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iPhonesque makes Growl look like the iPhone
Can't say I ever really vibed with any of the default Growl styles (Music Video is cool for showing off your Mac, but a little too distracting for common use), and I've pretty much just stuck with Smoke, because it's simple and cool looking. But iPhonesque is nice enough to make me switch without a thought -- it's a Growl style designed to look like the iPhone's compact little dialogues. In other words, it's flashy enough to look cool, but minimal enough that it doesn't drive you nuts when messages back up in Growl.Any other Growl styles that you all really like?[Via DF]
Safari, meet Cover Flow
I'm not sure why eye candy gets such a bad reputation-- we all need a little beauty in our lives, and no UI designer should ever argue that a "cool!" factor is a bad thing to have, when you've already hit all the other bases. Cover Flow is a perfect example. When people made their wishlists before iTunes 7, I don't know anyone that said they wanted a visual way to browse their albums. But everyone loved the Cover Flow plugin, and now those designers are working for Apple.So Jimmy G has an idea: why not add Cover Flow functionality into Safari? You could browse updated versions of your bookmarks just like you browse your albums in iTunes. I'm not sure I'd implement it exactly the way he has (click the pic above to see a bigger version), as if I'm browsing my web visually, I'd rather more real estate was given to the pages themselves. But it's an interesting idea.And I think we could use a little more color in the web browsing experience-- the space between the browser tabs, if you will. If you're a Firefox for Windows user you really should try out the Tab Effect**; it lets you flip between tabs like a rotating cube. It's actually a little much to use all the time, but it's a cool idea, at least. And the PicLens plugin for Safari also puts a little oomph in your picture browsing-- it can create slideshows of Flickr pictures with just a click. You may think it's superfluous (and yes, if your app doesn't function already, it is) but we all need a little bit of eye candy now and again.Thanks, Jimmy!**Whoops. As commenter Rae notices, Tab Effect is Windows only, because it requires Directx 8. But it's still a cool effect.
Hands-on with God of War II
IGN got an early hands-on preview of God of War II, and they're lovin' what Sony's Santa Monica studio has come up with so far.Without revealing too much of the sequel's plot, our hairless hero now sports some new magical attacks and context-sensitive finishing moves. Needless to say, prominent Greek mythological figures will also be showing up to keep Kratos company, and there will certainly be a lot of flashy slashing-first-ask-questions-later kind of action to fill the hours.For more spoilers on "an early section of the sequel," simply follow the image link above or Read link below, where you can find a few more details on the new power-up system and annoying enemy combatants (otherwise known as smarter fodder for your sharper blades). A practical explanation goes into the reasons for keeping things on the PS2 rather than the PS3, and hopefully less frustrating puzzles are revealed as well. More will likely be revealed at Sony's big E3 press conference today.See also: New God of War 2 director speaks God of War's Jaffe inspired by Britney vs. Christina God of War 2 GDC video leaked online
