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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background Apps
I really believe Time Machine is a wonderful technology (even if it's got a few rough spots in its version 1.0 release). However, while I like the direction Apple took with the flying back through time interface metaphor, I think they really went too far: I cannot stand looking at the twirling galaxy and streaming stars when I'm trying to find a file to restore. So I started digging, and found most of the culprits in the Finder's bundle -- /System » Library » CoreServices » Finder. Control-click on the Finder, choose Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu, and then navigate into Contents » Resources.

As I looked through the folder, I found the following suspect files:
  • HyperBlueStar.tiff, HyperRedStar.tiff, HyperWhiteStar.tiff, HyperYellowStar.tiff, NormalBlueStar.tiff, NormalRedStar.tiff, NormalWhiteStar.tiff, NormalYellowStar.tiff, RemapVortex.frag, RemapVortex.vert, Twirl.frag, Twirl.vert, VortexCache.frag, VortexCache.vert
Given that I was doing this on my test rig, I was quite brutal with it: I moved all of the above files out of the Resources folder, then restarted the machine. (There's one additional file, vortex.png, which is the actual background image. I left it in place, hoping to just get rid of the twirling and flying stars.)

As you can see from the image at right, though, I was only partially successful. The flying stars are (mostly) gone, but the background is now all white. So I'm running this hint as a partial-hint -- if you really hate the warping effect, then getting rid of those files will do the trick. Just be warned that the results aren't pretty (and you're removing portions of the Finder, which is a very bad thing to do. A much safer alternative would be to replace these files with empty replacements of the same names). If you're going to use this hint, I suggest a good backup (sense the irony there?) before you start.

Perhaps someone can use this very rough start as the background to a better "no warping" solution for the Time Machine interface.
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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: lincd0 on Nov 08, '07 06:23:03PM

Time Machine isn't going to be very useful until Apple opens up the API to third-party developers, and one of them comes up with a less stupid interface and solves the structural flaws. The idiotic background is the least of its problems. I'm more worried about the fact that backups are always writeable by the user who owns the files, so they can be deleted or overwritten by the same runaway process that destroys the originals.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 08, '07 07:13:00PM

I haven't been able to delete *anything* from a test TM backup -- even files in my own user's directory. I wrote an Automator script that basically did a secure delete of all copies of something from the TM disk. It worked great, except for the fact that it couldn't actually delete the files it found.

Working in Terminal, I even tried some sudo rm -rf's with no luck at all. Are you really able to freely delete things from your TM backup?

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: frgough on Nov 09, '07 09:14:46AM

Yeah.

Check the box Ignore permissions on external volumes. Navigate to the directory. Delete to your heart's content.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 12:40:34PM

Not possible on my TM drive. There's no such checkbox.

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: jeremyp on Nov 09, '07 01:52:11PM

I hope all the people who are complaining about the TM interface realise they don't have to use it at all. The entire TM archive is navigable using the Finder.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 02:07:48PM

Did you read my complaint? I have no issues with the interface -- I think the "back in time" analogy is perfect. My complaint is with the (to me) annoying and distracting background *behind* that interface.

The Finder is a poor substitute for the TM interface as it's not nearly as easy to browse by date -- it takes a *lot* more clicking to get anything done.

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: zpjet on Feb 12, '08 11:00:58AM

it wold be great to have an option to disable the animated interface - it's almost impossible to use it via Remote Desktop on a standard DSL line.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: gr8tfly on Nov 08, '07 08:45:32PM

Glad I'm not alone. I like TM, and understand the need for it to look entirely different than the desktop, but it really is way over-the-top. I'm not wild about modifying the Finder (even though it's just image files), so I hope Apple comes up with some tamer options.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: flammable on Nov 08, '07 09:03:09PM

I suppose you could open each image file in Photoshop (or something similar) and make it a solid black. I don't have a test install to try this myself, but it sounds plausible.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: Padriac on Nov 08, '07 10:02:55PM

Tiger comes out, and the hints include:
- how to disable dashboard
- how to disable spotlight
Leopard comes out and the hints include
- how to change the dock
- how to change the menu bar
- how to change stacks
- how to change the look of time machine

Notice a trend? Notice how people coincidentally seem to hate every and any major new feature? If people mostly hate every new feature in each new version of OS X, then why do they keep upgrading?

Me: I think it's half legitimate complaints and half just being scared and/or resistant to change. That and the fact that the internet is full of grumpy old men.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: HobbesDoo on Nov 08, '07 10:32:57PM

I couldn't agree more.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: dzurn on Nov 09, '07 07:04:18AM

I don't agree. These hints show that Apple's offerings can't be all things to all people, and we are just some of the users. I don't know of anyone who has turned off all those things, rather it's a way to remove inconveniences or improve how things operate.

The GUI gives an "it just works" layer, while there's another hugely powerful system just underneath. MacOSXHints just lifts up the corner of the GUI, so we can see and appreciate the rich Unix-y goodness underneath.

I find it amazing that so much of my Mac still works from the command line, giving me power I never had with OS 9.

Darryl



---
Madness takes its toll.
Please have exact change.



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10.5: Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: MacMan03 on Nov 09, '07 07:12:40AM

I agree,

Also I think Time Machines warping background looks good…

Certainly MUCH better then that boring white background…




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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: Padriac on Nov 09, '07 10:08:37AM

Also let me be clear: what Rob (and others) do on this site is *amazing* and I love that people can tweak things if they really want (even if I personally have no desire). It just seems that every time a new OS is released all the hints seem to focus on making the new OS behave like the old OS as much as possible. There's no way you can say that there isn't at least a shred of "I just want things to be the way they were before, harumph" mixed in with the actual useful tips.

Sometimes the vibe here gets a little too "damn you young kids and your rock music and your space backgrounds" for me and others who don't really have a problem with the thing being "fixed". The dock was a good example: Rob railed on it and then he put up that poll that ended up showing a majority of the people were fine with it (last I checked anyway). Maybe if the hints just focused on "here, you can customize the time machine background, here you can customize the dock" rather than the evaluative statements about why the tip author hates the time machine background or new dock or whatever. I could do without that opinion part: it's a bit arrogant and self-serving.

Just some observations, Rob. Keep up the good work, but maybe think about the way the tips are being presented.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 12:15:30PM

The poll of which you speak shows (as of today) that 39% prefer the 3D dock, and 36% prefer the 2D dock. I'd call that a tie -- we're talking about a difference of 165 votes.

What that says to me is that Apple should offer users a choice between the two, as it's clear that nearly as many people (at least here on hints) prefer the 2D dock over the 3D dock.

And I have no resistance to change -- when change means new features that add value. I do, however, have a huge resistance to useless, CPU-sucking, no-value-add changes that are made for the sake of graphics alone. I have yet to hear one good explanation for translucent menus, translucent menu bars, 3D warping backgrounds or the 3D dock other than "we think it's cool."

For those of us who *don't* think it's cool, it would be really nice to have the option to not use those "features."

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: Padriac on Nov 09, '07 02:24:56PM
http://sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/paper/nt.htm

Moral: if you find something aesthetically pleasing, you will find it more usable.

So if you hate the Time Machine background you should change it because you'll then find Time Machine more useful. But if somebody finds the Time Machine background "Cool" and appealing, they will find Time Machine MORE usable because of that. Just as you subconsciously hate Time Machine because of the graphics and all that CPU they waste (seriously Rob? Computers primarily do nothing but waste cycles all day, so what's the harm in using a truly insignificant amount for aesthetics?)

I'd wager the number of people impressed by the warping background outnumber those who despise it, and as such the space background (ON AVERAGE) is a better universal choice than the "ugly" white background. This also highlights my point about not making evaluative statements about how you hate this or that change: it's too subjective to hold true for everybody, so why bother? Your aesthetic opinion is not everybody's.

This also highlights another important fact:
Looking cool *is* a worthwhile goal as long is the benefits outweigh the costs. If a visual change greatly improves your opinion of the interface element even if it slightly decreasing its usability, then the visual change is valid and worthwhile. This fact consistently blows die-hard, command-line-or-death types as they simply refuse to believe it. But if people use Time Machine more just because they find it "pretty" then the space background has more than justified itself.

So there: now you can't say you've never heard of a justification for the warping background. And I know for a fact you've been given reasons as to how the new Dock does improve some aspects of its use (admittedly it also introduces some new problems, but it's not like there's absolutely no justification for it, whether Apple intended it or not).

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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: robg on Nov 09, '07 03:46:45PM

I was given reasons why someone *thinks* the new dock is better. None of those reasons, however, stood up to any sort of scientific logic.

As for the TM interface: I don't want a white background. I want a nice, static, non-moving, functional background that doesn't take my eyes off the very windows I'm trying to look at.

I would be fine with vortex.png if it just sat there. Really. All I want is the option to disable all this stuff. And yes, on a mini, the CPU suckage is very noticeable. Flying "back in time" through the pages of TM is a jerky, ugly proposition. Why? Because half my machine's horsepower is being used to render meaningless imagery.

What's wrong with giving users choice?

-rob.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: makip on Nov 12, '07 01:32:49PM

I was reading this particular thread and I just got to thinking..

I really appreciate what Apple has done with Time Machine. Regular backups and a version control system is very important, and I think the significance of this new feature would have been lost and possibly ignored my many users if Apple didn't go with this metaphor and special effects. Its scope really captures the attention of users who aren't tech savvy and may not have bothered enabling a feature they may otherwise see as a waste of disk space.

Having said that, I also prefer to disable gratuitous effects. It gets in the way of my workflow and I will probably look for a way to do so with Time Machine when I upgrade. Apple needn't offer a choice on everything (it would get complicated) but simple choices like this are common sense.

ps- Padriac, wasting CPU cycles on many seemingly small things does add up. Even if you dont feel the impact on system performance as a portable user you do still chew through your battery faster.



