Skip to Content

iLife updates add full-screen Lion support, change iPhoto UI elements to match Lion

by Michael Grothaus Jul 11th 2011 at 8:00PM

Today's earlier iLife updates are a sign that Lion is set to drop any day now. Not only do the updates add full-screen support to the iLife apps under the latest Lion Developer Preview release, they also tweak some UI elements of iPhoto to match the upcoming UI Finder elements found in OS X 10.7.

The image shows a side-by-side comparison of the source list of iPhoto '11 (version 9.1.4) and iPhoto '11 (version 9.1.5). Both are running under Mac OS X 10.6.8. Gone are the colorful icons designating Events, Photos, Faces, and Places. They've all been replaced with grayed-out counterparts that mimic the look of the Finder's source list in Lion.

The source list in iWeb has retained its color icons, though that's no surprise as iWeb (and most likely iDVD) has no future as part of the iLife suite and their minor updates today were solely focused on 10.7 compatibility.



View Tags

Related Stories

Categories

OS X

Today's earlier iLife updates are a sign that Lion is set to drop any day now. Not only do the updates add full-screen support to the...
 

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum Comment Moderation Enabled. Your comment will appear after it is cleared by an editor.

23 Comments

Filter by:
Jwarn

I have not really payed much attention to this but I do think it looks neater. I think it is easier to notice which is which. What does it matter really. Something very little, which may be quite a good impact on performance. Ok maybe, give an option, but if Apple is going to cut out colour of little icons the you don't pay attention to, to increase performance, go for it, as long as wallpapers and larger icons stay colour, good on them.

October 20 2011 at 11:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JeffNYC

I'm in the why are they graying out all the icons bunch. Most of the people who are praising the gray icons, likely never had a problem with the icons, gray means disabled, unavailable etc. Next they will be making the dock icons colorless as well. I think it should at least be an option to enable/disable.

And while I'm venting why did they change the Itunes CD icon to one with a Music note?? Itunes is no longer about just music, they should make the icon at least reflect that!

July 12 2011 at 3:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
scamsnl

So… with Lion, iLife goes to dull grays, and the new Final Cut suite apps go to the sleek, colorful icons. Got it.

(I wonder if Apple have realized they did that, or if it's intentional? Also, the new "Last 12 Months" icon looked like a casket at first glimpse, then I realized it's a document box.)

July 12 2011 at 1:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

When is Aperture going to get similar updates?

July 12 2011 at 12:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
timl2k11

So let's take away color from icons and go a step backwards (for the desktop) to full screen apps. ?? No comprende. Full screen apps on 2550x1500 res monitors? I only have 1680x1050 and I'd love more for this nice feature of multiple app windows. Damn apple can sell any damn idea.
I have a magic trackpad (love it!) if it integrates well with that... Nevermind, I'll just have to wait and see what the point is.

July 12 2011 at 5:14 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to timl2k11's comment
Joshua Hughes

Full screen is only an option. No one is making you use it. It is hardly a step backward.

July 12 2011 at 11:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Modano

I was pretty skeptical about this too, especially as someone who never got Spaces at all. That said, I'm a complete convert. If you like your magic trackpad, get excited. This is going to sound hyperbolic but full screen app switching in Lion is the biggest and best change to my workflow since cooperative multitasking in System 7. I can't even believe I'm saying that either but, for me, it's changed the way I do things in a huge and much improved way. YMMV, of course.

July 12 2011 at 1:03 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Modano's comment
oZ

Unfortunately, full screen mode is completely useless when you have more than one display.

July 12 2011 at 2:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down
Modano

@oZ I use a MBP with a Cinema Display attached. You're right that it's not ideal but I wouldn't call it useless. I'd even say that Mission Control mitigates the need for a casual use of more than one display.

July 12 2011 at 10:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down
alansky

Mercifully, I had almost forgotten those drab gray Lion icons. Now you've gone and reminded me that they're on their way to my Desktop. I can hardly wait! Not.

July 12 2011 at 3:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Darryn Lowe

I prefer the grey icons actually. It's not in your face and does what any interface should do... stay out of the way and let you do what you need to do.

Colour icons make things distracting for things that should only be viewed when needed.

July 11 2011 at 8:35 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
john foster

the gray-i-fication of the icons is a mistake. they make it look like the features are unavailable because the icons are dim.

July 11 2011 at 8:30 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to john foster's comment
DR

John Foster, I'd give this 1,000 thumbs up if I could. You've hit the nail on the head. I've been hating these gray icons in iTunes (thank you iTunes 109 for helping me not have to endure them for a bit longer anyway), and I have wondered why the equally colorless icons in the Safari toolbar don't bother me as much. I think the reason is because those are *black* instead of gray. You are 100% right. Gray has always denoted "inactive" or "unavailable" in the Mac OS, and the new look is making every single item look as though it's not available. Bingo.

I'd still prefer color both aesthetically and functionally for its use as a cue (never have understood how people can get distracted by tiny icons on the side of a window, but different strokes), but if Apple's design team insists on its misguided colorless mission, how about some black instead of gray?

July 12 2011 at 11:02 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael Hanscom

"Today's earlier iLife updates are a sign that Apple is set to drop any day now."

Apple is set to drop?

July 11 2011 at 8:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Michael Hanscom's comment
Nivaldo Junior

To drop "Lion"I guess!!!

July 11 2011 at 9:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
msnight04

I actually really like it. I tend to read stuff instead of looking at the icons. These minimalist icons allow me to focus on the text more easily.

July 11 2011 at 8:20 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Buy an ad here

Tweets

© 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.