Recently, users of an internet forum that I visit: MacThemes.Net have been complaining about the lack of new OS X “themes”. Why all the fuss?

First a little background on theming OS X in general. There are basically two ways to theme the OS. One which involves creating a DLTA file and using it to replace images either manually or via an installer file. The second and considerably more user friendly method involves the use of a third party program known as Shapeshifter.

This is where most themers are running into problems and leads to the answer as to why there are no new themes being released/announced. In its current incarnation there are several limitations imposed on themers by the fact that creating Shapeshifter themes is made possible by the use of another program called Themepark. Themepark has not been updated since the release of Apple’s iTunes 5.0 and subsequent 6.0 releases. In addition a number of text color options were added to the latest version of Shapeshifter but the new version of themepark has yet to be released.

So what does all this mean to you the end user? Well bottom line is that I personally will not be working on themes until the new version of Themepark is made available. Since iTunes is probably one of the most used applications on anyones computer I see no reason to continue to work on themes until I can theme it properly. So in effect, you wont see any updates to my themes until the new version of SS/TP are out. That being said, this does not mean that all is quite on the themeing front. I have begun creating the necessary images for 2 new themes and also created the unified toolbar images for Samui 1.12 and the new version of Alluvium Magnite. So rest assured you will see new versions of these themes just as soon as I can update them after the software comes out.

About Pixelnet Design… I am coming up on a bit of a crossroads, whether to keep the site and its current name or change to a new name. I have to renew my domain www.pixelnetdesign.com this January and since the site is launching later than expected the name is not exactly what you would call “household”. The site itself is nearly complete with the last few sections being finished up this week. (Portfolio and Inside) I will also be adding more content to the “Downloads” section including some new never before seen goodies. Go ahead and leave me a comment if you like… Should I keep the name or ditch it for something new?