The fix for the transparent menu bar is here...

21pixelBar.psd

Just drag this file to the top of your background image, save 1440x900 .jpg to your pics folder, and done.

I guess the deal is, the transparent menu bar looks ok with some backgrounds (lighter, brighter colors) and looks like poo with other backgrounds (dark colors and high contrast).

Looks ok is still not all that great, the terminal mod to make the menu bar solid white does not seem like all that great either...

I have to mess with my background images anyhow, since my screen is 1440x900 and the images require some cropping and some image manipulation in Photoshop anyhow, so this extra step is not all that big of a deal.

 

Here's a sample BG.

tokyo_1440x900.jpg

I had to resize and crop the image. The I had to quash the white highlights a little using levels. So adding the menu gradient to the top was no big deal.

 

Yeah, I guess lots of people know about this small trick, but it's not very pleasant to do it every time you change your wallpaper...

But hell, in my case, upgrading to 10.5.1 made the menubar opaque

Which sucks

 

Like I said, I realized I crop and resize all of my bg images to fit my 1440x900 main screen anyhow, so, it's not that big of a deal.

You only have to do it when you make the wallpaper. I make a wallpaper and then save it to my pictures folder, then I'm done forever with that particular image.

 

Its silly that everyone has to do so much to fix something Apple thought was made better...I mean, allowing people to adjust the opacity of the Menu Bar themselves would be a much better idea; those who like transparency can do that, and those that don't can adjust opacity to 100%.

 

This fix is not that much of a hassle, I just keep the gradient in the pictures folder with the other backgrounds. I mean, it is a hassle compared to NOT having to do it, but, it's not the worst procedure either...

Well, now I have to design application indicators for the dock.

Something a little better than the black triangles, but not as nasty as having a case of blue balls.

 

There are some additional solutions for the Menu Bar in Leopard.

First, Make a backup of /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ com.apple.WindowServer.plist. Or you can easily re-edit this file later to revert back to the translucent Menu Bar, but it's always good to make a backup.

Next, Open Terminal.app. (Applications > Utilities). Enter the following code and press Return.

Code:

sudo defaults write /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.WindowServer 'EnvironmentVariables' -dict 'CI_NO_BACKGROUND_IMAGE' 0.62

Finally, Restart your Mac.

Note: "0.62" is a scaling factor to match the gradient in Tiger's Menu Bar.

See MacOSXHints for more information. Read the comments too. Even more good stuff in This InsanelyMac Thread.

I also posted this information in the Leopard GUI Customizations thread.

 

LOL, I'm surprised Apple lets you customize the wallpaper.

 

You can even set individual wallpapers for each monitor, just like Windows!

Oh, wait...

 

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/26081/leocolorbar
easier.

 

IMO... lowering the opacity of the menu bar improved the aesthetics of the GUI tremendously. I would never even consider changing it back.

cdnalsi, it is unfortunate the 10.5.1 upgrade robbed you of this eyecandy. To the rest of you... I have no sympathy for your distaste (or should I say bad taste)

 

Y'know, I got to try out Leopard at a local Mac reseller, and I didn't think the Menu Bar was that bad either. I understand why some might hate it, but I don't mind it. It does what Apple meant it to do; make the desktop picture show up more evidently.

But of course, in normal computer usage you don't stare at the Desktop Picture that much anyways .

 

Sharp edges and hard contrasts were visually annoying.

Looks ok with some backgrounds and not so ok with other backgrounds.

There's not a whole lot of UI with the Mac anyhow, so when major piece of it is not so hot, it has a bit of an impact.

Clean gradient bar in the background and the black triangle dock mod and I'm ok with everything now...

Maybe calling this a "fix" is a bit much. Adaptive hack is more like it.