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I will not follow a strict timeline, but i will try to keep the reader aware of one.
So be aware that some stories may jump to the present and back again.
Also, each part is not necessarily on a timeline either, so it may feel a bit awkward at times, but i will always keep the reader engaged to the point that they understand.
I am doing this for a few reasons, but mostly so people will understand the truth about our community and where we come from.
I am sorry, you can say what you want, but our purpose was NOT to make pretty stuff for people to leech. We are a serious community based on the ideal that Mac OS is a superior OS and that the look and feel of Mac OS X is the basis for all our endeavors.
Our community has grown over the years, so i believe the facts are important.
Hopefully, if the reader is so inclined, they will find a better understanding about why we began our little crusade and why we soldier on, no matter what changes occur.
The stories are also historically correct. I am not going to opinionate thru them. I will state facts and dates and the stories they contain. nothing more.
Enjoy
Resources
Bar none, above all other links is this one. Started in 1996 this is:
The page that started it ALL
WinMac Original
WinMac - New
+++M's Factory+++
Copland - Original
Virtualplastic
Skinz.org - First popular skin site
PC Desktops
Emaculation
MacVision
vmac
BasiliskII
emumac
Mac For PC
MAC95 theme
WindowBlinds - Original
NTOSX by vMac
WinAquaX
Microgarden
Emuunlim
Verona Desktop Enhancer - Precursor to DesktopX
Ardi - Executor
Emulators, INC
Microcode-solutions - Creators of Fusion
OS Emu's
BasiliskII - Help and History
Early skinners and developers included (and a huge thanks to ALL these people):
DeadZombie, ZzPcPzZ, Ritchie Chow, Xer0, CyCoPaTh, James Watters, Christian Resources, Disciple, jef, pokerface, Doug Hoxworth, knifeface, Bob J. Barreveld, dazzla, GameBoyzGB, Smoke, Spidercrab, Duckie, Gabriel Geoffrey, ~~NeYo~~, dpblue, john folden, DigitalFX, xenon, Sabi-Amiga4Ever, Raistlin-Elijah, Jay-z2k, Masatoshi Ueji, Jason E. Dustin, Jeff Bargmann, Alberto Riccio (more added as i find them)
Come back often...more links added as i find them
this is ONLY the beginning
Feel free to PM me with anything or anyone I forgot
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
History of Aqua Part 1 -
On May 11, 1998, Apple Computers unvieled its strategy for Mac OS X
Years Later, on January 5th, 2000, they finally released Mac OS X to mass praise.
During the years that Mac OS X was in development, many in the fledgling skinning community began to find a niche by creating their own GUI's. WindowBlinds began releasing beta's around mid 1998, which allowed PC users the ability to change their GUI's to look like other OSes. It came with Mac OS 8-9 and BeOS inspired skins.
Let's say John works for a major multimedia corporation. He uses a PowerMAC 8100 at work, but he has an IBM PS2 at home. John likes his Mac and prefers it's GUI because of the ease of use. Windows had a clumsy awkwardness that frustrated him.
The door was open!
This inevitably led to an onslaught of those who were stuck on PC's but preferred other OSes.
In early 1999, Apple was continuing development of Mac OS X and screenshots began making thier way to the internet.
Mac OS X DP2 was alot like OS 9, so no buz was created in the skinning community. In fact, copies of an Intel based DP2 and 3 made the rounds on file transfer apps, so the look was all too familiar. People were able to run the OS, but it had no options. No iTunes, no Dock, and a NextStep based shell.
But then came...Mac OS X DP3
Skinners and programmers EVERYWHERE clammered for a glimpse. What WAS this? Are those gel buttons? It's so....pretty.
Immediately, Skins popped up everywhere which emulated this new GUI. Window Blinds gave us the ability to skin the window elements. Tools like VDE(Verona Desktop Enhancer) gave the ability to create a working dock. And with Ritchie Chow's WinMac, we had a finder bar. We even had Sysmeter for our About This Mac app.
