I vote for R49.
There are much more important issues to tackle first.
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I would like more option in the FIND function. For example instead of searching entire drives, I would like to point a folder and have only it and it’s sub-folder searched.
Also there would be an option to have a search defined by the GUI and then switch to the GREP mode.
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The use of many libraries in Haiku such as QT/GTK allows you to create Hybrid programs, which is not easy because there are no cross-platform tools, except for QT Desinger, but I’m not a fan of QT. As far as I know, wxHaiku also works, maybe it still has a few bugs. However, this type of restriction software requires extensive knowledge. Some might say that it is YAB for GUI development, however
it doesn’t support widgets or GTK or QT.
If Haiku’s GUI were changed significantly, I would lose my interest. I absolutely love the way Haiku looks. It has everything that’s great about BeOS, but with a refined and modern appearance that will remain beautiful for decades to come.
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Personnally I love the current Haiku GUI, it’s clear, seem light in ressources usage like 90s GUI. I think this simplicity is a power more as a lag.
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Me too, simple is best.
Another thing - Haiku is one of only a few graphical operating systems that will work on a 1GB ram machine… 
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As I said before, I installed Haiku because I missed BeOS since the day Be Inc. folded. So I’m here for the love I have for the classic interface. Of course, it goes against current design trends, but I don’t care. Classic interfaces become trendy again from time to time. Just look at the flat Windows 3.x. Who would have guessed that after the 3D controls in Win 9x and Mac Os, Windows would become flat again?
Nowadays I use the flat decorator in Haiku. I don’t like any of the themes bundled with Theme Manager, but that’s a matter of personal taste. I just wish Be Inc was still around so we could see the natural evolution of BeOS.
I wouldn’t change the default interface, but in addition to the default theme and the first one in haiku-extras, I’d like to see a rounded “super flat” “Material Design/Material You” (Android style) or “Fluent Design” (Windows 10/11) theme. It would be interesting because I think maybe that’s how BeOS would look today. But the default theme should stay.
And maybe enable alpha transparency, especially in terminal background.
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Aside from the Flat decorator and ControlLook that exists already, there aren’t really too many UI changes that I’d want. These are the following:
- Dark theme shipping by default (not necessarily enabled by default)
- Automatic time-based light/dark theme switching
- Compositing (more of a technical detail to offload UI rendering to the GPU)
- Shadows (makes determining window hierarchy more accessible)
* Wobbly windows (for the funny and showing off)
- Shadows (makes determining window hierarchy more accessible)
- Simplified accent colour
- Wallpaper-based accent colour
Not really a fan of blur, rounded corners, or huge padding that UI design is currently trending towards.
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Dark Theme shipping by default would be nice indeed.
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A function I really miss is double-click window title bar (tab in Haiku) in classic Mac OS to collapse the window but leave the title bar. It was an option in Mac OS X but since Apple do not want us to make our own decisions, it was later removed.
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The problem is… What should happen with stacked or tiled windows in this case?
Problem is that this action is already assigned to minimising the window or the window group.
If the three preceding comments are talking about rolling windows up and down as I think, this is present in several Linux distros. It only affects the selected window, so I don’t understand the question about the rest. As for how to trigger the action, it’s true that dinner clocking is already in use. In the Linux window managers or desktop environments I’ve tried, it’s typically done using the mouse wheel (of course we are talking about a PC mouse. Macs are different, I know.
A stack or tile behaves as a group, ie the whole group collapses.
The action do not have to be assigned to double-click.
Better “old” 90s design that works than lousy 2020 design that confuses users. Why waste resources trying to redesign something that works when you can redirect those resources to more important things?
Flat doesn’t mean better. I open a Windows 10 menu and I don’t know where to find the things I want to use. And the colours are too vibrant. Its distracting. Ever wondered why older OSes (Windows 9x-2003), Mac os (pre Aqua), BeOS all looked grey and “boring”? Grey is neutral, you stare at it the whole day, you won’t be tired compared to looking at XP Luna. The same reason when I was in a call center working 12 hours a day, I used Windows Classic theme instead of Luna. Spinning bouncing 3d effect contributes 0% to your productivity.The purpose of having a computer is to make your work easier,not make you pull your hair out.
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This whole project is a process of bringing back the cool BeOS way back to life. Changing how it looks just for the sake of looking modern, which doesn’t mean better by default, seems unfair.
However, bringing the ability to freely customize the UI by the end user is a legitimate request.
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IMHO, the haiku gui is the best of any os that tried (yes better than macos). I would add some features that do not exist today (in a future), such as, shadows in windows and animations (on open/close/minimize/maximized windows) and a better lounchbox with transparency would not be bad. But no more, I love the simplicity, the minimalist and how well used the spaces are.
Dark Theme and accent color are already there… you just have to put everything in a box to make it easier to use for a newcomer user.
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If anyone knows how to get window transparency to work without a big overhaul that would be great - and I would be able to use it for my HiQDock (would have to be supported in Qt as well, but that already has a window transparency flag for window background if the host OS supports it)
see: How to transform the app_server code to use compositing | Haiku Project
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I love Haiku’s minimal, throwback interface because it recreates the BeOS experience perfectly. In my opinion, changing it would defeat the purpose of the project. While I agree that a dark theme would be a nice addition, I don’t think a complete UI overhaul is necessary. Instead, the development team should focus on fixing bugs and improving Haiku’s features. Making a new UI would take too much time and could potentially make the user experience worse. Overall, I think Haiku is already great as it is, and small improvements like a dark theme would be enough to keep it modern but that’s my personal opinion.
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This is correct.
Being exposed to colorized light will change your eyes perception of color. If the colors displayed on the monitor is to correspond with the end product, the color of the light in the room needs to be known and the monitor calibrated thereafter. This is standard procedure in desktop publishing.
In order to not change the eyes perception of color, the monitor UI needs to have neutral colors. Haiku uses RGB(216,216,216) as panel background color which is neutral to the eyes. Classic Mac OS (“System”) was color neutral but “modern” operating systems are not. Haiku has the edge here in being mostly color neutral. This means that a calibrated monitor running Haiku will produce a more color correct end product than the “modern” operating systems out there.
Mac OS X used to be pretty color neutral but Apple is working overtime turning a pretty perfect product into shit, probably so they can claim new functionality in order to make their users upgrade to the latest version. Those of us who refuse to upgrade will be forced to upgrade by planned obsolescence, or abandon the products. What makes “modern” operating systems “modern” is not because of good practice, it is pure (evil) business. Haiku needs to do everything to avoid following these practices.
My 2 cents is on keeping Haiku as is and let the users that wants “modern” eye candy change the theming. That is the sensible default route.
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