- 6Via www.apple.com
IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE!
January 2008
iDEALS
The video player requires Flash 8 Player or later.
Please download the latest Flash Player.
Get Rid of Leopard's Transparent Menu Bar
Posted 11/12/2007 at 1:50:42pm | by
Roman Loyola
The Menu bar in Leopard is transparent. Why Apple decided to do this, I don't know. I think it looks bad.
That does not look good.
You can convert the Menu bar to a solid white strip with Eternal Storms Software's OpaqueMenuBar, a free utility (donations accepted).
Download OpaqueMenuBar, move it to your Applications folder, and then double-click it. You'll soon see that your Menu bar is no longer transparent. Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to the pull-down menus.
That's better.
If you decide that you want to completely commit yourself to the Leopard experience and you want the transparent Menu bar back, here's how to revert the Menu bar back to its transparent self.
To disable OpaqueManuBar, you need to kill it in Activity Monitor.
1. Launch Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities).
2. In the list of processes, look for OpaqueMenuBar. Click on it.
3. Click on the Quit Process button in the upper left.
The other way to stop OpaqueMenuBar is to launch the Terminal (Applications > Utilities), type killall OpaqueMenuBar and press Return.
COMMENTS:
20
Comments
Print
Email
I actually love it. I guess
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 12:57
I actually love it. I guess it depends what background picture you use; But it integrates very nicely with mine.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 13:57
I haven't used it yet, but I like the way it looks as well. I've wanted this to be an option for a while, so maybe they'll make it an option later, instead of a take it no matter what deal.
Submitted by Daniel (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 14:32
Don't know why, but this app isn't working for me. I open it but there is simply no change in the menu bar.
Submitted by Mr. Bot (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 15:00
The more I hear about Leopard, the less interested I am in it.
Submitted by wiredzen (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 15:53
I realize that the transparency is annoying for some, but others, like myself, happen to like it. I had a theme through Shapeshifter with Tiger that had similar transparency I really liked. I don't mean this is in an impolite manner, but I guess I'm beginning to find it annoying that this opinion is getting expressed on various Apple-related blogs and websites as fact rather than opinion. I've always preferred the transparency; it makes the menu bar less intrusive and I am always for opening up the desktop as much as possible.
Actually, it seems like a lot of opinions on similar blogs/websites concerning the iPhone and Leopard are written as fact rather than opinion. Take 3rd-party apps on the iPhone. It is generally the geeks - and I mean that respectfully (I am half geek) - that want those kind of extras. Most people don't care about such things and most don't even know how to use them. I think some of these sites have lost sight of the fact that technology must first be designed for the everyman before it's designed for the expert. That said, transparency is purely aesthetic and I like it.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 2007-12-03 02:23
wiredzen said, "I've always preferred the transparency; it makes the menu bar less intrusive and I am always for opening up the desktop as much as possible."
It isn't really transparent & it doesn't open up the desktop in any useful way. It is just a composite effect created by grabbing the top slice of the desktop picture, reducing its contrast, & combining that with the menu items. The difference between this & true transparency is that nothing actually on the desktop will show up "behind" the menu.
You can see this for yourself by moving a desktop item's icon up until it partially overlaps the menu bar. Note that the icon is not visible behind the menu bar.
As for opinion vs. fact, it is a fact that reducing contrast adversely affects legibility. For some of us with aging or weak eyesight, this is a significant problem. Since Apple otherwise provides Universal Access options for visual disabilities, it should do the same for the menu bar.
Submitted by RayCon (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 16:38
If you use a solid background, or at least one with a solid color at the top, you'll get something that looks like a solid menu bar. Come to think of it, with this in mind, you could create any color menu bar you'd like... or make it look like a barber pole if you so desired. As for me, I genuinely like the transparent look. I must also agree that a comment such as, "Fix Leopard's most annoying feature: The transparent Menu bar," come across as fact when it is only opinion. It reminds me of my kids saying a certain food is awful simply because they don't like it. Fortunately, there are always 3rd party utilities to fix whatever someone doesn't like, whether it's the dock, the menu bar, Aqua, brushed metal, or whatever.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 2007-11-12 22:46
if opaque menu bar doesn't work, for me it was because of my changing background, use this app called menubar.
http://code.google.com/p/menubar/
Submitted by grj (not verified) on Tue, 2007-11-13 11:26
I don't care for the opaque menu bar either. But, if that is the most annoying feature in the new OS, it is the best OS ever.
