GUI treatments are like fonts

Paul Thurrott's Internet Nexus reports:

Schizo Interface

ditto:

I really dig the new cleaner iTunes 5 look - probably mostly because I can't stand the brushed metal interface. But why does Apple keep seemingly arbitrarily changing the interface for specific apps? Check out the following screen grab: There are six different interfaces! SIX! From upper left to lower right, there's: 1) Safari with the brushed metal look, 2) iTunes with the smooth metal look, 3) Mail with the updated Aqua and 3D buttons, 4) VoodooPad with the updated Aqua and traditional buttons, 5) SubEthaEdit with the traditional Aqua look, and 6) GarageBand with it's own damn thing going on.

Why Apple? Why? Why do you torture us so? Just give us the ability to pick our interface. Oh, and drawers still suck.

I'm glad that Mac users are finally waking up to the fact that Apple is completely toying with their user interface guidelines. OS X is nice and all, but every day, it seems, it just veers further and further away from the aesthetic ideals of the past. Sigh.

Related: Brushed off at Corante
Related: The Many Faces of Mac OS X at kohle

Y'all need to get over this. So-called GUI aficionados cried when Steve killed the Appearance manager, but then cry more whenever Apple creates new GUI treatments of their own.

GUI treatments are like fonts... as long as the basic elements are recognizable, then we're going to see more and more stylistic variations. Fonts serve no purpose other than to distinguish one set of characters from another. Same is true for all the GUI treatments that Apple is creating...

And yes, drawers still suck because they're mostly used incorrectly. See my previous post " Mac OS X UI Thoughts: Source Lists don't belong in Drawers "