OH MY GOSH!! Found the CoreUI files
 

Under Snow Leopard, they are placed in:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreUI.framework/Versions/A/Resources/UI.bundle/Contents/Resources/

I don't dare replace them. Anyone wanna try?

…Maybe I'm going to try this on my friend's computer!! :D

Looks fairly interesting, doesn't it?

You might want to read this Ars Technica article that came out when Leopard appeared: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews...-x-10-5.ars/10.

I tinkered from time to time with CoreUI in Leopard. The results were erratic--crashes, modifications not sticking, and general oddities all around. Given that Apple continues to find new ways to lock down the OS's core elements, I'd be even less optimistic about making useful modifications under Snow Leopard.

If you want to keep that friend, play on an external or secondary drive that you can easily wipe.

Andre,

Which friend are you on about...? ;)

Caleb

I just might try with my friend....... no really.

I never understand the huge appeal of customising the interface.

I can understand functional changes to the environment, and OS X includes lots of these -- moving the Dock to the side; customising what tools you have in the Toolbar; what you have in the Sidebar (or whether you have the Toolbar or Sidebar at all); which folder view you use; what palettes you have open in apps; keyboard shortcuts, etc, etc.

However, if all you are doing is just changing the icon (but keeping the icon in the same place with the same function), then ... what's the point? Other than as a time-consuming academic exercise.

Even if you sit down and spend hours designing a consistent UI theme, and then spend a lot of time creating new versions of all the various icons, you will have made something which, at best, is "the same but different"; at worst, not as good.
I say this as someone who works in design.

As others have pointed out, OS X's code signing may cause you problems if you do this. The general rule for /System is "there's nothing for you there but trouble".

One of the fundamental points of the Apple Human Interface Guidelines is that the user experience should be the same across all computers.

If you want an OS that you can tinker with, then Linux is available.:p

Linux is not as well done, I find. Besides, I like to customize a bit. If the colors are not pleasing, I just want to change it a bit. Remember ShapeShifter?

It's fun.

User experience is not the same across all Mac computers. Apple continually tinkers with the OS. People using older versions of the OS have a different experience than people using the latest version.

Sitting down for hours is how Apple makes changes to it's OS. I believe that sometimes Apple makes changes that are "the same but different," I also believe that Apple is not infallible. Sometimes things are introduced to the OS that make it worse than it was.

I'd rather start with the best and try to make it better. I think that's a much better learning experience. Why did Apple do one particular thing the way they did? Change it, live with the change for a while, and there is an opportunity to learn that you can't get any other way.

I miss Kaleidoscope. :) [BTW Craig: did you know that Greg was also a mathematician?]

Ha ha. How about your PPC iMac?

Caleb here just bought a PPC iMac running 10.5. The genius… So anyhow he kind of wants to have a unique machine.