Os X 10.7?

[applefan69]

Alright, now before you all say "wth... OS X 10.6 is just hardly being whispered about why are you worried about 10.7". My answer to that is:
OS X 10.6 is sounding like it'll be a simple upgrade to make OS X faster more efficient, and just perfect every detail. (which sounds great, because as great as OS X is... it needs a little fine-tuning). But furthermore I think 10.6 is a preparation for 10.7. With windows 7 coming out, apple is gonna need multi-touch in their OS soon otherwise everyones gonna think apple is copying microsoft... because thats just the way things are. >.> So baically I think 10.6 will be simple fine-tuning so that when 10.7 comes along everything will already be smooth like butter.

What I really wanted to get at in this topic is, lets assume 10.7 will have multi-touch, (not the simple stuff that we got right now with just a track pad) how will apple do it? Biggest issue I see for both microsoft and Apple is

How will they convince everyone to go out and buy a new computer?

We can already tell microsofts way of doing it, is actually not very thought out, they plan on just getting producers to make laptops, and desktops and such that support multi-touch. Honestly thats ridiculously dumb and should have been thought out better. It'll work in the end, but at the start market penetration will be slow.

Way I think apple SHOULD do this, is alot more simple and easier all around. They simply release OS X 10.7 with multi-touch support (plus optional mouse/keyboard support), and then with that they release a peripheral that plugs into the USB drive, this peripheral would basically just be a large multi-touch track pad. This way it'd work in any mac, just simply plug it in, and install OS X 10.7 and bamn magically that mac supports multi-touch now. Even PowerPC macs could do it.

Then in the future, new macbooks, instead of a keyboard just have a giant track pad...

Now i know your thinking... "a giant track pad sounds boring" I agree, but what if it had a screen? Maybe it wont/maybe it will it depends on whihc way apple wants to go.

Well im just saying what im thinking, how do you expect apple to do this?

[dukebound85]

if 10.7 has multitouch built in os, it wont be primary input

think about it, it would be really annoying (to me at least)

with that said i believe keyboards and mice will still be primary with multitouch being an option for some things but not required to use the os aka an alternative input

[applefan69]

Originally Posted by dukebound85

if 10.7 has multitouch built in os, it wont be primary input

think about it, it would be really annoying (to me at least)

with that said i believe keyboards and mice will still be primary with multitouch being an option for some things but not required to use the os aka an alternative input

Another reason, I think apple would be MUCH wiser to just sell a multi-touch peripheral, and have say OS X 10.7 fully support it.

[HawaiiMacAddict]

Aloha applefan69,

Will PPC Macs even be supported under Mac OS 10.7? A lot of G4 Macs can't officially run Leopard - even more, perhaps even into the G4 realm, won't be able to run Snow Leopard (if Apple continues with the same strategy) - so by the time 10.7 (Lion, anyone?) comes out, it's anyone's guess as to which, if any, G5 Macs will even be supported.

Personally, I could see an enlarged trackpad, somewhat like an ultraslim version of an iPhone, that could change its icons/controls depending on the active app. It could even have a slot for a stylus, so that if the user opened Photoshop they could still use their primary monitor, but "draw" on this device. Of course, it would have the same type of keyboard as that of the iPhone, so typing would probably have a bit of a break-in time for the user. We'll just have to wait and see on that one.

HawaiiMacAddict

[BlakTornado]

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/optimus-tactus/

This but thinner, just a USB cable (not requiring a connection to the external display socket) and with an Apple Logo

[HawaiiMacAddict]

Aloha BlakTornado,

That's precisely what I envisioned - and did you notice the Command (Apple) key in the typing mode picture? hehehe

HawaiiMacAddict

[ClassicBean]

I don't get the people who believe the ridiculous rumor that 10.6 won't feature any significant upgrades because Apple is focusing on stability and whatnot.

It doesn't take an MBA to realize that this goes against the most basic of marketing principles.

Unless 10.6 turns out to be free, the "no new features" rumor is pure bollocks.

[zombitronic]

I also see this as the inevitable evolution of user input...in the short term (2 to 4 years). I think tactile feedback is another area of this technology that requires and will undergo much needed evolution. This technology improves the versatility of our input devices themselves, but does not drastically change our method of input.

