Tetsuo Time

As some of you may know Leopard has thrown a curve ball to Mac theming. Shapeshifter the premiere theming application in Tiger and below hasn't materialized for Leopard yet. So far we are stuck with manually replacing system and application resource files. For basic stuff this works but for more advanced stuff like dark themes it doesn't really work. It's better than nothing while we wait for the perfect theme app to appear right? There's one thing I take a major exception to however. This comment from macthemes:

"There's the newly-appearing apps for theming, but they'll still require you to confirm changes to sysfiles because that's how a proper secure OS works."

So far a few theme changing applications from hobbyists are coming out which pretty much just automate the replacing of resource files on the hard drive. This may work but one is deluding themselves if they think it's either proper or secure. A proper secure OS should not require for you to replace theme resources in system files. I'm sorry to say this to fellow Mac users but this is where Linux and even windows has it right at least for the time being.

I think a problem here is that previously on Tiger and below the proper way for theming the OS; Shapeshifter was encumbered by it not being free. I did pay for my copy and with all the hard work they did I believed they deserved a reward. Even more so on Leopard when a proper theming tool comes out. However some people always go for the free option even if it's less than ideal because to them free is always better. Plus some people got in their heads that APE was bad even though it didn't require for you to physically change files on the hard drive and you could disable it for one or all applications. Unsanity wrote it with proper functions and security in mind.. despite what some may say.

Anyway.. the point here is that the state of theming in Leopard right now isn't either proper or secure. It's a messy dirty, kludgy hack at best. Sure it's fun if you don't mind putting in the time and effort for the hacking. I do it.. because there's no other choice. But come on! Komisar at macthemes said he and others are working on a theming application that will do what Shapeshifter and Themepark did and more. I hope that means it's the proper theming application that we all should be waiting for.

{deviantart} {imageshack} {Update}

I've rolled up my sleeves lately and was messing around with themepark combining two themes into one iTunes 7 based theme. The update shows how I made Adium's foreground tab blend in instead of being that clashing white tab I had in the previous shot.

List of things in shot:
Theme: 7+Ten Five Mod by Me
Replacement Vitrue menubar icon by me
Liger Dock with Scurve from szilveszter.ca
Agua Icons
Modern Bubbling
Coversutra with sleeves mod
Liger desktop background
Other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.

{deviantart} {imageshack} {Update}

I've rolled up my sleeves lately and was messing around with themepark combining two themes into one iTunes 7 based theme. The update shows how I made Adium's foreground tab blend in instead of being that clashing white tab I had in the previous shot.

List of things in shot:
Theme: 7+Ten Five Mod by Me
Replacement Vitrue menubar icon by me
Liger Dock with Scurve from szilveszter.ca
Agua Icons
Modern Bubbling
Coversutra with sleeves mod
Liger desktop background
Other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.

I updated the screenshot in my last post yet again to show progress I have made on my Latium iTunes skin. Almost all traces of aqua are removed (which is the goal when making a theme). I edited the last button on the bottom but I still think I'm going to change the glyphs for them later. Since that post might have been buried in everyone's friends page here is a link to the post.

My internet connection is kind of pissing me off tonight. My messenger keeps on disconnecting and web sites are either taking forever to load or they are not loading at all.

It just seemed like a lot of tiny little distractions where happening this past couple of hours to try to get on my nerves or something. I mean most of the time I don't do things but when I do all these tiny things start happening like someone telling me for some reason they can't see my buddy icon. I'm like I'm sorry you can't see my buddy icon I'll have to look into that later on and they kept on telling me about how for some reason they can't see my buddy icon. =p I only need to hear things ONE time.

Stuff like that makes me feel kind of antisocial.

Besides that sometimes people on the net annoy me in general (not any of my friends in particular but people). For example a lot of times other anime fans seem to be annoying to me in general like they are some kind of insufferable lot who like to complain (and here I am complaining lmao) and in general have unpleasent personalities and that's why I don't go to a lot of anime chats. Maybe I have just met the wrong people. I also don't like those type who feel like they can be as rude as possible to other people because they don't have to see them face to face. People who think that messing someone's web site up or other such nonesense makes them superior to other people. People who don't respect the people who make the things they use like software because they take for granted the things that they have to do to make it or they are just plain assholes. Or people who are always being difficult, simply for the sake of being difficult.

I guess that can apply to a lot of people though because there are quite a few themers out there who are like that too. I can't stand them I'd rather theme on my own and share with my good friends than have to deal with those people. Like you want to have fun and release the themes you make and all they can do is bash the software you use.

Anyway... I have two cordless phones that I use to talk to Adia everyday. When the charge on one runs out I switch to the other and that coupled with a hands free set makes it convenient for me to talk to her for as long as we talk. But today the other phones base wasn't all the way plugged in so so when it was time for me to switch phones the caller id screen on the other phone was completely blank and I had to plug it in and get it started charging and our conversation got cut short which isn't too cool to me.

I feel like it's 1am already and it's only 9:36ish. =p