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Apple Executives Consider Thirty Years of Macintosh, Say iOS and OS X Convergence 'A Non-Goal'
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No it isn't. We knew this already and Apple has said it many times already. If you weren't listening then you probably aren't listening now. At the most recent event they specifically mocked their competitors for "trying to turn tablets into laptops and laptops into tablets". They also committed to making several California themed OS X releases, and Steve Jobs has mocked touch screen laptops and "gorilla arms". Stop talking and start listening.
exactly. touch screen laptops now have real momentum and apple will eventually have to jump in. "Who says apple cant innovate"
good, now build a mac with a consumer grade desktop video card
by the time apple builds one I'm sure they will revoke user root access
by the time apple builds one I'm sure they will revoke user root access
I wonder if we can believe it.
There's lots of small hints and evidence of eventual convergence, a thought that would push me away after 20 years of great Apple computers.
Mavericks is but one example of the influence and subtle inclusion of iOS elements. What a dreadful issue this is.
Touch screen laptops have momentum? What's your source? HP is currently running a Windows 7 campaign. I doubt they'd be doing that if Windows 8 was driving sales.
Why? The people backtracking here are Microsoft. Metro failed as a unified desktop/tablet dream interface as the "way forward" and now they're busy updating Windows 8.1 to be able to launch Metro apps from the desktop interface. I take this as a first step to divergence. It may seem like a further unification at the first sight, but think about it...
Windows 9 will most likely keep treading this path, letting the user do as much from the desktop as possible, even accessing Windows Store bought and Metro apps. Great, huh? Because the users complained so much about Metro and Microsoft do want to listen. The end result will be one good, flexible desktop interface for the desktop, and another one for the tablets.
And then what? Then they're back at square one. Then they could just be two different operating systems altogether again, because they're living in separate worlds. Unless developers and end-users are really excited about running Metro apps from the desktop, apps that share a completely different look & feel and feel alien. I haven't even heard a single person asking for this. Because the Metro apps are dumbed down versions of the desktop apps at best, and not even aimed for the input device being a mouse and keyboard.
I don't think this is where Microsoft wanted to go at all (they wanted to kill the desktop in the long term and move ahead with Metro), but I think they'll be forced to go there. What a waste of time to first try to seek a middle ground in Metro, release Windows 8, then accept that the desktop users wanted to use Desktop and the tablet users Metro anyway, release Windows 8.1 + 8.1 Update 1 which will have this fleshed out further in Windows 9...
Meanwhile, Apple is like... what the ... are you doing.
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They've said all of this before, really. It's nice to hear them state it so definitively, though, and talk about the Mac as the best tool for certain jobs.
Does it?
Thinner where it doesn't need to be thick, lighter where it doesn't need to be heavy, larger count of whatever users need more of - that's not "very different", that's progressive refinement of the core concept. We're still using windowing and full-screen views, slot-based removable storage (an SD card is same shape as a 3.5" floppy disk, just smaller), etc. About the only "new" thing is networking, but that popped up not long after the Mac was first introduced, and isn't much beyond automating "sneakernet". Better, but not orthogonally different.
I wish there was a "like" button for this article, because upon reading this article, it's nice to know that Apple still feels that the Mac is very, very relevant and has no plans to discontinue or do away with keyboard/mouse and larger screen computing anytime soon. Personally, I think the iOS stuff is a newer 'fad' of sorts and rarely use my iPad or iPhone as much as I use my Macintosh. I am a desktop junkie, if you could call it that!
I agree. A tablet is fundamentally a handheld touch device. You put a desktop operating system on it, and you have a hot mess. You merge desktop and touch UI, and you have a hot mess. You make the tablet larger (say 12inches) to handle the desktop OS, and you have an awkward handheld device and another hot mess.
I am not saying that it can never be done, but so far, the attempts to merge touch and desktop OS have not appealed to me. Furthermore, there is really no advantage to owning a single hybrid device. With cloud syncing, I can move almost seamlessly between my iPad and my desktop. I don't think the cost of buying two devices is a big difference, since I can buy a Mac Mini plus iPad for the same price as a Macbook.......I assume an Apple laptop-tablet hybrid with touch screen and retina would cost at least as much as a retina MacBook Pro.
I am not saying that it can never be done, but so far, the attempts to merge touch and desktop OS have not appealed to me. Furthermore, there is really no advantage to owning a single hybrid device. With cloud syncing, I can move almost seamlessly between my iPad and my desktop. I don't think the cost of buying two devices is a big difference, since I can buy a Mac Mini plus iPad for the same price as a Macbook.......I assume an Apple laptop-tablet hybrid with touch screen and retina would cost at least as much as a retina MacBook Pro.
Why do you think so? because this is something that people are clamoring for because it "makes sense"? If the former, please point me to this clamor, other than MS and Windows 8. if the latter, please explain why...
They say they would not want the mac to feel less like a mac because of iOS, but... it didn't stop them from removing features from iWork because they wanted parity with iOS. So by all means gush about respect for both platforms, but please demonstrate it as well!!
Speaking of 30 years of Macintosh, it looks like there's gonna be a super bowl ad this year.
https://twitter.com/_clow/status/425099569379016705
That tweet is by the co-creator of the "1984" ad.
https://twitter.com/_clow/status/425099569379016705
That tweet is by the co-creator of the "1984" ad.
"...they will not become one operating platform without good reason."
Y'all missed the caveat -
WITHOUT GOOD REASON
Y'all missed the caveat -
WITHOUT GOOD REASON
Indeed. The Mac has evolved but remained true to its original vision. A Mac user from 1984 could use Mavericks fine after the first day and feel at home.
I never really understood the people who claimed that OS X was getting 'iOSified' anyway. The Launchpad is incredibly useful; not only is it the quickest way to access all your applications, but it just displays the application within folders.
To anybody who uses loads of third-party music plugins, or even Adobe software as a good example, you'll see they're buried in folders in the Applications folder.
Thank goodness they confirmed it though, it's always a fear that they'll take unified experiences to an extreme.
Alfred. Or even spotlight in a pinch.
But for those that want an (inferior
) alternative, I certainly wouldn't begrudge them.