I think beyond this, (5 to 10 years), video sensors will play an important role. With built-in cameras in displays being able to track head movement, the next step, after perfecting the head tracking, would be recognizing other appendages, i.e. hands and fingers.

This will not replace, but compliment our current user input. Imaging "grabbing" the air towards a window or icon on your desktop and dragging it around, à la Tony Stark.

10.7? Maybe not that soon, but I could see this happening by 10.9 or 10.10.

[ckurowic]

Originally Posted by zombitronic

I also see this as the inevitable evolution of user input...in the short term (2 to 4 years). I think tactile feedback is another area of this technology that requires and will undergo much needed evolution. This technology improves the versatility of our input devices themselves, but does not drastically change our method of input.

I think beyond this, (5 to 10 years), video sensors will play an important role. With built-in cameras in displays being able to track head movement, the next step, after perfecting the head tracking, would be recognizing other appendages, i.e. hands and fingers.

This will not replace, but compliment our current user input. Imaging "grabbing" the air towards a window or icon on your desktop and dragging it around, à la Tony Stark.

10.7? Maybe not that soon, but I could see this happening by 10.9 or 10.10.

Without tactile feedback this thing is useless. Can you imagine how hard it would be to type on that thing without having raised/separated keys? Yeah yeah, I know, the iPhone doesn't have tactile feedback either, but you can't exactly type 120 WPM on it either.

[Virgil-TB2]

I think that the obvious way to do this is to do what the fingerworks people did when they invented all this stuff and make a multi-touch trackpad that can be used instead of a mouse. I am actually hoping that Apple will announce this product tomorrow actually. They already have it on the MacBook Air, it would be childsplay to produce one without the laptop and sell it as a mouse replacement.

If you think about it also, the iMac glass screen is very similar to the iPhone screen, they could simply add a capacitive touch screen to the back of the glass, say when 10.6 comes out and then by the time 10.7 arrives, half the world has the hardware already.

[Satori]

Originally Posted by zombitronic

I also see this as the inevitable evolution of user input...in the short term (2 to 4 years). I think tactile feedback is another area of this technology that requires and will undergo much needed evolution. This technology improves the versatility of our input devices themselves, but does not drastically change our method of input.

I think beyond this, (5 to 10 years), video sensors will play an important role. With built-in cameras in displays being able to track head movement, the next step, after perfecting the head tracking, would be recognizing other appendages, i.e. hands and fingers.

This will not replace, but compliment our current user input. Imaging "grabbing" the air towards a window or icon on your desktop and dragging it around, à la Tony Stark.

10.7? Maybe not that soon, but I could see this happening by 10.9 or 10.10.

If it incorporates this level of feature upgrade and change I think we would be looking at OS XI (11.0).

[GuillaumeB]

wow I want that cool keyboard!! too bad it's a concept only!

[zombitronic]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

I think that the obvious way to do this is to do what the fingerworks people did when they invented all this stuff and make a multi-touch trackpad that can be used instead of a mouse. I am actually hoping that Apple will announce this product tomorrow actually. They already have it on the MacBook Air, it would be childsplay to produce one without the laptop and sell it as a mouse replacement.

Yes, it would be easy to make a trackpad an external USB peripheral, but when using a desktop, I'd much rather use a mouse than a trackpad. That's why I'm still hoping for the Mighty Mouse Touch.

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

If you think about it also, the iMac glass screen is very similar to the iPhone screen, they could simply add a capacitive touch screen to the back of the glass, say when 10.6 comes out and then by the time 10.7 arrives, half the world has the hardware already.

Yes, but those smudges...a 3" screen in your pocket is a lot easier to wipe clean than a 20" screen. Not to say that it won't happen, but this is one reason I'd push for video sensors and motion tracking.

[Sam Yikin]

I believe I read somewhere that Apple had filed a patent for a keyboard much like that image posted above, so....

[Firefly2002]

So you basically think 10.6 will be 10.5's 10.1, so to speak.

Could be.

But that wouldn't ease the transition for 10.7.. whenever apple seems to create new "features," they translate into incompatibility. In the old days, most software that could run on OS 9 could probably run on OS 8.5, and possibly 8.1 and even System 7. Now it seems every new upgrade makes things incompatible... I'm not going to pretend to know how that works, because I don't, but it certainly is irritating.

