Why is Big Sur so ugly?

[nickdalzell1]

Well yes but also keeping things updated is quite important for security reasons and to be fair Apple has been good with such security updates for older versions of MacOS just as they are with supporting older iPhone and iPad models with the newer iOS and iPadOS updates.

This FUD has to stop. An 'unsupported' OS will not instantly get hacked. If anything, you should be safe doing what you do now unless you are pirating software or viewing porn or using Limewire (if it still exists). Even Windows XP has support for a few antivirus apps today. This mentality of 'you should stop using software that's old because it's a security risk' makes no sense anyway since any hacker really worth their salt will want to target a more popular and mainstream OS version that has more market share than target the 5% who still use XP or Android Cupcake.

Heck, many of those scammers who make those fake 'your PC has been locked by Microsoft' pop-ups are targeting Windows 10! Those popups won't even show on Netscape 7 or Internet Explorer 6.0.

 

[Partron22]

I'm not pleased with the lightness of text in search boxes. It always looks like it is de-selected; annoying as hell.
Too much lightness in other places as well.

 

[nickdalzell1]

If you turn on dark mode 24/7, and replace most of the system apps with third party skeuo alternatives from the Mac App Store, and hide the system apps (since you can't modify the icons or remove the apps entirely even with SiP off for some reason) it is passable. Big Sur still has some skeuo left in places, but if only that Finder icon that looks like the smiley face drawn in the warp core cloud in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Timescape' could be reverted to its Mavericks predecessor...or hidden from the dock at least!

It's really odd how we got some nice skeuo icons for Messages, App Store, System Preferences, Numbers and Pages, yet we are still stuck with Yosemite's Finder icon with zero change. It's just different enough to bug me. Without SiP enabled, I can edit the Finder icon, it displays the familiar older icon for literally two seconds before reverting back to the current one. No error, it's just like some sort of SFC ala Windows XP is going on here. Same with any other system app. Icon changes, then reverts back. I can move system apps such as Safari, Mail, Notes, etc to the trash, it shows the 'full bin' icon, but trying to empty does nothing. No error, but nothing is removed from the bin. The icons for said apps remain in the app drawer or dock if present as well.

It's the same gripe with the new Music icon, it's iOS 7's music icon. The one before it (basically the iTunes icon) was far better. We got the old iTunes UI back (well, sans brushed aluminum, but the layout is there at least) but the stupid ugly iOS 7 Music icon. Same icon on iOS 14, too.

Looks like Apple can't figure out whether to be skeuomorphic, or flat these days. Why not both!

 

[Wowfunhappy]

If you turn on dark mode 24/7, and replace most of the system apps with third party skeuo alternatives from the Mac App Store, and hide the system apps (since you can't modify the icons or remove the apps entirely even with SiP off for some reason) it is passable.

You can, you just need to do a bit more than merely turn off SIP. https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/395509/150839

 

[Feyl]

It's the same gripe with the new Music icon, it's iOS 7's music icon. The one before it (basically the iTunes icon) was far better. We got the old iTunes UI back (well, sans brushed aluminum, but the layout is there at least) but the stupid ugly iOS 7 Music icon. Same icon on iOS 14, too.

To me the current icon is far far better. The previous one was just white. That's stupid ugly to me and really uninspired, especially if so many other icons are like that as well. My favorite is iTunes 10 icon though.

 

[Alwis]

This FUD has to stop. An 'unsupported' OS will not instantly get hacked. If anything, you should be safe doing what you do now unless you are pirating software or viewing porn or using Limewire (if it still

This is a dangerous misconception. There are a lot of ways a computer can be compromised without going on „dangerous“ web sites. Malicious mails, security issues in SSL or other encryption libraries or some malicious advertisements on „normal“ web sites are only a few examples that have happened in the past.

