmbling to see ratings
i think the menu items should be on the left, not centered
the action windows have lost all depth - they look 2D suddenly
rounded corners = fine, same as blue steel
in the drop down file menu's the shading is a bit sudden on the left hand side (but thats a cool idea) - in fact that shading pattern appears elsewhere, if it were more subtle i'd say yeah.
bring on friday ...
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rounded corners = fine
No...round corners = bad.
If you have another program window maximized underneath the maximized MC window it's quite easy to accidentally click the close button of the other program when you were trying to click the MC close button.
i like the MC name in the upper left
It takes up too much valuable space that can be better used for toolbar buttons.
Rob
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I agree that the bevels need to be applied more cautiously, I did think I had a video problem at first. :)
-=Tim=-
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I'm also going to express general dissatisfaction with this new skin. As others have said, it's way too busy and "colorful." I'll continue use the original PixOS skin with the "Add Color" effect set to a medium gray (I like blue). If the general opinion is that Thunderstorm rocks then by all means rock on with it.
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Thunderstorm, having not included the MC logo in the upper left (as in Blue Steel) loses a bit of continuity with the systray icon. Detail details, yes, but important, I feel.
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I like the red highlight showing me where I am on the tree.
I don't like the menus in the center. It definitely looks cool but feels like an extra step (even though I know it isn't) compared to every other program. Menus should just be where you expect them to be.
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Another quality, original work from Pixtudio. Unfortunately, I don't like it. I've never been a big fan of dark skins. I like skins that are bright, clean, and OS-styled. I'll stick with PixOS (in greyscale mode).
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Appreciate the feedback everyone. We'll make some tweaks. Remember tho, it's just a skin, and there will be others down the line. It would be boring if we all liked the same skins, right? 8)
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Since it seems like everyone is adding their two cents....I thought I'd donate something:
LOOKS GOOD! Very professional - love this new skin.
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This and Blue Steel are both nice skins but I have to agree with a few of the others that don't go for dark skins. It's great that there's another skin available to be shipped with MC but I'm not sure I'd choose another dark one as the default. I would exect the default skin to be instantly recognisable to the MC brand and this just doesn't do that for me...or maybe the is the new image statement to go with the 'soon to be revealed' big deal?
Opus MC is the best skin I've ever seen for MC and it's gonna take a real cracker to make me change it.
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Overall... a fairly nice skin from Pixtudio.
I have looked at & tried to use a lot of Pixtudio skins in the past (they do a lot of skinning for Statdocks WindowBlinds).
Every one of them is well executed but, (yep, you just knew there was going to be a but, didn't you), they all are too "busy" for me. They are often much too light or too dark for my taste. Also they often try to be too different from the mainstream & sometimes look a little too wild for my taste.
The other problem is they are often so different from all my other Win XP skins that I often get a little confused when going from say Excel to a Pixtudio skinned application; it looks so different that I have to take a moment to re-orientate myself. That is not a good thing.
The one plus to all this is that there is most likely a Pixtudio Thunderstorm skin for Windowblinds that would blend it all together. If it does not already exist I fell it may eventually appear on the Stardock WindowBlinds site...
http://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?library=1
I will check that out & let you know later.
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I was using the Windows Classic fullscreen skin, but it seems it hasn't been updated for quite a while. Are the Windows skins for MC9.1 fully compatible with MC 10?
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?board=5;action=display;threadid=15333
Maybe you guys can get Pixtudio to do Windows Classic and XP skins. :)
Rob
The opinion of anyone who prefers the "Windows Classic" skin should be totally disqualified from this discussion. :-)
Byt the way, I think the new skin looks great. Centered menus are fine. Jesssh.
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Doc loutus:
Every one of them is well executed but, (yep, you just knew there was going to be a but, didn't you), they all are too "busy" for me. They are often much too light or too dark for my taste. Also they often try to be too different from the mainstream & sometimes look a little too wild for my taste.
I think that's a good summing up and exactly why I love Opus MC so much. Not too dark or light - just right and beautiful in every way.
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I'm not wild about the new skin, it's far too dark for my liking. Back to good old PixOS for me.
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Appreciate the feedback everyone. We'll make some tweaks. Remember tho, it's just a skin, and there will be others down the line. It would be boring if we all liked the same skins, right? 8)
Not everyone wants to mess around searching for skins. Some of us just want to stick with the default because it works and might be regularly kept up to date as it's the 'default'. The default should have a matching mini-me version. The default skin should create a distinctive impression for MC10, Thunderstorm doesn't...
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I luv the black frame...and I luv Blue Steel's black interiors. I also like a black background on my windows desktop. How 'bout cross pollinating Thunder with Steel and calling it "Black" (knick...you listening?). A yellow (or better yet...1973 Porsche Raspberry) accent edge on the (window'let) interior edges would provide the finishing touch.
Buttons & controls are cool...as are the two tone paint with the maroon and the gradient fills. For the menus...left justification to edge of currently playing window might be better placement.
Did I mention that I like black?
10-27
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I havent read all this thread - apologies if Im repeating others. Still too early for judgement on this skin - it seems quite nice though.
One definite, if trivial, problem - inactive menu items look the same as active ones when selected (eg Edit/Undo if theres nothing to undo). I think 'greyed out' items should be clearly unavailable even when they are selected.
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One thing I have noticed, the boxes that show check marks when selected look quite like the boxes that aren't checked, it's hard to be sure at first glance what's check and what's not.
Also, the 'highlighting' on the tops of bars, and the left sides of the menus also make it harder to read.
With all of that said, I DO like it.
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Nice skin. The buttons and frames are great.
I'd prefer black on white text. And the action window could use a little more attention.
So how much do you pay Pixtudio for a skin? :)
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Nice skin. I have to agree about the bevel on the menus, though. They're kind of distracting.
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Nice skin. I have to agree about the bevel on the menus, though. They're kind of distracting.
Buttons corresponding to menu options would fit very nicely in this new bevel, displacing the text to the non-beveled portion of the menu.
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I like the skin, and i will use it in the future(in greyscale !). It is also very useable with a Touch-Screen. Therefore i like, that the menu bar is in the middle and not in the corner.
The buttons of the buttom-toolbar are too small.
Uwe
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In general I like it, variety is the spice of life.
I would have to echo the sentiments regarding the left side bevel on the drop down menus and the speaker icon on the volume control just looks like a dot to me. If you didn't tell me it was a speaker, I wouldn't have guessed it.
Overall, I give it a 9
JP
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Well I got to say that you guys made a great job at making this skin. While it might not be my style of skin, I think it looks very well done.
So good job.
-Cascius
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I can't say I'm a really big fan of the skin either. I don't like the dark colors with the red buttons, but then again that's a personal preference. I do think you've done a fine job with the skin, and MC is still the greatest, most mind-blowing media player out there...
Actually, I just installed build 98, and I'm starting to dig Thunderstorm. You've won me over. The menus do still annoy me though.
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In options, when u highlight a new selection in the left tree, the colors should be different. This isnt the case with ThunderStorm even though it is different colors with all the other skins
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I like the new skin, but only in greyscale. In regular colors the candy apple (or whatever that was called) just doesen't look right to me. Oh, and just to make that absolutely clear: The latest beta of MC was the first file I downloaded with my new 1 mbit gSDSL internet! ;D ;D ;D