| |
| |
|
Web Design Information |
|
|
|
Differences between XP Icons and MAC Icons
The icons in an application are the soul of the application; they give it the modern and dynamic look the application has. Also, if the icons are intuitive - the end user will easily remember the task behind the icon - easy to memorize then the end users will definitely choose the respective application against one with clogged and strange icons. Icon designers are trying their best to make their creation as intuitive as possible so to make it easier for the end users to work with the applications. Furthermore, a too colorful or dynamic look given by the icons of an application is not a good thing especially for the commercial applications. That is because these types of applications are used in the business sector where we don't need too many colors; the need is for simplicity and efficiency. The differences between applications are, in part, given by their icons; different applications have different styles of icons. To the inexperienced eye, it might seem that some of them are alike but in fact they are definitely dissimilar when it comes to style, sizes, colors and file types. If we are to compare XP stock icons with MAC stock icons we can easily see they are different: different style, size, color, file type. But most of all their differences come from the way the end users perceive the icons: to some of us XP icons look better and are more appropriately used then the MAC icons, but for other the situation might be opposite. When it comes to XP icons, many people say that XP's interface is new and more beautiful then the previous version of Windows. If we look at the new face of XP we will surely see the differences between this version and the previous version of Windows. Some people say, that at a closer look at the icons, we can observe that not all of them are new and beautiful. A few of the icons are used from the previous version without being improved at all. Some of them don't even look like the new ones and they are not even lined up with the new icons. Other people complain that some of the icons were not even changed compared with the previous version, and moreover they were borrowed from other tasks. As an example we can say that some of the icons in the administrator components of XP look alike few of the icons in the admin section. Other users complain about few font icons that were "left behind", meaning when comparing the icons in the new, larger Tile view with the traditional 32 x 32 pixels icon we can see that some of them are just scaled up from the smaller icon. Apart from the end users that criticize the new look of XP there are also users that enjoy the new face of the application. They think the interface is more appealing then the one from the old version, it is easier to change it, more easily to understand the tasks behind the icons, and basically the icons are more attractive. So, we can say that it all depends on the taste of the end users: some of them like and others don't like the new style of XP icons. Compared with XP stock icons, MAC icons have more good reviews. It can be noticed that not too many people have something to complain about the MAC icons. Generally, people are happy and delighted about the style and colors of the MAC icons. They don't say like for the XP icons that are to colorful and bright, the end users believe that MAC icons are serious and well integrated into the application. But comparing the number of XP users with the number of MAC users, the proportion is disadvantageous for the MAC users and this is maybe why the number of complaints about the look and the integration of the icons is so small almost nonexistent. The XP icons and MAC icons have different file type extensions and that is why they cannot be exchanged between applications unless you convert them. There are various applications that can convert MAC icons to be used in XP style applications and the other way around. This is of course an advantage because if you use both operating systems it will be quite difficult to adapt to both of them, so it is best to adapt the applications by using the icons from one of them (which ever you like best) for the other. Because the XP and MAC icons are different, icon designer must know from the start for what type of application are you going to use the icons. It is best to know from the beginning if the icons are for XP or MAC applications because their style, format, file type are quite different and converting them after finalization is not that easy. Above this, after conversion the icons will not have the same good quality as before. Regarding the file type extension, XP icons use the .ico extension and the MAC icons use the .icns extension. Compared with XP icons, that always have the extension besides the name of the file, MAC icons do not always display extension .icns. Another difference between XP and MAC icons is that MAC icons are not like traditional icons, their custom image is not displayed on the file like an image but it is stored inside the file as data. Unlike the MAC icons, XP icons display the image they represent, being easier to identify them. Another difference between those to types of icons is that for XP icons the number of sizes most often used is of four: 8 x 8 pixels, 16 x 16 pixels, 32 x 32 pixels and 64 x 64 pixels, while for the MAC icons the common sizes are 32 x 32 pixels, 48 x 48 pixels and sometimes 128 x 128 pixels. If you are looking for professional icons please go to http: http://www.iconshock.com - icon design.