 

[nickdalzell1]

It's still FUD. I'm using a 7 year-old Galaxy S5, Google, Samsung accounts and all, no issue. I still use Windows 7 on one machine in the guestroom. No issues and still supports Avast (which helps). I run antivirus software that still supports Android 4.4 and above no issue to maintain security. On a Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 from 2012 (which is running Android 4.2) I got JavaScript disabled (that also helps security and speeds things up.) Another, a Galaxy Note 10.1 from the same year runs Android 4.0.3, and I run YouTube in the browser no issue as well. Obviously they are too old to support banking apps anyway, so that's a non-issue. Most they got is access to my Google account.

Unless you're doing something you shouldn't, nothing bad is going to happen. Hackers want to target the larger market share, not some grandparent or the 1% who use Windows 95. It makes no sense for a hacker to target any OS with a tiny market share.

Now, downloading and running unsigned apps without the stupid 'let's protect every user from themselves' mentality of modern OSs, well, that's a risk, but I'm of the mindset that if you break your own system, it's your own darned fault. Learn to take responsibility for your actions and not place that into the OEMs hands.

 

[nickdalzell1]

To me the current icon is far far better. The previous one was just white. That's stupid ugly to me and really uninspired, especially if so many other icons are like that as well. My favorite is iTunes 10 icon though.

If I had to choose, I'd pick the one from iOS 6 or 5 any day over the current one. I hated, absolutely DESPISED iOS 7, which brought us to where we are now with zero escape. I want no further reminders of that ugly mess. Heck, I'd take my Coverflow back as well. I don't know why they removed that either.

It's like Apple wanted me to jump ship to the Samsung side! Everything I loved about Apple has been stripped from the company and its OSs. Everything that actually separated it from Android. Coverflow, Skeuomorphism, the higher-quality app UIs, MacOS's iconic UX, the works. I thought it was fun how my iPhone once transformed into a literal notepad, or calculator, or radio. That level of skeuomorphism made the lifeless slab turn into whatever you wanted it to be. I can't get that kind of excitement with the current mess it is today. No one else, including Android even in version 2.3, came close to that level of skeuomorphism (oh, it had button shapes, title bars, etc but nothing quite like the literal calendar my iPad had) Am I the only one who found Apple products more fun to use with the skeuomorphism left intact? I mean, Apple, you had me buying all your stuff until iOS 7 (and Yosemite) The only thing that brought me back to Mac was the touchbar (still neat to me, you can hate it but I like it).

 

[Wowfunhappy]

This is a dangerous misconception. There are a lot of ways a computer can be compromised without going on „dangerous“ web sites. Malicious mails, security issues in SSL or other encryption libraries or some malicious advertisements on „normal“ web sites are only a few examples that have happened in the past.

Yes. But at the same time, some people seem to think that as soon as an OS stops getting security patches it needs to be instantly disconnected from the internet or all hell will break loose. That just isn't the case.

I have a number of rules on my 10.9 machine: always use an up-to-date browser, never bypass the router, test all new software in a VM first. And some others. It's not foolproof, but it has served me well and I do feel quite safe.

Now, if a hacker was targeting me specifically, they would absolutely get in. But I think they'd probably manage that on an up-to-date OS too, they'd just have to try harder. I'm not willing to live my life in a carefully monitored vault.

MacRumors has a pretty active PPC forum. Why do you think all their Macs haven't been hacked?

 

[phrehdd]

Yes. But at the same time, some people seem to think that as soon as an OS stops getting security patches it needs to be instantly disconnected from the internet or all hell will break loose. That just isn't the case.

I have a number of rules on my 10.9 machine: always use an up-to-date browser, never bypass the router, test all new software in a VM first. And some others. It's not foolproof, but it has served me well and I do feel quite safe.

Now, if a hacker was targeting me specifically, they would absolutely get in. But I think they'd probably manage that on an up-to-date OS too, they'd just have to try harder. I'm not willing to live my life in a carefully monitored vault.

MacRumors has a pretty active PPC forum. Why do you think all their Macs haven't been hacked?

You sound serious and thorough in your attempt to keep your system free of virus and access by non-approved. There are a few things the typical person can do to reduce substantially vulnerabilities created by simply being accessible to others (being on the internet or using poor choices of wifi).

 

[nickdalzell1]

MacRumors has a pretty active PPC forum. Why do you think all their Macs haven't been hacked?

THIS ^^^ Right here.

Still wish there was an active 'classic iPhone/iPad/iPod touch' forum though. My late father couldn't have been the only one still using an iPhone 2G in 2016...

 

[me22]

It's really odd how we got some nice skeuo icons for Messages, App Store, System Preferences, Numbers and Pages, yet we are still stuck with Yosemite's Finder icon with zero change.

You hoping for something like this?

Or how about this?

 

[nickdalzell1]

Actually I hoped for a return to the original MacOS logo. Or just ditch the icon entirely as it's not needed.

Big Sur has an identity crisis. One one side, it's ushering in the return to skeuomorphism. On the other, it's stuck thinking it's still OS X Yosemite, with flat UI in some places, and icons left over from iOS 7/Yosemite in others.

iOS 14 still has all the icons from iOS 7 8 years later. If everyone was ready for change after 6 years of skeuo, why not a change now? We've had flat for 8 years going on 9. Isn't that 'dated' just as much? Whatever happened to design going in cycles? Back when I found out the trash iOS 7 was, and couldn't undo any of it, I was assured that 'it's just the BETA! The final will be much better! the icons you see are just placeholders!'

After that didn't pan out, we were told that design is cyclic, and flat is just the current trend (in 2013--come on folks it's 2021 already!) and skeuo would come back. Apparently, flat was intended to be forever. Sorry, but that's unacceptable. That's stagnation and not innovation.

I just want the joy that Apple used to provide back. I want my iPhone to become a literal radio, calculator, music player, notepad, etc again. I want my iPad to transform to a real calendar, TV, or two-page book reader complete with the classic iBooks skeuo again. Is that so much to ask?

Sure, I can downgrade to a 3GS or a first-generation iPad, but I want the same joy on a modern device with the proper app support. Older devices work today, but eventually hardware degrades and batteries die.

 

[me22]

Actually I hoped for a return to the original MacOS logo

This?

Or just ditch the icon entirely as it's not needed.

I'm confused now. Why would an icon not be needed?

 

[nickdalzell1]

Because today, all that clicking the Finder icon even does is open a new Finder window. You can do that by clicking File-->Open Finder Window. The icon is just redundant today.

This is the Finder icon I wanted back. I tried to replace the new one, but it always reverts back. Some weird SFC thing going on.



The new Finder icon just reminds me of this (and I react just as Picard did):

 

[me22]

Because today, all that clicking the Finder icon even does is open a new Finder window. You can do that by clicking File-->Open Finder Window. The icon is just redundant today.

Even as a mostly keyboard user (cmd-N or the various shorcuts to get to folders I actually use), I still expect the icon in the cmd-tab switcher, and I ocassionally do drag files to the autohidden dock icon when finder windows aren't visible.

This is the Finder icon I wanted back. I tried to replace the new one, but it always reverts back. Some weird SFC thing going on.

Yeah, that's life in the future. I don't know what SFC is, but there are probably multiple ways to get your icon into the dock if you disable SIP.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/kzzrub

 

[nickdalzell1]

I did disable SiP. It wouldn't let me edit at all with it enabled. Now, it shows the icon I prefer then reverts back to the modern one in seconds. I also can't remove apps such as Safari, Mail, or Photos, even though I found skeuomorphic replacements from the App Store.

SFC = System File Checker. In Windows XP, if you modified or deleted whatever Windows thought was a critical system feature or file, it would revert back to the file it wanted. Any changes made to such files were restored to system default. For example, if you deleted tskmgr.exe it just spawned the file back.

 

[me22]

I did disable SiP. It wouldn't let me edit at all with it enabled. Now, it shows the icon I prefer then reverts back to the modern one in seconds.

