Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS
Installer icon badges
If you're anything like me, I'm sorry for you. Ah, a little joke to open things up never fails, but you know what isn't a joking matter? That's right, OS X's Installer. That's the program that, well, enables things to be installed in OS X so it is kind of important. Now, Daniel J. Wilson thinks that the Installer could do with a little more visual feedback to cue the user into what the heck it is doing. He suggests the icon badges mocked up above, to show when something is installing, there has been some sort of error, or the install has finished.
This is a perfect example of 'The Little Things,' let's hope that Apple agrees.
[via Daring Fireball]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
nicram said 8:33PM on 8-28-2006
This is exactly the kind of desktop clutter I avoid. And it is completely un-necessary in this case. The installer always tells you what it is doing, all you have to do is read it's prompts. I don't need tacky icon add-ons.
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Gordon Werner said 8:42PM on 8-28-2006
until Apple listens and implements this and then we'll have post after post complaining how apple steals all the innovation from programmers etc etc etc ...
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Dan Bedford said 10:07PM on 8-28-2006
OMG, I thought that was real and I could down load this and start using it right away!! I'm an IT Manager and do a lot of installing and this would come in handy big time!
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Do you like my ZDAR? said 1:42AM on 8-29-2006
Its pretty, but is it necessary?
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Ruegen Aschenbrenner said 5:32AM on 8-29-2006
That would be helpful when I have several updates queued to install.. great idea!
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xSmurf said 6:23AM on 8-29-2006
How about an un-installer Apple? Isn't that why receipt exist? Why do I have to rely on a third party app for that???
Big up! I like the badge idea!
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Chris (is a geek) said 11:01AM on 8-29-2006
While the installer in Leopard doesn't include little dock icons, it does now include a giant (and I do mean big) green checkmark when it's successfully installed a program. I forget what it shows if it failed, but it too is obvious.
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Grover said 11:25AM on 8-29-2006
I'm of the anti-crowd. Why do you need the icon to tell you the progress when the interface of Installer is a giant progress bar?
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