The world of themes and mods can be a dangerous one, especially if you're not skilled in the language of programing. Thanks to an ever-growing line of applications this process is somewhat easier. Sometimes a theme even bypasses programs and just includes an installer. It was quite by accident that I found myself at MacThemes, and my browsing led me to something called iLeopard. While I appreciate the beauty of the default Leopard theme, its interesting to see someone else's take on the entire thing. iLeopard doesn't try to completely redo Leopards look, instead it tries to enhance it. Using the iTunes 7.0 theme as a jump-off point iLeopard seeks to add interesting inflections to the systems look and feel. Much of the theme gives everything a matte look, which fits well with the fairy bright color-scheme of Leopard. Subtle changes include side-scroll bars, buttons, and the menubar itself.
What makes iLeopard such an interesting theme is that it doesn't attempt to rewrite something that works, instead it enhances the best parts. Granted not everyone will like the iTunes 7.0-esque theme, but it works well. Furthermore the theme comes with its own installer; very handy. Installing the theme was quite easy, and there's a simple install option, as well as a more customizable one. I've tried both and liked each. Including a built-in installer means that as a user I don't have to monkey around with system files. I don't know my machine's inner-workings that well, so keeping my distance is a good thing. Granted the theme's creators make a point of saying "whatever happens is on you", which is a must-have. Changing anything has implications.
So far I've encountered no problems and issues. Upon first applying the theme my computer was a little slow to relogin; considering I've changed the look of things though it makes perfect sense. Once installed everything's been running smoothly. iLeopard's strengths are its simplicity, and that it doesn't try to out-do Apple's designers, instead they work with them, adding nice bits of flair. iLeopard is a theme I'd certainly recommend giving a try. One thing to note however: there's no iTunes skin included, but considering the rumors of an iTunes 8.0 release sometime soon, it doesn't make sense to spend lots of time working on a mod only to see the code change. So hopefully we see iTunes included in the mod, but until then it fits in just fine.
Original source: http://alexgrey.wordpress.com/?p=209
