by , 1:00 PM EDT, April 10th, 2001
The most controversial element of OS X has always been the Aqua interface. Some thought it too bright, too "lickable," too something that made it unattractive. Apple had originally said that themes or interface customizations would be nearly impossible, as Apple wanted Aqua to represent OS X. Clever users, however, will always find a way around such apparent limitations, and as proof of that ResExcellence has posted a full-blown OS X theme.
The new theme, called Pastel Blue for OS X, was created by Michael Rabe and serves, if nothing else, as an example of what can be done to the OS X interface. According to ResExcellence:
ResExcellence has posted the first entirely new theme for MacOS X. This is the first theme that will entirely replace all the Aqua elements in MacOS X. Theme artist Michael Rabe worked for months decoding the format of the Extras.rsrc file, and readers can now download the results.
You can find the new theme at the ResExcellence Web site.
While many Mac Observer staff members happen to LOVE the Aqua interface, giving users the option of customizing their computing environment to fit their whim is probably not an entirely bad thing.