Have you tried the full tutorial I linked?

 

[nickdalzell1]

OK I just tried. Got authenticated root disabled, verified in terminal. Followed the tutorial, downloaded the script, typed sh in terminal, dragged and dropped, hit enter. Got a permission denied.

Nicks-MacBook-Pro:~ nickdalzell$ sh


sh-3.2$ /Users/nickdalzell/Downloads/BigSur_IconChanger_by_HueZuX.sh 


sh: /Users/nickdalzell/Downloads/BigSur_IconChanger_by_HueZuX.sh: Permission denied

What am I doing wrong? The tutorial doesn't say anything about that.

 

[me22]

Don't hit enter after sh. There should just be a space between that and the path to the script as in the screenshot in the tutorial. You may have to enter the space after sh.

Edit, you also probably want to start over in a new terminal window, as you are probably still in the sh shell in the window you were in.

 

[darngooddesign]

Because today, all that clicking the Finder icon even does is open a new Finder window. You can do that by clicking File-->Open Finder Window. The icon is just redundant today.

Clicking on Finder icon from another application displays all open finder windows, and takes you to whichever space has the most recently created Finder window. You can create a new Finder window while in any application by right-clicking on the Finder icon; using File requires your clicking on the Desktop first which is less efficient. Right-clicking on the Finder icon gives you a more extensive contextual menu. Dragging a file onto the Finder icon displays all the open Finder windows which is a much more efficient way to move file locations.

You are simply incorrect about it being redundant.

 

[nickdalzell1]

OK I finally made some headway. Now, if I can find out how to remove certain system apps, or change those gosh darned traffic lights back to the glossy versions again, I'll feel a whole lot better!

End goal is to hopefully restore the Mountain Lion versions of Mail, Safari, etc but only if I can replace the system apps.

 

[Alwis]

Unless you're doing something you shouldn't, nothing bad is going to happen. Hackers want to target the larger market share, not some grandparent or the 1% who use Windows 95. It makes no sense for a hacker to target any OS with a tiny market share.

Most attacks are not specifically targeted but on a broad scale, there is no"nobody is interested in my data"

Take the latest Webkit vulnerability, this has the potential to attack just by placing some malicious ads on an ad server or by hacking a popular web site and placing the exploit there. Booth has happened in the past.

 

[nsklaus]

for those wanting to remove the big sur ugly new ui refresh and restore previous good looking theme, there's a new solution that works even better than previous tweaks i reported before in this thread.
it's using macforge and the paintcan plugin.

the procedure is roughly similar, basicaly using previous macos .car files, but in this case, any previous macos theme will do fine. for example at the moment i'm using the ones from mojave.
the good point of using this solution is that when an asset is missing, there's a fallback effect going on while at the same time retaining the modified theme looks. so there is no more missing or badly displayed widgets and toolbar icons. i've been using that for a few days now and i find it very nice and much better visual results than previous methods.

so, to recap, take mojave's files:

SystemAppearance.car and DarkAppearance.car

and rename them respectively as:

NSAppearanceNameAqua.paintcan.car and NSAppearanceNameDarkAqua.paintcan.car

finaly put them at:

/Library/Application Support/MacEnhance/Plugins/PaintCan.bundle/Contents/Resources/

macforge is currently in beta for M1, but for what i'm talking here, it works well.
the bonus is also that, if or when manualy modifying assets, no reboot is needed. a simple restart of application will do. for example `killall Finder` and changes would get applied right away. the other good point is that it doesn't touch the actual system files, it just overload them. so .car files used with paintcan plugin will take precedence over the system ones.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

And Windows 8 was heavily criticised. Actually come to think of it, it really was bad 😉.

(Sorry couldn’t help myself)

Windows 8 was ugly, and Millennium Edition was brain dead. Vista was pretty brain dead too. Actually was Vista actually just malignant and self-loathing?