3 ms·

I find the evolution of the menu bar fascinating. It's really interesting that the menu bar kind of started as command buttons attached to the windows. It's in

I find the evolution of the menu bar fascinating. It's really interesting that the menu bar kind of started as command buttons attached to the windows. It's interesting that over the last 30 years the Mac has been evolving back to the old version. Almost all apps now have toolbars that replace the functions of the menu bar. People have stopped using the top menu bar. As a software developer, I regularly get feature requests for functions that already exist, because there is no toolbar button to activate them, and people don't look at the menus anymore. The latest beta version of OS X, El Capitan, even has a setting to hide the menu bar. I've always thought that the menu bar at the top of the screen was so fundamental to the Mac experience, but it seems we've gone full circle, back to the original idea of command buttons attached to each window...

mikeash 11y ago
I wonder if some of the change is simply due to increasing screen sizes and resolutions The original Mac had a 9" screen. The menu bar was 20 pixels tall, about 6% of the total screen height, and about a quarter of an inch tall. It was necessarily close and obviously related to anything on screen. I'm writing this on a 30" screen with a resolution of 2560x1600, and the menu bar is still 20 pixels tall. The menu bar is far away from whatever my attention is on at any given moment, and it physically takes more time to get the mouse cursor there if I'm going to actually use it.
- teddyh 11y ago
  NeXT fixed this problem by adding an extra mouse button (NeXT machines therefore had two mouse buttons instead of one like Macs) and moving the menu to that button. Voila – the menu is instantly available at all times. Note that the right mouse button was not used for anything else, it was exclusively reserved for showing the menu of the active program.
drzaiusapelord 11y ago
The menu bar seemed like a compromise to work with a 9" screen. By time 15-17" screens were common, it was of questionable utility. Now in the age of giant screens, it is absolutely a liability. There's so much room for a Windows-style bar now. Mousing all the way to the top is ridiculous nowadays. I love what Apple does usually, but they are slow to change, especially with UI quirks that are "Apple first" like the menu bar or the no-right click, etc. Ironically, I am more able to appreciate what the Windows team brought to the GUI after a long time of believing the Apple team got it right first (and better.) There's something really logical about attached menu bars and and dumb buttons (minimize, maximize, close). The Start button and task bar combo still holds up. I don't think the NT team really got the praise they deserved from the tech community. A lot of what they did still stands up today as really good design, imo.

mikeash 11y ago

I wonder if some of the change is simply due to increasing screen sizes and resolutions The original Mac had a 9" screen. The menu bar was 20 pixels tall, about 6% of the total screen height, and about a quarter of an inch tall. It was necessarily close and obviously related to anything on screen. I'm writing this on a 30" screen with a resolution of 2560x1600, and the menu bar is still 20 pixels tall. The menu bar is far away from whatever my attention is on at any given moment, and it physically takes more time to get the mouse cursor there if I'm going to actually use it.

teddyh 11y ago
NeXT fixed this problem by adding an extra mouse button (NeXT machines therefore had two mouse buttons instead of one like Macs) and moving the menu to that button. Voila – the menu is instantly available at all times. Note that the right mouse button was not used for anything else, it was exclusively reserved for showing the menu of the active program.

drzaiusapelord 11y ago

The menu bar seemed like a compromise to work with a 9" screen. By time 15-17" screens were common, it was of questionable utility. Now in the age of giant screens, it is absolutely a liability. There's so much room for a Windows-style bar now. Mousing all the way to the top is ridiculous nowadays. I love what Apple does usually, but they are slow to change, especially with UI quirks that are "Apple first" like the menu bar or the no-right click, etc. Ironically, I am more able to appreciate what the Windows team brought to the GUI after a long time of believing the Apple team got it right first (and better.) There's something really logical about attached menu bars and and dumb buttons (minimize, maximize, close). The Start button and task bar combo still holds up. I don't think the NT team really got the praise they deserved from the tech community. A lot of what they did still stands up today as really good design, imo.