It’s almost eighteen months since I first posted about the noticeable “Rise and Rise of the Mail-like Look” in many apps. Yojimbo, SOHO Smart Notes, ecto and many more have since followed suit, so that Fraser Spiers’ “Exposé confusion” is a greater danger than ever.

If you fancy an even more unified GUI across all your apps, UNO is the utility for you.

An updated version has just been released which brings the Mail-like look of a unified Toolbar/Titlebar and lighter metal look to all the windows in your system. Its aim is “to enhance aqua interface consistency, by making all elements look and feel as one.”

UNO 1.5 has been completely rewritten. Some annoying glitches (the QuickTime window, for example) are now fixed, and the developers have produced a wider range of skins for iTunes.

The app’s main interface offers a preview of how your system will look after applying the tweak:

Notice also the Uninstall button which allows you to unwind the changes easily if you want to return to vanilla Mac OS X.

In this version, Mail.app gets some special treatment. After applying UNO, the lozenge-shaped buttons are replaced with Safari- or Finder-like rectangular buttons and the unread mail icon is “aquafied”:

This is only an option though. If you like UNO’s consistent style and the default lozenged-up look of Tiger Mail you can choose that combination in the interface option drop-down boxes on the left of the main screen.

You can read more about UNO and view the entire 1.5 changelog on the developer’s web site.

UNO is free-ware (donations not refused) and is available from the app’s website .UNO, unified toolbar, lighter metal, apple interface, GUI, brushed metal, hack, tip, mail.app, apple mail

Speaking of the Rise and Rise of the Mail-like Look, the GUI hack UNO can bring the unified Toolbar/Titlebar and lighter metal look to all the windows in your system. UNO’s aim is “to enhance aqua interface consistency, by making all elements look and feel as one.”

Here it is with (from the back), Mellel, a word processor, Apple Mail (Mail 2.0 with the odd new buttons removed), ecto and Script Editor:

UNO can be installed and uninstalled by running it from the disk image. You can see more screenshots and download the hack from UNO’s website.UNO, unified toolbar, lighter metal, apple interface, GUI, brushed metal, hack, tip

The “Mail-like look” is all the rage. Have you noticed how it is creeping over your entire interface? First, came the new iTunes. Not quite the same look; it was a little darker, but the trend was set.

A hack soon appeared (iTunes Unified) to make the new iTunes look more like Mail 2.0. Then there was one for Safari – Unify Safari. Then I noticed that NetNewsWire already had the new look.

Today I stumbled across an open source notebook/organizer app called Forest (screenshot here) in which the developer has striven to get “the Mail look”. Now that I type this, I see that the latest version of ecto (2.3.9) has the Mail-look as well (although buff instead of “baby blue”). It’s everywhere.

This weekend, Docktopus hit the blogs and news sites. This nifty utility brings Mail’s unread messages badge to all the apps in your Dock, letting you access real-time information about, and control over, your Dock apps. It boasts a variety of badges for various Dock apps, all of which serves to increase – in a small way – Mail’s creeping interface imperialism.

To me, the most interesting thing about this trend is that it is not driven by Apple. Apart from iTunes, the rise and rise of the Mail-like look is all user- and developer-initiated.

Whether it is a distaste for Brushed Metal (who is tired and grumpy as the Daring Fireball revealed) – and so a negative thing – or a more positive delight in the new, lighter look, the enthusiasm of the user community for the new look is something that Apple can’t fail to see.

So, what about that prediction that the next revision of iLife will see more Mail-like looks? I’d bet on it.

UPDATE: Try UNO for a complete Mail-like look makeover on your own Mac.brushed metal, Apple GUI, Apple interface design, Mail.app, apple mail, aesthetics, unified toolbar, iLife