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Leave Those Links Blue! Don't mess with those links! When you're designing your site, you should leave your text links in their natural state--blue and underlined. We all want to be creative and not do the bland, expected, normal thing. How To Improve The Professional Look And Feel Of Your Website Projecting a professional image is paramount to your website's success. It can make or break your online business. Congratulations! You've Gotten Visitors To Your Site! Now, Can They Find What Theyre Looking For? As search engine marketers, we spend an enormous amount of time trying to get targeted traffic to our site. But, once those visitors get to our site, can they find what they're looking for? If not, guess what? We've lost a customer. Website Design Considerations Q: Should I build and maintain my business Web site myself or pay someone else to do the work for me? -- Wesley L.A: When you say, pay someone else to do the work for you, Wesley, I am going to assume that you are talking about hiring a professional Web site designer to do the work and not your next-door neighbor's teenage son. Offshore Web Design and Development - Use Great Opportunities Sooner or later every small or medium business owner realizes that he needs a web site for his business. And almost everybody wants to have great web site for affordable price because usually web site design budget is quite limited. How to Force Your Visitors to Order Immediately! This may comes as a surprise to you but, if you're using popups on your website (which you should), then chances are you're using them all wrong. Almost everybody is. Sales Versus Customer Oriented Websites Should Generating Revenue From A Website Be The Prime Motivator? A pure sales site has only one purpose.. 10 seconds is all it takes? (How to grab the attention of your audience with your web site) FACT: 30 to 60% of visitors tend to drop off and click to another site when they are forced to click their mouse more often than necessary.FACT: People who use the internet are usually those who are always on-the-go and don't want to spend time figuring out how to navigate any web site. How to Make Effective Use of Web Fonts Writing for your web site is not the same as offline writing. The fonts used for print media are different than web fonts. Building Your First Web Site? Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some kind of basic idea to work with. I suggest first getting some paper and a pencil. 3 Tips You Can Use Right Now to Improve Your Web Sites Usability Studies done by Jakob Nielson the man touted as the, "King of usability" by Internet Magazine showed that people do not read on the web like they would normally read offline.So what does this mean to you and why should you care?Visitors to your web sites are in a rush, they want the information you promised and they want it NOW. 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Readers Buying Decision 10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying DecisionThe appearance of your web site text can actually increase or decrease your sales. The size, font, style and color of your text can easily affect your reader's buying decision. So Much About META Tags! I've written about META tags in the past, and I thought I'd help you expand your search engine optimization efforts and increase your web hits.Rule #1: META tags always go in between the HEAD tags on your website. 4 Things That Make A Web Site Great First you need original content. Content is the heart beat of any exceptional Web site. What is ASP.NET ASP.NET is a new programming framework from Microsoft for developing next generation web Applications. Your Website Visitors - Will They Stay? I'm sure you've all heard the saying 'Build it and they will come'. Although that may have been true a few years ago, now we must work, and work hard, to get visitors to our websites. Free Website Templates - Top 10 Things You Need to Know When building your website you might not have a large budget to devote to website design or a designer, so the best option for you might simply be to use free website templates. However, consider the following benefits as well as drawbacks before you decide to take this route of website design. Quality of Your Text Layout and Design Why is the quality of your text layout and design important on your web site? For the simple reason that people tends to stay longer on a web site that radiates quality and simplicity.Why?Because it gives you a more professional impression and the text is easy to read. Getting Along With Your Web Designer You're all ready to get started creating your web presence and you've found a skilled web designer to build your website for you. Do you know what he needs from you to do an efficient job? Good web design requires cooperation between the architect and the user to create a product that will serve its intended function, and you don't have to be an internet expert to do your part. What You Should Ask a Web Designer Before You Hire Him You've thought about it and you're ready to go. You're ready to give your business an online presence.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |