Is the Mail.app look being copied too much?

Yojimbo tipped ME over the edge in this regard as well: I'm just plain sick of the three-pane Mail-style app window. Of course, unification of the OSX design is important, but unification doesn't necessarily need to extend to applying the same structure to all windows - take Newsfire, for example. It uses Apple's UI standards appropriately, but isn't a Mail-style window. The Expos頰roblem is the most obvious (and most easily-surmountable) thing that results from having too many windows that look the same, but I'm beginning to think my fatigue with the style is largely due to the fact that the three-pane window doesn't use screen real estate well on a widescreen monitor. Some screenshots mocked up recently of Mail.app using three vertical columns have been kinda refreshing, and I hope Apple goes down this path soon (or perhaps that some edgier developers beat them to the punch).

Whoah - I'm just checking out UNO right now and it's made Safari look as sweet as Camino! Finder is a lot better too. The change to Tiger's often pick'n'mix style of interface is quite refreshing.

Thanks for the head's up! :D

#14: Agreed. The Mail.app "unified" look is going to become more and more pervasive. Everyone complained that all the "brushed metal" apps looked the same, then, as you say, they complained when the Unified look came out that there were too many different appearances, now they're complaining that all the Unified windows look the same.

It's obviously true that you can never please all the people all the time, but it seems like you can rarely please some of the people any of the time.

You know, not long ago, everybody was debating about the different GUIs in the Apple world, and how people wanted a similar looking GUI across the board so OSX looked consistent and professional. Now we have this. Would somebody please make up their minds?

frank--we say 'Mail.app' because Apple used the generic word 'Mail' for their email program. The '.app' is added for clarity--that we're talking about a program--in particular, *that* program--and not a mail message or another email program. Same with Terminal.app. Read the board, though, and you'll never see a reference to 'Safari.app' or 'TextEdit.app' or anything else. If Apple had chosen a clever, non-generic name for their email program, like they did for their web browser, calendar, chat application, music player, etc.,* we wouldn't be having this discussion.

* Address Book aside, but no one ever talks about that. :-)

Please. There is no application called "Mail.app". If you're going to call Mail "Mail.app" then you might as well call them NetNewsWire.app, Yojimbo.app, and Ecto.app.

You know how when you pass your mouse over an app in expose it shows you the name of the app or the file name? well if it did that the entire time it was in expose that would solve everyone's problem.

Qow dude (#1). I was going to suggest the same thing. Sort of a watermark on the window. I haven't experienced this problem yet, but I'm sure this would help the situation.

Sheesh! You'd prefer every app has a completely different UI?

Get a grip. Use command-tab or nove the mouse over expose'd windows if you're that confused.

Personally, I find similar UI's to be a very GOOD thing, and I'd like to see more of it -- it reduces the time spent trying to figure out the unfamiliar when using a new program, and increases productivity.

I don't find it a problem because the windows have labels when you hover over them. I also don't use Expose extensively. I'm more of a command-tab person, coming from a windows world.