Apple Considering Rebranding Mac OS X Under New 'iOS' Umbrella?

[FoxyKaye]

Didn't see that coming. Nope, not at all.

I'm really on the fence about this - on one hand, OS X is technically OS XVI at this point, it's just that Apple hasn't changed anything but the number after the 10. So, I was wondering how long they would take before adopting a different name alltogether for it, since they can't keep milking the X train for very much longer anyhow.

On the other hand, rebranding is usually reflective of an internal realignment, and by going to iOS, it makes Apple's focus on all the iToys even that much more apparent.

I don't think it's a death-knell for OS X per se, but I do think Apple is permanently on track to move away from the desktop market at some later point in time.

 

[MarlboroLite]

Just drop the X and call it MacOS. iOs and MacOS. Problem solved. (If there actually were a problem.)

 

[Lord Vader]

I will ****.

 

[Theclamshell]

I could care less what they call it. But if they change it to be more like iOS then i will have to buy a peice of junk

 

[RoboCop001]

This is the end. My only friend, the end.

Smoking plastic is bad for your health.

Pot on the other hand...

 

[Not Steve Jobs]

Are they actually trying to kill the personal computer?

Apple, don't leave X out in the cold. Keep the awesome.

 

[ebow]

I'm not a huge fan of the idea, but if they were going to do this, I would see them doing it either when they run out of decimals (e.g. up to OS X 10.9, then iOS Desktop) or upon the 10th anniversary of OS X 10.0. "Ten years of X." Which would be in March of 2011, if you don't count server versions of X.

 

[Koodauw]

I was ok with the switch from Powermac to Mac Pro. Powerbook to Macbook pro was more of an adjustment for me. Eventually with time I excepted it. I will forever call it OS X. Damn you progression and change!

 

[Small White Car]

Blah blah blah

Killing OS 9 was the end of the Mac
Switching to Intel was the end of the Mac
Dropping floppy drives/DVD drives/firewire etc. was the end of the Mac

It's been two decades of "disaster" after "disaster" and somehow my Mac and I are doing just fine.

It's just more of the same.

 

[0098386]

If they drop a full OSX and modify iOS to support desktop machines then I'm outta there. I doubt they would do that, but I like my open garden. As it were.

 

[Ziggie]

iPhone iOS 4
Mac iOS 10.7

This is why I don't see anything like this happening soon. You can't just rename OS X to iOS and keep the existing version number. Yet you can't just name OS X iOS 4 either, since they are two completely different OS'es (and I'm not just talking about touch here).

Personally I wouldn't mind if touch in a conventional way would never come to OS X. I just don't see much use for it, especially if I see how smudged my iPhone's screen is.

 

[Grimace]

We all hated the name MacBook when it was first released...so we may just need time - but iOS does sound kinda dumb.

 

[balamw]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A293 Safari/6531.22.7)

Didn't see that coming. Nope, not at all.

I'm really on the fence about this - on one hand, OS X is technically OS XVI at this point, it's just that Apple hasn't changed anything but the number after the 10. So, I was wondering how long they would take before adopting a different name alltogether for it, since they can't keep milking the X train for very much longer anyhow.

On the other hand, rebranding is usually reflective of an internal realignment, and by going to iOS, it makes Apple's focus on all the iToys even that much more apparent.

I don't think it's a death-knell for OS X per se, but I do think Apple is permanently on track to move away from the desktop market at some later point in time.

Let's face it. The desktop doesn't drive things anymore. For most people the only computer they will buy is a notebook. If the Apple notebooks aging touch/iOS features it the rebranding would make sense, and would probably mean a return of the iBook brand.

B

 

[macfan881]

Blah blah blah

Killing OS 9 was the end of the Mac
Switching to Intel was the end of the Mac
Dropping floppy drives/DVD drives/firewire etc. was the end of the Mac

It's been two decades of "disaster" after "disaster" and somehow my Mac and I are doing just fine.

It's just more of the same.

Dont forget the iPad would flop too

 

[pondosinatra]

Meh. I'll just go back to using NeXTStep.

 

[iSee]

Please no >_<

OS X is arguably the last decent thing left with this company... and this would mean beginning of the end of it too

Wha??? ... with massive emphasis on the word arguably.

 

[Earendil]

I'm not thinking that there is any truth to this.

The 'i' has always been the lower grade device, or a strictly consumer device.

iBook vs PowerBook, iMac vs PowerMac. Then hit the strictly consumer "fun" devices like the iPod. This is starting to break a little bit with the iPhone, but I think that those that have known Macs for a few years know that 'i' doesn't stand for Pro. And anyone who is new to the Apple arena does have a clue what an "iOS" is. Not to mention that, as it stands right now, iOS is a different beast than OS, with different purposes and limitations. You don't want to try and combine those naming schemes.

 

[MattSepeta]

This is why I don't see anything like this happening soon. You can't just rename OS X to iOS and keep the existing version number. Yet you can't just name OS X iOS 4 either, since they are two completely different OS'es (and I'm not just talking about touch here).

Personally I wouldn't mind if touch in a conventional way would never come to OS X. I just don't see much use for it, especially if I see how smudged my iPhone's screen is.

I agree. I have no desire to touch my computer screen, I actually kind of flip out when people touch my screens

I DO want that touch track pad thing that we saw a glimpse of a few weeks ago, like a MBP track pad dongle that is bluetooth

 

[benlee]

Just drop the X and call it MacOS. iOs and MacOS. Problem solved. (If there actually were a problem.)

This seems like the best idea.

 

[AlexH]

Please no...

 

[zombitronic]

Time for Mac OS X is doomed comments.

*monty python*DOOOOMED I TELL THEE! DOOOOOOMMMMED!

Mac OS X is indeed doomed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpvQzsDB3uA

 

[Dicx]

This might be the realization of my greatest fear...that Apple's mobile OS will be translated to a desktop version.

The day that happens, sayonara Apple. I need a full-featured OS. Not some version of a mobile operating system.

Of course this might JUST be a naming convention, in which case, no big deal. But if they're thinking about unifying all features...ouch.

Agreed.

 

[musiciscool]

me>i

the 'me' branding is the way to go... mobileme, mephone, mepod, mepad, memac, memac pro, meOS....

 

[Icestorm815]

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Personally, I don't care what they call it as long as it continues to be a great product.

 

[qbert]

Bad news for pros. OS X goes from being pulled back from the brink of bloatware only to become "neglectware"...