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OS X Lion thoughts

post #1 of 3
Thread Starter 
When Apple introduced OS X Lion, I knew they were not going to show all their tricks they have up their sleeve, but I expected something of significance. What they showed did not move me. In fact, I thought it was rather lame. Why should OS X have anything in common with iOS? Without multitouch, it just didn't add up. I believe Apple when they say a big touch screen is not best for desktops. So why merge the two operating systems?

But it just hit me recently. It is not a big deal for desktops - but it is a big deal for mobile computers like the iPad. Basically Apple is laying the foundation for moving OS X onto the iPad. Eventually the processors will get powerful enough. It is only a matter of time. When Apple talks about being "all about the Mac", I think they are including the iPad and possibly even the iPhone in that category in the future.

Think about it. Snow Leopard was all about getting OS X lean and mean. Was this that important for the desktop? No. But it was important for iOS of which Apple borrowed heavily from Mac OS X. Mac users got some benefit, but really Apple's efforts in Snow Leopard were for mobile computing. I think the same thing is happening with OS X Lion.

Eventually all Apple's computers will be running the same OS. Why have two operating systems when you can have one? It makes a lot of sense. The OS will scale to the platform and the available hardware.

I think Apple is making a strategic business decision to merge the two eventually. How soon, I don't know. But it will happen. It gives desktop Mac users the short end of the stick for now, but I understand why they are doing what they are doing. It makes perfect business sense.

I wish Apple would push the desktop OS and applications without being held back by the iOS world. MacPros are race cars that should not be held back by normal civilian commuters. There are pros and cons each way. Apple needs to show the pro users some special tricks up their sleeves otherwise we are going to get frustrated. Some already are. I do think Apple can do this but the question is will they. They should be able to bounce the basketball and chew bubble gum at the same time. So Apple, where is the bubble gum?
post #2 of 3
Most of your assertions have been posted and discussed to death. They aren't any more correct now than before. Two points:
  • iOS is OS X. It shares a code base with MacOS X 10.6. The difference is that iOS has a UI that is optimized for small devices. If Apple had any intentions of merging iOS and MacOS X, then it would not have separated them in the first place.
  • Multitouch on MacOS X. MacOS X already supports multitouch. Every MacBook Air that ever shipped, every MacBook since the aluminum unibody was introduced in late 2008, and every MacBook Pro put in the market after 2007 including the last revision of the lightweight aluminum alloy (pre-unibody) all support multitouch. For Apple's desktops, the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad support multitouch.
post #3 of 3
What? No car analogy? Well allow me...

OSX and iOS are like two identical cars with different styled dash boards. Well, ok. Maybe they have different tires and a couple different standard options too.

In other words, they are the same OS. Or at least as similar to each other as any OS could be when shared between drastically different computing devices.
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