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: p0pper on Nov 18, '07 08:15:01PM

really, this entire site would be so much more lifeless without the opinions of the posters. this is not an academic paper, so there should be nothing wrong with sharing them. if they piss you off, as an opinion will always do to someone, you must deal with it, just as in the real world. they are unavoidable.

i feel that your computer should be completely configurable to your tastes, and that information about what files affect what output, etc. are things that should be shared (i might go so far as to say there's a moral obligation to share).

the unfortunate thing about these things we use, is that they are sold by businesses, and that those businesses need to grown until they are like cancerous tumors, or they die. to accomplish this, they need bait to attract more fodder. these 'improvements' that are the subject of this debate all seem to be this type of addition. i agree with robg that new things adding functionality are great and that new things that are marketing bling usually end up muddling and hindering efficient use. if this computer i'm using is truly mine, i should be able to change any of those things i don't like, with the proper knowledge.

this site is, as you said, Padriac, really great and informative. however, as a user-created site, it is, in essence, a complicated editorial. it is also about freeing your equipment. we should keep the speech free as well.



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Decay heat is not ordered information.
-Patrick Lui (SLAC)
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Good grief
Authored by: mgpalma on Nov 09, '07 05:38:51AM

" I cannot stand looking at the twirling galaxy and streaming stars when I'm trying to find a file to restore. "

Seriously, how often are your restoring files? I have used it once so far for testing, and a couple of times to show my users. Looks are a matter of taste, but really, how often are you 'subjected' to flying through space? Is it really that bad to you?



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: morespace54 on Nov 09, '07 07:36:36AM

OT but I had a small (?) problem with TM yesterday...
After a few successfuls backups since October 26, TM suddenly told me that "Backup failed" with a useful red exclamation mark... When I clicked on the exclamation mark, TM simply told me "Could not complete the backup"...

My drive still has 80 GB of free space. I did a verify disk with Disk utility, everything seems to be fine. I tried to copy a folder of 20 GB onto my backup drive, without any problem!

I even tried to set up a new drive (with 40 GB of free space) even if I could *loose* all my priors backups and I still get the same message.

Arg.

I just wish I could know (more) about why TM keep saying "Backup failed"...



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: alternapop on Nov 09, '07 10:06:27AM
i did a little write up regarding how to narrow down Time Machine failures... finding the cause of time machine failures

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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: mark hunte on Nov 09, '07 12:42:15PM
I don't mind the graphics, I changed my NormalYellowStar.tiff to one of Star Ship Enterprise the other day.
I used Preview.app with its new Auto Alpha, and I had to rotate the image
on its side. for Time Machine/finder to get the correct orientation.
I suspsect thats a clash of preview and Time Machine/finder using different info on rotation from the image?

---
mh

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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: stokessd on Nov 09, '07 03:08:14PM

I find the whole space theme too cheesy and "trekkie" for my tastes. I got rid of the login background and I'm currently playing with the TM background.

This OS release is much more forward in the styling department. The window elements are subtle in this release, but the default backgrounds are LOUD. Where's the soothing Aqua Blue? It's front and center in my machine with that silly space background in bit nirvana.

I agree with the above posters, this release seems to have turned the corner on the "eye candy" front. It's like the XP disney theme, sure you can use it, but why would you want to? There's nothing that improves your life or productivity with it. Translucent menubar and menus do nothing but make it harder to see your target. Lots of UI designs seem to be bad ones done just for the sake of being showy.

I guess I'm just a crusty old guy now...

Sheldon



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: stokessd on Nov 09, '07 04:28:52PM

Update:

I opened up the following files in photoshop and filled them with solid black.

HyperBlueStar.tiff
HyperRedStar.tiff
HyperWhiteStar.tiff
HyperYellowStar.tiff
NormalBlueStar.tiff
NormalRedStar.tiff
NormalWhiteStar.tiff
NormalYellowStar.tiff
sun.tiff


This turned the entire screen black with the animated cloud swirl in the background. Only the cloud animation without the stars is not distracting and much more subtle. I like it a whole lot better.

Sheldon



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: zpjet on Feb 12, '08 11:06:41AM

i guess it still wastes cpu cycles... please apple, just give us a damn default write com.apple.TimeMachine DisableAnimation -bool YES!



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: roens on Apr 03, '10 09:17:20PM
that command would be:
defaults write com.apple.finder _FXShowBackgroundAnimation -bool FALSE

This will turn off the superfluous animated background. Then, because the Finder won't notice this change until it next launches, you can use this to nicely quit the finder:
osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to quit'
(then click on the Finder in the Dock to re-launch it)

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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: ksars on Apr 13, '10 03:01:48PM

THANK YOU roens!

I just started using TM last month and that stupid animated background was driving me nuts. Are there any other effects this setting may have in the Finder?

I'm kinda of surprised that this solution was only posted just a couple weeks ago, since TM was released in 2007. Did this tip make the rounds back then and I just wasn't paying attention?



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10.5: Partially tame Time Machine's warping background
Authored by: roens on Apr 14, '10 09:35:51AM
Yeah, it has made the rounds. But I too have found this solution not easy to find. Flipping that _FXShowBackgroundAnimation bit shouldn't have any other effect. It happens to be in the Finder's preference file because the familiar "Enter Time Machine" happens to be handled by the Finder (rather than some TM specific app).

I'm glad you came back & found this useful. It's always nice to make such tips (more) available to the community.

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