Does anyone here think that Mountain Lion is the last major update to OS X or could there be another cat?
Where does OS XI come in to play?
Where does OS XI come in to play?
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When does OS X end and OS XI begin?
- Thread starter WiiDSmoker
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I don't think we are going to see OS 11 until Apple decides to rewrite their OS again. I think OS X is here to stay for a long time. I've been wrong before though.
Versions only have has much meaning as the vendor puts into them. Mac OS 8 was not a complete rewrite of System 7.6. And Mac OS 9 wasn't a complete rewrite of Mac OS 8.1.
So really, if tomorrow Apple decided that they released OS X 11.0, still call it OS X and just change the major version number, there's nothing we can really say.
You are correct, but when Apple completely rewrote their operating system that was a hugh change. They really made the change stand out by switching from numbers to the letter X (yes, it's still a number, I know), and started using cats for code names (actually this came later and was back filled). They started a trend.
OS X has been around so long now, I can't see them going to OS 11 or XI unless there is a huge update to the OS. It would have to be something big.
I think we'll only see the next OS when OSX has completely served it's time, at the moment it's in it's prime, sales of Apples notebooks and desktops are at the highest they've ever been, yes iOS devices have eclipsed that, but that's more because they're mostly of a different purpose/cheaper, by the time the next Mac OS comes along it'll probably be a bit overdue, or way ahead of it's time, who knows, maybe iOS is that OS, time will tell.
Software version numbers are not necessarily decimal. Nobody here has a clue about the name of Apple's next OS or the new name of Apple's current OS. If there is an Apple employee here who knows Apple's plans, then he/she cannot and will not even hint that this knowledge is within him/her.
This is what I know and what I believe:
- When Apple introduced MacOS X, it stated that MacOS X would be the basis of its OS for the next twenty years. We have at least nine years to go. (I am convinced that we have more than that.)
- Since Apple introduced MacOS X, it has doubled-down on UNIX. For example, it acquired CUPS back in 2007. It graduated from POSIX-compliance to genuine UNIX certification.
- Apple is increasing its brand emphasis on "OS X." It is doing this at the same time that it has accelerated the production of new point releases. Consider this MacOS X 10.4 Tiger reigned for 2.5 years. We are on the verge of the introduction of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. In 2.5 years after Mountain Lion's debut, we expect to be using the successor to OS X 10.9.
- We know that Steve Jobs Apple with a Five-Year Roadmap for its product development. I am convinced the plans for OS X beyond 10.9 have already been outlined.
- It does not make sense to raise the profile of "OS X" only to replace it two years later. I believe that the OS that follows OS X 10.9 will be either OS X 10.10 or OS X 11. I do not believe that we will ever see OS XI.
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The difference between then and now is that they had to rewrite the OS, system 7, OS8 and OS9 were just not designed to handle the demands of modern computing (pre-emptive multitasking, better memory management etc). With OSX, I don't see apple needing to rewrite the operating system.
OSX is a catchy name. OSXI is fairly crap. From a marketing standpoint, it will go to 10.11 before it goes to XI. Unless they further the OS in some way that sets it apart from OSX.
Since the current portables are becoming the computers of "tomorrow", I doubt OSX will ever slip into OSXI. Chances are great to see OSX go through the decade and then disappear with current computing formats at Apple. Based on the trends and speculation, "pro" macs and high-powered computers will become more of a sub-niche market, and now that the visionary of Apple is in the dirt, the bean-counters will shortly reign: everything will be a mere profit, no matter what the quality. So the cheaper/smaller versions will be king and OSX will die with the machines it used to work.
Since the current portables are becoming the computers of "tomorrow", I doubt OSX will ever slip into OSXI. Chances are great to see OSX go through the decade and then disappear with current computing formats at Apple. Based on the trends and speculation, "pro" macs and high-powered computers will become more of a sub-niche market, and now that the visionary of Apple is in the dirt, the bean-counters will shortly reign: everything will be a mere profit, no matter what the quality. So the cheaper/smaller versions will be king and OSX will die with the machines it used to work.
Heck they dont even need to go to XI - as stated before, version numbering isnt necessarily a decimal. There are tons of versions of software that goes to x.11 or whatever. Heck we have had versions of OSX where the minor updates (the x.y.z version) went above 9 without triggering a .y release. Apple could release 10.13 and go on from there until the cows come home for all we know.
Yeah... Not only will portable devices have the power (heck, we already do), but feature-wise, both OSs are getting more alike. We'll hit a point where it might be pointless to keep them separate.
No, he said MacOS X would be the basis of Apple's operating system for 20 years. We have nearly a decade to go before the first 20 years ends.
Where did you get this nonsense? As much as I revere Steve Jobs, he was not the only visionary at Apple. As for the rest of this stream of consciousness, what can I say? OS X is UNIX-based. The dreaded iOS is OS X with a [slightly] different UI. Rather than abandoning UNIX for something else, Apple had doubled-down on UNIX. If Apple had any plans to abandon UNIX for something else, then we would be reading about this wonderous new OS in computer science research journals, general-interest computer publications, and every computer fan site on the Web.
There will be no OS XI. Apple will fade out of the computer business, and only sell iPads/iPhones. So OS XI is truly iOS.
GL
GL
Well the big difference between iOS and OS X is the User Interaction. Almost all the branding is about the user interaction. A change in the first number traditionally means a shift in the Kernel that breaks some long standing legacy.
If Apple gets to the point they want to shift the kernel and version number bumps to 11.0 If there is no big change in user interaction then i see no reason not to keep OS X as the public brand.
I think Apple might be moving towards one of those shifts in a couple of years. De-tangling the BSD layer, Kernel and file system but none of that will change the main interaction other than making it snappier.
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Agreed with this.
I suspect we'll never see OS XI, it will be called something else.
Probably "iOS"
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I'm actually serious. iOS will gain OS X like capabilities, and OS X will gain more touch interfaces.
Somewhere in the middle, the two will merge and become a unified OS again. I suspect within 3-5 years, as the CPU and memory in phones becomes on par with what OS X currently requires.
I don't think it will be a bad thing - basing fears on the current implementation of iOS being limited is imho a little premature.
Oh, brother
iOS is Apple's port of its OS for mobile devices. OS X is Apple's port of its OS for general-purpose computers and servers. There is simply no case for unifying iOS with OS X. If there were, then they would be unified now. In fact, they never would have been separated in the first place.
Oh, brother
We'll see who's right come 2015 I guess.
They would have been separated before due to resource requirements, and also to enable apple to gradually phase touch into OS X and OS X features into mobile devices as capability of said devices improves.