In the summer of 1999, Jeff Bargmann created MacVision. MacVision not only skinned the windows, but it added the functional Mac Finder bar on the top of the screen. It didnt take long for Stardock to notice his work, and they quickly offered him a job. From MacVision's ashes came ObjectBar.
And about the same time, Stardock aquired VDE, which they chose to use in the creation of DesktopX.
Around the time all of this is happening, Jef begins work on the AquaApps. His vision was a suite of apps which all called on a single set of ocx's and dll's that would replace the Windows shell and give a more realistic feel like the REAL Mac OS X.
So now with the AquaApp's and Stardock's Suite, everyone thought we were done...but alas, Apple had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Just prior to releasing Mac OS X, Apple began showing Mac OS X at MacWorld Expo's across the country. They previewed iTunes, Finder, Sherlock 2, and more.
The buz was active again.
AquaSoft was just a skinning site at the time with only a downloads page for the apps. We were an offshoot of the emulation community from Emaculation.com and the Emuunlim.com group of sites.
it's the year 2000...Aqua has taken hold of the skinning community, but Apple and their followers DONT like what they see.
---------------- begin part 2 ------------------
In the last topic, we discussed the fledgling Aqua skinning community and the buz created by Apple's Mac OS X.
In this topic, we will discuss a few of he ramifications that followed.
It is safe to say that there have always been a plethora of Aqua inspired websites, but that wasnt always the case.
Early on, to quell the secrets of Mac OS X, Apple had Arent Fox (their law firm) send Cease And Desist letters to any site which offered screenshots or files relating to the yet released Mac OS X. This was both a corporate policy to avoid copycats(Microsoft) and to ensure the copyrights would not be infringed. For example, Apple went as far as to patent every known aspect of the dock down to the icons. They even hold the patent on 'Piles', which they aquired in 1998, but never used in the OS.
Each week, new sites popped up and died within days.
Whether they were Mac sites (with Kaliedoscope Schemes) or Windows sites, Apple kept a tight lid on things.
Somehow, tho, they ignored the emulation communities.
Emaculation.com was once a part of the emuunlim.com network of sites. In the beginning, it focused on such apps as vMac, SheepShaver, Fusion, and BasiliskII--4 very infamous Macintosh Emulators. (With these apps, a valid Mac Rom, and a disk image, you could run Mac OS on a PC. However, it only allowed you to run up to System 8.1 and didnt emulate the PowerPC architecture. There was(AND IS) no way to actually run Mac OS X on a PC running Windows.) As time went on, tho, skinners and developers began to gather on the Emaculation forums. News on the site began reporting about new skins and apps, as well as the usual emulation related apps.
In the shadow of Emaculation and a few similar sites, development continued, unfaultered, with Jef's AquaApp's and a good many skins.
A few sites, like SpyMac.com and MacWorld, began talking about our exploits and attempts to create a more Mac-like experience for Windows users. Flames began to be a common thing. Sites would send scouts out to our sites to report on our progress. Then, they would let out with their still famous, if not bland, warcry:
"GET A MAC, LOSERS!"
Ironically, what these Mac-O-Philes failed to realize was that it was their very communities which had spawned us. Many of us were actual Mac users AND OWNERS who just wanted a more realistic experience when using Windows. It was our very disdain of the clumsy and ugly Windows interface which set us off on our journey. However, the Mac-O-Philes let that go in one ear and out the other, continually bashing us for being traitors.
Eventually, our sites began to bare the brunt of flames and numerous dos-attacks. Our servers began failing. Whole catalogs of material were being lost. The Webhosts of these sites, not ones for patience, dropped many of these siters saying that "their existance was detrimental to (our) servers". Hosting became a HUGE issue. Noone wanted a vulnerable site on their servers.
So, in the interim, the Aqua "Hotline Server" was created.
With complete access to the full catalog of apps and tweaks and files, and less of an ability for dos attacks, the community had a temporary safe-haven from the issues.