Looking at Windows, they only just dropped support for Win95, and there are still apps being written which run just fine on Win95, now well over ten years old, versus OS 9 which got dropped like a bad habit after 10.1 was introduced; you'd be hard-pressed to find anything new that runs on Mac OS 10.2.8; Leopard was a major step, too. Same with Panther... most new apps require 10.4 or later, and Panther was released with even more fanfare than before.

Anyway, my point is cleaning up 10.6 won't help as much as one might wish with 10.7

[ZiggyPastorius]

Originally Posted by ckurowic

Without tactile feedback this thing is useless. Can you imagine how hard it would be to type on that thing without having raised/separated keys? Yeah yeah, I know, the iPhone doesn't have tactile feedback either, but you can't exactly type 120 WPM on it either.

I don't want to hijack the thread, and just for reference, I agree completely that you couldn't use that at all without some sort of physical response, but...I just wanted to point out that I can type atleast that fast on my iPod touch.

Edit: That's on horizontal typing mode..on vertical, I'm a bit slower.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by zombitronic

Yes, it would be easy to make a trackpad an external USB peripheral, but when using a desktop, I'd much rather use a mouse than a trackpad. That's why I'm still hoping for the Mighty Mouse Touch.





Yes, but those smudges...a 3" screen in your pocket is a lot easier to wipe clean than a 20" screen. Not to say that it won't happen, but this is one reason I'd push for video sensors and motion tracking.

Agreed on both counts.

I was merely trying to come up with physical ways (methods of manufacture and product design), in which it *might* come about as per the OP's question.

Still love the idea of something that looks like a mousepad in general form factor but operates like a multi-touch pad.

[vandlism]

To paraphrase

Originally Posted by applefan69

We can already tell microsofts way of doing it, is actually not very thought out, they plan on just getting producers to make laptops, and desktops and such that support multi-touch.

Way I think apple SHOULD do this, is alot more simple and easier all around...they release a peripheral that ... would basically just be a large multi-touch track pad.

What we saw at WWDC was Apple's initiative to make iPhone OS X a platform of its own, separate from Mac OS X. What you have described is virtually where Apple is going with the iPhone. At the moment, there is no use for touch capabilities in Mac OS X other than to make it more like Minority Report. Our computers deal with small buttons, controls, widgets, blah. The Mac OS X desktop OS will continue to be refreshed, added features and more multi-touch support I am sure. However, the true future of a multi-touch platform lies in iPhone OS X.

[prmccarron]

Originally Posted by applefan69

Even PowerPC macs could do it.

I hope they start using PPC's again. It's not fair that people like me have to go out and spend/waste $1000+ to get the latest and greatest Mac software and hardware.
Personally, I liked it when white was Apple's color, because most Win***s stuff is black. The iMac PPC G5 was cool.
Sorry to get off topic, lol. Just had to say that. But your ideas ARE cool. I don't see why people wouldn't like it.

[old-wiz]

Originally Posted by HawaiiMacAddict

Aloha applefan69,

Will PPC Macs even be supported under Mac OS 10.7? A lot of G4 Macs can't officially run Leopard - even more, perhaps even into the G4 realm, won't be able to run Snow Leopard (if Apple continues with the same strategy) - so by the time 10.7 (Lion, anyone?) comes out, it's anyone's guess as to which, if any, G5 Macs will even be supported.


HawaiiMacAddict

PPC is gone for good; they are not supported under Snow Leopard at all. Apple's not going to go back; future versions of OSx will continue to be Intel only.

edit: mmph..responded to year old thread.

[Mr_Brightside_@]

Originally Posted by old-wiz

PPC is gone for good; they are not supported under Snow Leopard at all. Apple's not going to go back; future versions of OSx will continue to be Intel only.

edit: mmph..responded to year old thread.

+1, but I'm more than happy with Tiger. Only have one or two minor bugs. If it makes you feel any better, I directed prmccarron here

[Eric S.]

Yikes. Is it really necessary to resurrect a year-and-a-half old thread just to go around for the umpteenth time on the PPC debate? If you have to do that, at least go here:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=498339