Use the new standardised RSS icon with Safari.

[SPeedY_B]

With the new standardised (aka, firefox's) feed icon going to become apparent in more browsers, people have decided that Safari needs a new icon too.

Get it here: http://geocities.com/iamtheboredzo/safarifeedicon/

 

[X-Istence]

WTF? I hate that icon!

 

[~bk]

I love that icon.

 

[Grandmaster]

I love that icon.

Ditto. And I don't think anything will probably change the use of that icon now

 

[SPeedY_B]

WTF? I hate that icon!

Well it looks like a lot of people will be using it soon.

I admit though, I prefer the blue rectangle stating "RSS" more, but some people like Fx's.

Each to their own I guess

 

[NetRyder]

Excellent.

 

[Xie]

Yay for a super icon like that. Great choice over one that actually gives a clue to what it might be. The Fx icon looks like some kind of wireless thing ... :dead:

 

[Geffy]

The Fx icon looks like some kind of wireless thing ... :dead:

digital radio

also without a bit of background tweaking the FF feed icon doesnt fit with the Apple icon guidelines. Its lit from the wrong direction.

Once I get back to Uni I might see if I can't make an icon which is similar (ie has the base features of) but complies better with the guidelines. Don't hold your breath though, I am not that much of an artist

 

[SPeedY_B]

Meh. Using it now, looks fine.

 

[Geffy]

still doesnt fit right in my mind

 

[NetRyder]

It's just a tiny little icon. There are so many other parts of the system that blatantly ignore UI consistency guidelines, and are so much more noticeable compared to a lit-from-the-wrong-direction 16x16 pixel orange square.

 

[X-Istence]

It's just a tiny little icon. There are so many other parts of the system that blatantly ignore UI consistency guidelines, and are so much more noticeable compared to a lit-from-the-wrong-direction 16x16 pixel orange square.

What parts of the system ignore UI consistency guidelines? Just wondering. All Apple software has to be in the UI consistency guidelines, or it won't pass by QA. If there is UI inconsistency, it is outside of Apple's software most of the time as far as I have seen.

 

[NetRyder]

What parts of the system ignore UI consistency guidelines? Just wondering. All Apple software has to be in the UI consistency guidelines, or it won't pass by QA. If there is UI inconsistency, it is outside of Apple's software most of the time as far as I have seen.

Since you asked...

http://daringfireball.net/2004/10/brushedmetal
http://daringfireball.net/2003/02/inconsistencies
http://daringfireball.net/2003/02/when_in_rome
http://iratescotsman.com/index.php?post=/interface/mac/nsschizophreniccontrols.html
http://iratescotsman.com/index.php?post=/interface/mac/apple_switch_to_os_x_ui_tips.html
http://iratescotsman.com/index.php?post=/interface/mac/ichat_irritations.html
http://iratescotsman.com/index.php?post=/interface/mac/death_of_a_dogcow.html
http://iratescotsman.com/index.php?post=/interface/mac/nails_in_the_dogcoffin.html
http://nslog.com/archives/2003/02/23/apple_bug_filing_day.php
http://nslog.com/archives/2003/02/10/mac_os_x_whered_our_ui_go.php
http://nslog.com/archives/2003/02/04/you_cant_escape_ken_burns_and_other_horrid_imovie_ughs.php
http://vinay.afternight.org/index.php?id=180

...

 

[Geffy]

So realistically Safari is the bastard child of a UI anyway and we should accept the orange digital radio button

 

[muzikool]

While the UI might fall under Apple's guidelines, it's not consistent across the board. The latest iTunes is different from OS X, and so is Safari. I haven't looked at Kunal's links yet, but I'm sure those are among them. I hope they take care of the inconsistency with 10.5.

 

[Xie]

Apple software being consistant wrt UI has nothing to do with this poor choice of RSS icon. I don't think it fits w/ any UI and isn't easily recognizable for anyone that knows what RSS is and IMHO very confusing choice for introducing new people.

 

[NetRyder]

Apple software being consistant wrt UI has nothing to do with this poor choice of RSS icon. I don't think it fits w/ any UI and isn't easily recognizable for anyone that knows what RSS is and IMHO very confusing choice for introducing new people.

A number of issues arise from the use of the term "RSS" on a button that's meant to symbolize syndicated content in general.

Firstly, syndicated content can be served in the form of RSS or Atom feeds. While there are similarities between the two formats, using the term RSS to refer to an Atom feed is technically incorrect since they are two different RFC standards.

Secondly, non-technical people tend to find it difficult to relate to acronyms. Asa Dotzler from the Mozilla Corp explained this reasoning in a blog post earlier this month:

Something as small as a name or icon choice can make a big difference in how approachable a new feature is. I’m encouraged that we’re further distancing browsers from the awful “RSS” as a feature name and icon identifyer. We don’t call web pages “HTML+CSS+JavaScript Pages” and we don’t identify them in the browser using little icons containing “HTML” and “CSS” acronyms; We shouldn’t do it for feeds either.

Moreover (and this is closely related to the second point), the use of the term "RSS" on a button is not exactly internationally-friendly. The Firefox feed icon represents a broadcast (although it can be interpreted in different ways). It's meant to be a universal symbol that crosses language and script barriers - it looks and means the same the same thing everywhere, even in places like China and Japan where the script doesn't contain alphabets like "R" and "S"

 

[SPeedY_B]

It's just a fecking button!

Been using it a few days now, it's not adversely affected me in any way, I don't have SARS because of it, or anything like that.

 

[NetRyder]

It's just a fecking button!

That's basically all there is to it. Still can't understand what the big issue against it is.

 

[X-Istence]

While the UI might fall under Apple's guidelines, it's not consistent across the board. The latest iTunes is different from OS X, and so is Safari. I haven't looked at Kunal's links yet, but I'm sure those are among them. I hope they take care of the inconsistency with 10.5.

They are. Ive never really noticed the inconsistency.