I read these posts again and noticed this:
http://www.winamp.com/skins/detail.jhtml?componentId=122902

Is it just me, or does that look completely, utterly unusable? I mean, who wants his computer screen to look like some hip new MP3 player and not a computer screen?

As other examples, bad:
http://www.litestep.net/upload/themes/Singularity_v0.002_6742-204.png
And good:
http://www.litestep.net/upload/themes/Glaze_1.1_2112-188.png

I'm not talking about minimalism here, even if the above examples hint that way.
A great example of a good interface is that of the old BSPlayer and its default skin (nowadays the defauls skin is something "cool", is it not?), which doesn't have anything extra and nothing is rounded or smoothed. It looks functional and clear, and buttons are where you expect them to be.
An even better example would be that of Cubic Player, an old DOS application with an absolutely unbeatable UI unmatched by any music playing program ever. Probably worthless to mention it though, as most arent children of that era, but some of you may remember.

Your opinions?

My opinion is that you are a Minimalist and need not crack on others work because they aren't. There are some applications in which the screen should be an MP3 player, Media Station PC, but some people like the eye candy and so be it.

I agree with dev. Some people prefer their screens to look "flashy". If they prefer it, then no offense, but who cares what you think?

Whilst I'm flattered you used my theme as a "good" example, I have to ask, did you try the Singularity before deciding it was a "bad" example? If you try it I think you will find the this theme is not as intrusive as you might think. Singularity is a good example of how a flashy design can still be very useful.

As for the winamp skin, I think this skin is very appealing it will look great on my MP3 machine that sits in the lounge room, plugged into my home stereo. Since this PC serves no other purpose it will be nice to have a skin that fills the screen with features.

So my point is that whilst you might look at these skins and themes and decide that they would never be useful for you, it certainly doesn't mean they are "bad".

you could also analogize (if thats a word) your topic to that music that has no meaning...

ie, for instance punk music dealing with political issues (anti flag for instance) VS something like, BSB or Nsync, or Techno or Trance (music w/o lyrics). its about enjoying the experiance in most cases.
i enjoy my punk just as much as i enjoy my trance.

I Like, the fact ppl have the sense to use litestep as a creative outlet and try things such as the second link you posted, as a bad design.

Or the winamp link for instance, very sleek looking. granted its probably one of the least 'functional' designs next to some of ive seen, but as long as the end users experiance is a good one then the artist did his job.

I dont think this is a matter of looking cool at all. i think this is a case where someone has an idea, and goes on it.

to go on a tangent, i think piccaso's (excuse spelling, you know, that famous abstract artist) work is utterly ugly, just my opinion, but i enjoy the experiance looking at some of his work, it makes me think.

anyways while im still semi-concious i will finish this off.

Dont mock or call someones work stupid (thats what i got from your post)because its not met at someone, or some groups standards of cool, functional or usable. not everyone sees things in your eyes.
You have the right to critisize as you wish, but you came across wrong. then again in my semi-concious state you coulda posed it quite nicely and i mis-read all of it.

anyways, your argument seems to have been a waste of my time, though i still find a need to post such a long *** post.

good evening

edit:

btw your comment here:


First off that comment right there, completely opinionated, not to mention im sure a completely hotkeyed player is alot more functional then any other UI out there (thats an opinion btw, all of which can be debated).


this quote made me laugh, because you come off as a person trying to introduce an already beaten topic to death, with some new content and what not, and then you go off to say that we wouldnt know a good interface because we never experianced cube player. (thats what i got from it).

granted, i started on windows 3.1 and didnt experiance that specific program, though i did deal with alot of dos back then. this doesnt mean i dont know good design, good UI's or w/e else.

gah w/e i aint going to start an argument over this.

anyways to finish off again, there is nothing wrong with the following links you showed, someone work in different ways then others.

My intention was not to bash whoever did those flashy UIs, was just trying to find reasons to use them. I mean, I couldn't do them even if I wanted to, don't have the skills. :)

"Bad" was entirely subjective and I apologize if that was not obvious from the context.

Actually I'm truly sorry for being that blunt. Political correctness has not been a very high factor in the message boards I've previously conversed in, and I didn't look into it very much.

Warma, although I think ANYONE here would agree that your remarks are derisive, poignant, and worthy of contempt from the recipients, that no offence is taken. It is startling to me, the veracity of your attack on MMD3 and Singularity ("The horrors of trying to look cool", my goodness), and it appears (from your last comment) to possibly stem from a bit of graphical jealousy, which is alright. I do ask that you find more diplomatic means to express your thoughts in the future.

It's a fatalistic precipice one teeters on when ascribing value to nothing more than subjective opinion, and it has definitely been traversed in start of this thread.

As a fellow themer, you realize, as I, that every theme begins with concepts. Singularity was entirely intened to showcase the concept of user-configurable hotspots that could instantly render all or most desk-space usable with a mere flick of the mouse (something which I think DrWorm has mastered). The thick graphical interface of Singularity was designed to enhance the contrast between the top and bottom Z-order states, in essence "to look heavy" but still permit instantaneous access to the desktop. NO, it did not contain several multi-state Temperature guages for different CPU's (I'll bet my one cheap Athlon CPU is slower than yours!). This would have been determined if the theme was downloaded and the README.TXT read.

Releasing a theme is treacherous. There are always those that can't get it to work on their unique systems, or want you to make custom modifications, or just plain complain (hint, hint). I hope that if you choose to submit your themes, that you receive objective, conscientious, constructive criticisms that either move the theme towards perfection, or provide an impetus for future projects. From now on, this is the expectation laid upon your shoulders.

My point was not to say that some theme is bad and another is good. I intended to raise discussion about why user interfaces are made to resemble their real-life counterparts (and not just abstractions), when that usually just damages usability.

I realize now that I should not have used examples at all. Themes here are important to people and unfocused criticism is likely to seem much more insulting than it were if I was discussing this with my friends.

I already apologized, but I apologize again.

No need to apologise again. You provoked a good arguement, which is what forums are all about.

No hard feelings, man. All is good! :) In relation to the topic you've raised: Bigger can actually be better, sometimes. Themes with larger elements (shortcuts, buttons, etc...) pushed up against a screens edge function more efficiently, according to Fitz's law of GUI's. A larger button presents a larger target. That's why labelling buttons makes them more efficient; they not only become more easily discernible at a glance, but they're easier to hit.

Making the GUI look more life-like, well, that's usually just for fun. I came from a WindowBlinds/DesktopX background, where everybody attempts to make a more visually appealing environment, as opposed to 'Steppers, who tend to prefer stark minimalism.

Im sure your both happy to know an mmd3 litestep skin is being made :-P

Several (but they all look mighty fine!)

Know where i can peek at some of them?

Mr_Goat, I think Chud's in the process of making one, and there's also one at DeviantArt http://www.deviantart.com/view/1809654

tuxpow3 also posted a pic of this one:
http://www.litestep.net/upload/profiles/Immortalized-MMD3_1949-191.png
Although I don't know it's source.

They look sweet! I may hafta try one :)

the one Im building is going to have 70 color themes just like mmd3.