The Hotline Server also offered something we never had before...a chatroom. As each person logged in to view the files, they started chatting. For the first time, free of the constraints of email and PM's, people could openly discuss all things Aqua with fellow developers and users. Many freindships and bonds were created during this time.
In May of 2001, after the popularity of the Server and it's ability to bond the masses around a singular vision, AquaSoft.org came back online, better than ever. Complete with a forum for discussing all things aqua.
Apple had seemingly calmed on their rampage to squash all sites Aqua related, we had a new community built on a sound vision with great developers, and things seemed like they would finally calm down.
But...
In early 2003, Jef recieved a letter from Apple Legal;
the first of the Cease And Desist letters from Arent Fox.
The AquaApp suite was no more.
How would we continue? What was next?
---------------- begin part 3 --------------------
In the continuing saga that is the History Of Aqua, this featurette will deal with the past 2 parts as well as a few additional points.
Progress of the overall Aqua look has always moved at a steady pace. As each new OS style was introduced, artists and developers quickly introduced them into their designs. First was Mac OS 10, then 10.1, then 10.2, and now 10.3.
But before Aqua, there was Copland, or Aaron--the Mac OS 8/9 style.
In fact, no history of Aqua would be complete without a high honorable mention to the great Ritchie Chow.
His program WinMac was first released in 1996.
WinMac emulated the Mac OS 8 Finder bar, perfectly. He even included the MAC95 theme in the setup so that icons and wallpapers could be implemented to further the look. WinMac led to a whole new breed.
Soon after WinMac's release, and during the boomtime for new Mac OS emulators, Emulation.DE came online with a virtual smorgasbord of links and info. The page has stood, unchanged (but for a few additions), for 8 years now. Link after link led to new ways of emulating a Mac or the Mac appearance on a PC.
In 1998, Jeff Bargmann began work on MacVision. MacVision not only offered a Finder Bar, but fully skinned windows AND scroll bars. In fact, embedded within MacVision was Mac OS 8 and 9 themes, and an Appearance Manager to change the color scheme and wallpaper. Jeff's work was almost bug free. It was complete and, BEST of all, free.
About the same time Jeff was beginning his work, WindowBlinds 0.5 beta was released. That was June of 1998. Myself, and many other future skinners, began work on our first themes. Most of those early skins were based on Mac OS 7 and 8. A few skiners pushed the envelope and created all new skins, completely changing the GUI experience with bold colors and high quality graphics. Before WindowBlinds, we all lived in the dull grey of Windows 95/98/NT4.
Further helping the cause of customization,
Desktop Architect by Ken Foster was released. With this application, we could change every aspect of our GUI with one carefully packaged theme. Icons, screen savers, wallpaper, colors, folnts, and more. The only weakness was that it didnt skin the GUI. So, with the combination of WindowBlinds skins and Desktop Architect's themes, we were able to create better, all over, schemes.
On August 24th, 1998,
Microsoft released Windows98. Windows98 came with exciting new (at the time) options for GUI enhancement. WindowBlinds followed suit with an update that further skinned Windows. FINALLY, we had Scroll Bars--a big deal at the time. Other options included the skinning of the taskbar, GDI windows, and more.
In 1999, Microangelo offered up their icon editor. Easy to use, it became a staple for skinners. It could create 256color icons up to 48x48 pixels. Again, this was a big deal then.
Another breakthrough came when JASC released the first of many versions of Paint Shop Pro. PSP was simple, lightweight, and wasnt as heavy on the system as Photoshop. It loaded fast and gave the user all the features they needed. Later releases implemented the importing of Photoshop Plugins.
With all these great tools, and the new millenium approaching, it seemed we had all we needed. Aqua skins began appearing in some rather early, if not extremely limited, forms. Icon replacements and newer, more vibrant wallpapers became a staple part of GUI enhancement.
Desktops from these days prove how far we had come, but how much farther we had to go. We didnt have AntiAliased fonts, transparent pngs, or 128x128 icons. In fact, the specs in
this screenshot were as follows:
Windows 98
Desktop Architect
WindowBlinds 1.0
VDE with bitmap icons
Sysmeter
EuroCalc
MyPad
48x48 256color icons
WinMac
Here are a few more screenshots from that era...
