Aqua (Mac OS X)
Aqua is a trade name for the GUI appearance of Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system.
Aqua, as its name suggests, is based around the theme of water, with droplet-like buttons and other elements, and liberal use of transparency and reflection effects. Much of Aqua's original design was intended to complement the look of the original plastics of the iMac and Power Macintosh G3/G4 desktop models, but as Apple have moved to the use of brushed metal in their industrial design, Aqua itself has changed to incorporate an additional brushed metal look. This (somewhat inconsistent) mix of interface styles has been controversial with some users.
Two primary features of Aqua are the gel-like buttons (colored red, yellow, and green) that control the windows, and the Dock which facilitates navigation between applications.
There are two main styles of windows that Aqua includes: standard pinstriped and brushed metal. (See thumbnail illustrations.) The standard pinstriped windows contain glass-like buttons that appear to sit on top of the window. The brushed metal variety has a gray gradient, and the buttons are sunken into the window. Also, instead of glassy buttons, brushed metal windows have more plastic-like buttons. Mac OS X also allows users to choose a Graphite version instead of an Aqua version of the interface. (In Graphite, window controls appear silverish-grey instead of red, yellow and green.)
Aqua is powered by the Quartz Compositor, which manages the underlying graphics management.
See also
External links
- Apple - Mac OS X - Features - Aqua (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/aqua/)
- Apple Mac OS X Aqua Human Interface Guidelines (http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/OSXHIGuidelines/index.html)
- nrkn.com -- Making Mac OS X Aqua-style Buttons (http://www.nrkn.com/aqua/)
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