I really don't like the layout of the existing search panel in Limewire and I think the changes need to go far beyond a simple "skin".

I've designed a much more space efficient and, I think, usable and esthetically pleasing layout for consideration.

For those who simply hate Macs, don't look because I uses Apple's Project Builder user interface designer to make this. Here's some links

48KB - A PDF image of the interface window
24KB - The full interface nib - for those running OS X with developer tools

The basic change is that instead of the search fields taking up a major portion of the left side of the window, I've moved all that functionality to the top of the window, and added an "advanced..." button that would open up a dialog box with more options.

I've also eliminated the tabbed layout for search results and replaced it with a drop down menu, the result is that searching options and search result selections are all contained in the space that was previously taken up by the search results tabs alone.

The result is a lot more screen realestate available for displaying information about the search results and downloads in progress.