Quicklinks: · Power Macs · 'Books · Early Macs · Week's Best Deals · Best Buys · OS Downloads

Change Your Mac's Interface

- 2001.02.28

When you took it out of the box, your Mac looked better than anything Windows. Whether you had System 7.5, Mac OS 8, or Mac OS 9, it simply looked better. The truth is, the default Platinum appearance is nice but a little tasteless. How can Apple Computer, the company that markets the stylish iMac, G4 Cube, and Power Mac G4, stick with an operating system appearance that's so boring? I don't know why, but I can help you change that.

Dump Platinum

This is the most crucial step. If you want to do this, you have to get Kaleidoscope, developed by Greg Landweber and Arlo Rose. It is US$20 shareware and worth every penny. Kaleidoscope takes over your Mac's interface by detecting what the Appearance Manager draws, patching it, and redrawing all the interface elements from a plug-in file called a scheme. As a result, it gives the Macintosh a serious facelift.

The great deal is that your choice of designs is almost limitless. The official Kaleidoscope site has a scheme archive for you to dig among thousands of them to find the one you want. If that is not good enough, since you have the appropriate ability to create, you can create your own schemes and show the world that you're the king of the jungle. The Kaleidoscope site has links to resources for scheme creation, and it also runs a mailing list with the intent of bringing follow designers together to find mutual help.

Kaleidoscope supports System 7 through Mac OS 9.1. The creators are working hard on converting the software to work with Mac OS X for everybody to enjoy great looks under the new system.

Change your icons

After a general user interface overhaul, you want some icons to match! Many Kaleidoscope schemes have their own icons, but what if you want something for specific folders, or you want to create custom icons? An unbeatable source to iconize your Mac is Iconfactory. The widely known icon site features incredibly good icon artists who really know their stuff. The selection is wide, and the quality is high. Head to that site, it is a great resource.

You want to make your own icons? This is possible. It requires a bit of work, but it is doable. The Iconfactory offers the IconBuilder Photoshop plug in and also a tutorial on how to make icons. With time and practice, your own creations may force a few people to blush.

Another great way to make icons match your interface, or simply to kick the default Mac OS icons out, is to get Custom Folder from Dark Eagle Software. It allows you to patch your system icons so that your generic folders and default Mac OS icons will be replaced by a different set than the blue folders that ship with Mac OS 8 through 9.1. Many plug-in files are available from the Dark Eagle site, and Custom Folder will patch both Kaleidoscope and the Mac OS.

Get new desktop pictures

There are probably millions of sites that offer desktop pictures and "wallpaper." One of the best is Mike Bonnell's site. The galleries of pictures are huge, and there are enough free pictures for someone to pick elegant background images without having to pay to become a member of the site.

Here is another interesting source of desktop pictures: Official movie sites! Many of them offer free downloads, not just QuickTime trailers. The official site for Tomb Raider is an example.

There are many ways to change a Mac's interface, but the above options are perhaps the best ones of all. They can, in very little time, change your Mac from Platinum to whatever you want it to be.

Related interface sites:

• ResExcellence (For advanced users)
• Blue Sky Heart freebies

Links for the Day

• Mac of the Day: Mac mini Core Solo, Feb. 2006 - The only Mac to use a Core Solo CPU, this model ran at 1.5 GHz, has integrated graphics, and includes a Combo drive
• Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
  
• Support Low End Mac

Recent Content

• Pismo WiFi Networking Issue Finally Solved?, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.24. It turns out the problems wasn't the Pismo, the Buffalo WiFi card, or Mac OS X 10.4. It was the Wireless G router - Linksys to the rescue!
• Mini VGA to S-video Adapter a No Go for eMacs, Dan Bashur, Apple, Tech, and Gaming, 11.24. You might think that Apple's Mini VGA S-video adapter is a cheap way to connect your eMac or G4 iMac to your TV. You would be wrong.
• Google Calendar with iPhone or iTouch Is Great for Scheduling, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 11.24. Web-based Google Calendar allows access and updates from any computing platform, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and iPhone OS.
• Why Spaces is My Favorite Leopard (and Snow Leopard) Feature, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.23. Spaces, a feature introduced with OS X 10.5, is like having several monitors on your Mac without the cost and space of using multiple displays.
• i5 iMac Benchmarked, Mac mini 'Shouldn't Be Overlooked', Twitter Client for Classic Mac OS, and More, Mac News Review, 11.20. Also why Apple leaves the low end to others, 10.6.2 fixes video playback problem in 27" iMac, 3D Leopard and Snow Leopard performance, and more.
• Apple's Tablet an End Run Beyond Netbooks, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. Whatever Apple has planned will leverage existing technologies while going beyond what its competitors can offer.
• Apple #4 in Reliability, Apple Tablet a Gadget for All?, HP's i7 Notebook Outdoes Mac Rivals, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.20. Also Flash 10.1 improves video on Hackintosh netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks impress, Windows XP finally on the way out, and more.
• NASA Chemical Sensor for iPhone, Smartphone Death Match, iPhone Earrings, and More, Ian R Campbell, 11.20. Also mobile phone dangers, new apps, GPS solution for iPod touch, new iPod and iPhone cases, and more.
• More links in our archive.

Recent Deals

• Best G4 iMac Deals, 11.24. Used 15" 700 MHz CD-RW, $150; 800 MHz Combo, $229; 1 GHz, $289; 17" 1.25 GHz, $200; 20" 1.25 GHz, $509.
• Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.24. Used from $899; refurb from $1,099; new 1.6 GHz/120 HD, $1,150 after rebate; 1.8/64 SSD, $1,150 a/r; 1.86/128 SSD, $1,350 a/r; 2.13/128 SSD, $1,694 a/r.
• Best PowerBook G3 Deals, 11.24. Used 233 MHz WallStreet, $75; 266 MHz, $160; 400 MHz Lombard, $199; 400 MHz Pismo, $289; 500 MHz, $350.
• Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.23. Used 867 MHz SuperDrive, $348; 1 GHz Combo, $379; SD, $519; 1.33 GHz, $529; 1.5 GHz Combo, $549; SuperDrive, $609.
• Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.23. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 4-core. $1,919; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.93 8-core, $4,999; new 2.26 8-core, $2,290.
• Best Time Capsule and AirPort Deals, 11.23. Used 802.11g AirPort Extreme, $49; 500 GB Time Capsule, $150; new, $190; 1 TB dual-band, $280; 2 TB, $469; 802.11n AirPort Extreme, $170.
• Best eMac Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz Combo, $100; SuperDrive, $269; 1.25 GHz Combo, $119; SD, $319; 1.42 GHz Combo, $289; SD, $498.
• Best Mac OS X 10.6 and Mac Box Set Deals, 11.18. "Snow Leopard", single user, $25; 5 users, $45; Mac Box Set, single user, $139; 5 users, $180; Server, $414. Shipping included.
• Best Xserve Deals, 11.18. Used 1 GHz dual G4, $649; 2.3 dual G5, $795; 3.0 4-core Xeon, $1,899; refurb 2.26 4-core, $2,499; new, $2,888; refurb 8-core, $2,999; new, $3,449; more.
• More deals in our archive.

Go to the iBasics index.

Support LEM

Affiliates

The Apple Store
.mac
iTunes Store
Club Mac
MacMall
iResQ
ExperCom
eBay
Amazon.com
PayPal
PCMall
PC Zone
Crucial Memory

Our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For detailed price quotes and advertising information, please contactat BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

All iBasics articles ©2001-2005 by Michel Munger. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.