This App Brings Back the Classic Mac Menu Bar Look
There was a time when Apple wasn’t afraid to experiment with design. Mac apps used to somehow look like they were made of stainless steel, and the operating system’s interface had a lot of neat “3-D” elements. All that is behind us: in the current era, apps tend to look flat, which is a real contrast to what they looked like two decades ago. Recent versions of the macOS menu bar don’t even have a shadow; it just blends in with the wallpaper.
Lickable Menu Bar is a completely free app that aims to visually turn back time on your Mac. It allows you to choose between three different retro menu bar styles. Here’s the matte look of the 2013 Mavericks; the flat but shadowed look of the 2019 Catalina; and the glossy look of the Tiger, which came out back in 2005. Swap between the two for a bit of nostalgia, and be surprised at how different macOS (or OS X if you’re an OG) looked.
The application is quite easy to use. You simply open it and choose the menu bar style you prefer. (The design of the program window itself is reminiscent of a 2005 Mac app, which is a nice touch.) If you want, you can set the app to launch every time you log into your Mac—just be sure to uncheck the “Show this window on Startup” option if you do, unless you want also choose a different menu bar style to suit your temporary mood every time your Mac reboots (if so, no judgement).
Nothing in this app will change your life. It’s not even one of those weird Mac apps that are actually useful , because I really can’t think of a use for it other than improving the vibration on your computer. Which may be useful after all.