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 2
Screenshot 3
Not flattering to the eye now, it was a major achivement...for the beginning of 2000.
--------------- begin part 4 ------------------
2000
A year we hoped would bring progress. And it did...
In February of 2000, Microsoft released its partially 32bit operating system; Windows 2000. With this new OS, we could FINALLY use transparency (something impossible in the 16bit architecture of Windows 95/98/NT). Icons could have richer hues, desktop objects, including the first ever docks made with VDE, could be created and better, more stable apps could be programmed.
Another vast improvement, which started vaguely in the earlier Windows days, was modding system files. Virtual Plastic was one of the first sites to focus on this fledgling artform. We figured that by taking the system files (namely shell32.dll) we could make our GUI's fuller and with more options. All the icons could be replaced, as well as bitmaps and dialogs. Windows 2000 came with SFC(system file checker), which made it difficult to replace files without the OS trying to replace it. We soon overcame that dilemna thanks to the help of sites like Annoyances.org. Without this hinderance, we could replace our system files and further the experience.
But something else was on the horizon...something traveling thru the file-share programs. Something called Whistler.
Whistler was the beta of Microsofts next OS, Windows XP. With its 'Watercolor' style theme, it soon became a favorite of modders and skinners alike. Unlike Windows 2000, Whistler was a completely 32bit OS. Gone were the base of its 16bit predecessors. And a new option, which we almost had no idea of its promise, also made its debute--a complete ability to implement transparency.
In Windows 2000, transparency was in its infancy. We could make VDE and DesktopX docks with transparent PNG's. Seen here are 2 of those docks. The first dock, with its square icons, used bitmaps. The second used tranparent pngs. But with Whistler, we had it in the entire OS. Every aspect, including icons. In fact, Icons could now be as large as 128x128, finally absolving the issue of icon conversion from the Mas OS X sets.
Work went at a frantic pace, during these months. and with any good scene, there are imitators. There are also those who steal ideas.
When most of us began our little crusade, skinners were just that--skinners. They didnt 'borrow' other peoples work, they made their own. They created all new graphics using this tutorial.
As for icons, most of us just wanted to convert the new packages from xicons. Doing so had its disadvantages, tho. Using Windows 95/98/NT left us without anything larger than a 48x48 icon with 256 colors. But with Whistler, we finally had a supportive OS. An OS that would support high res, transparent icons as well as a few new features we would figure out soon after. But it wouldnt be easy, even for a 32bit operating system.
About this time, skinners began finding their work used in other files. Whole sets were being raped and homogenized with crappy graphics and what seemed to be no time spent on conversion. We knew this because many of us used either specific file names in our skins or a select few even used watermarks in the images.
The first of many 'rippers' were born.
Their argument was basically "Well, you're stealing it from Apple, so what's the difference?". In a perfect world, such an argument could be made, but with many of the skins being made from scratch, this wasnt always the case.
Stardock helped the scene in a few ways, especially by making their skins proprietary and no longer using straight images or zip files. They also introduced the ability to add text to the skins--author, email, etc. Of course, rippers found their way into these files too, and to this day, noone has found a better way to keep people from stealing their art.
The argument will continue, be assured, but it all relys on two things--HONOR and RESPECT. In recent months, sites like DT2 have focused on this issue and made it their backbone. because of their tireless work, people like Max Rudberg, KoL, Y/C, and more have been able to keep credit for their works and we have found it common place to ask permission to release skins. It isn't about popularity or limitations, it is about the time and effort they put into these works.
Even thieves have honor.
...but our story digresses.
With Whistler giving us the options we needed for a full transformation into a Mac OS X-like GUI, the only thing we could do was produce. And produce we did. Every week, it seemed, came a new skin, a new app, and new skinnable app. it was the time of mass production and even Apple couldnt keep up.
But nothing would compare to the excitement of October 25, 2001...
MultiQuote