Submitted by JR (not verified) on Tue, 2007-11-13 19:12
I actually love it (the translucide Menu Bar)!! I don't understand all the fuss about it. Leopard is fast, smooth and everything else.
Compare to my PC with Vista it's so great. Even sending or receiving a fax is as easy as printing. With Vista basic or premium there's no way I can send a simple fax.
And so many other features. And at $129 it's almost free as compare to what I would have had to pay for Vista Ultimate complete edition.Thanks Apple.
And Welcome to the 21st Century!
Submitted by John Travitzky (not verified) on Wed, 2007-11-14 10:53
As for the transparent menu bar, it kind of grows on me. I am finding very little wrong with Leopard so far, and the added features outweigh the glitches I've encountered. I do have some issues with my video on Safari, as i have many media interfaces installed as plug ins, but, i am working them out.
Submitted by muaddib420 (not verified) on Sat, 2007-11-17 19:43
personally, i like the semi-transparent bar also! i also used shapeshifter to get a transparent menu bar and pulldowns in Tiger, which was a great program. i've always thought apple would just go ahead and buy shapeshifter and implement radical customization in OS X. really, it's kinda stupid that they don't allow us to easily change those kind of things lol
Submitted by Carlos L. (not verified) on Thu, 2007-11-22 08:21
I used this app, but got tired and I personally think that the solid bar looks ugly... I want to go transparent again but it doesn't want to go transparent again. I tried clicking revert, changing the slider in the app to all the numbers, etc. It doesn't want to be transparent again. How do I fix this? or What should I do?
Thanks!
Submitted by sinclair_tm (not verified) on Wed, 2007-12-19 13:28
...it's the fact that we still only have blue and gray for menu highlights. The transparent menu is great, I love it, and hate that my iBook can't do it. But what erks me is that even after five major revisions of OS X, there is still only blue and gray highlight colors for the menus. Come on Apple, even OS 9 gave us the ability to use other colors. I may be strange, but I like to have my menu highlight color, as well as the selection color (which you can change to anything) match my desktop background. Even if Apple gve us the basic colors of the rainbow, that would be great, ie. red, orange, yellow, green, purple, and even brown too in addtion to the blue and gray, I'd be totally happy. Even Microsoft got out of the stuck set of colors with Vista. IMHO, that's the only eyesore on Apple's otherwise beautiful GUI.
Submitted by pkchamj (not verified) on Wed, 2007-12-26 12:40
how do you make the menu bar transparent again
Submitted by Texas Bob (not verified) on Sat, 2007-12-29 14:36
But anyway, I like the transparent toolbar. It looks cool with just about any desktop image.
Submitted by Tanzman (not verified) on Thu, 2008-04-10 02:37
Its really very good Bob.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2008-05-27 14:33
I'm not sure why you need extra software to disable the transparent menu. On my 10.5.2 there is an option under Settings -> Desktop & Screensaver -> Desktop -> Transparent Menubar.
One click to choose transparency or not...
Submitted by ammys on Mon, 2008-10-20 01:19
Seagal plays a CIA covert operative who is forced into helping a team of mercenaries stage a jailbreak for a wealthy client when his best friend’s wife and son are kidnapped by the same mercenaries. All the while the CIA are in pursuit in an attempt to silence Seagal. download movies
Re: Converting movie files
Submitted by fujiyato on Fri, 2008-10-31 00:37
##$$here yo go! the best ipod gadget//..
ipod nano video converter supports convert movie to ipod nano so that you can watch your favriout movies on ipod nano at any time.
© 2008 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.