Apple's WWDC 2014 to Focus on OS X 10.10 as Apple Pulls Resources from iOS 8 to Help

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Apple already has tens of thousands of engineers.. Given the cache earned over the last decade; they may well have sucked all the A level engineers in the area who were available.. There maybe others left in other companies but recruiting them will be expensive and the cultures may not work out. All the cash in the world will not turn the leftover B, C and D level engineers into the rock stars that Apple wants.

Who said anything about hiring B, C or D level engineers? Do you really think Apple- the MIGHTY APPLE- is limited to the "local area" for talent?

Do you really think Apple would find it "expensive" to recruit A-level talent? How much profit did Apple just announce for 1 quarter? Do you not think that A-level talent from around the world are not proactively trying to get in at Apple? You make it sound like Apple would have to work really hard to attract the best & brightest. I bet they are swimming in piles of resumes from months ago they haven't even been able to look at yet. If you had A-level talent and that specific kind of talent, would Apple have to engage in an "expensive" campaign to try to find you and lure you to Apple or would you have long ago submitted your credentials to Apple (and probably many times since)?

 

[Rad99004]

Apple: Were not merging the two OS's, but OSX will look more like IOS.

Sounds like a merge to me. First it starts with visuals then the changes will happen under the hood.

I think Microsoft has led the way and is way ahead making a common code base between Xbox, desktop, tablet and phone.

There updates are flying out of Redmond at a record pace.

Apple will follow but wish they would pick up the pace.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

key words in this sentence are 'sounds like'.. it's your interpretation and possibly nothing to do with reality.

ie- you read some news blip that people that normally work on iOS throughout the year are putting in some time on osx and your interpretation is that it's some sort of crisis.

i'm pretty sure apple is doing just fine in the amount of employees dept.. they're probably overstaffed in all reality.. i mean, if i go into an apple store, there are way more employees there per sq.ft than any other retail establishment i know.. i assume the same goes for their engineering depts.

Maybe it is a personal misinterpretation- this is macRUMORS after all. But that's what we do here- interpret or misinterpret rumors and what they mean to us as individuals. Certainly Apple could be overstaffed in the engineering department like you believe they are fully/over staffed at retail stores. However, at the retail level, I never hear a story or rumor about having to borrow some Macy's employees for a crunch time event at the retail stores. The retail side seems to know how to staff up for when they anticipate the retail rush. The engineering side might do that just as well but then we get recurring "tidbits", rumors, etc about pulling engineering talent off of one very important area to lend more focus to another.

Here's another way to think about it: if there is anything to this "tidbit", are "we" happy that iOS 8 has less people working on it in support of an OS X 10.10 crunch? Is iOS 8 less important than 10.10?

In past variants of this same story, it was the other way: OS X engineers getting pulled off to help with iOS version crunches. Was iOS then more important than OS X?

The point is why does this keep happening (assuming this is not a speculative "tidbit" with no basis in fact)? Apple is not too poor to overstaff both teams so they can handle these crunches? Apple should not be too mismanaged such that it can't anticipate when it will need more resources to finish up important projects on strategically planned timelines. If Apple retail knows it needs to staff up for Christmas and iPhone launches, it seems the rest of Apple could know that it needs to staff up to finish OS X AND iOS on schedule.

Personally, I care much more about OS X than iOS so I'm happy with this reassignment (and hope it yields a more meaningful upgrade to OS X). But if I cared equally about OS X and iOS, I don't love this rumor. And if iOS was more important to me than OS X, I dislike this rumor. But mostly, I don't understand how a cash-rich company like Apple could ever find itself in a self-imposed crunch because of the lack of sufficient staff. If Apple wants to roll out great focus on OS X at WWDC, it has likely known this for many months at a minimum (and should have known it for at least 1 year or more). It's a big, BIG company. It should have strategic plans with clear timelines. It should know when it will likely have such crunches and proactively act to prepare for them. It doesn't lack the financial resources to do anything it wants.

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Apple: Were not merging the two OS's, but OSX will look more like IOS.

Sounds like a merge to me. First it starts with visuals then the changes will happen under the hood.

I think Microsoft has led the way and is way ahead making a common code base between Xbox, desktop, tablet and phone.

There updates are flying out of Redmond at a record pace.

Apple will follow but wish they would pick up the pace.

I hope you're wrong. iOS is the "for dummies" variation of the OS. It is so relatively weak for power users (even frustrating in some situations). OS X is still easy-to-use but so much more flexible and seemingly powerful. Each has a place. I think Microsoft got it wrong to try to merge the two together for all kinds of devices. And even Microsoft is backpedaling a bit on that effort.

Bring a few iOS apps and features to OS X but don't put iOS-X out as a unifying product for the toys and the power computers. If anything, try to do a bit more the other way- bring a bit more of OS X to iOS. I can't tell you how often the lack of a filesystem aggravates me in iOS use. And the other day, I was in a situation where 2 side-by-side windows running different apps would have been ideal and I instead had to flip back & forth over and over to get something trivial done.

 

[960design]

iOS8 needs multi user support on iPad.

Settings->iCloud->Delete Account ( Sign in with new user )

Apple should include front-end multiuser login as a Settings->General->Lock Screen Sign On ( auto sign out )

I asked for this two years ago, through multiple Apple channels after patenting it.

 

[dgalvan123]

10.10?

Has Apple forgotten how to count?
10.10 = 10.1, which we already had (Puma).

Seriously they've been on Mac OS X for 13 years. It's ok to call the next one 11.

 

[flat five]

Here's another way to think about it: if there is anything to this "tidbit", are "we" happy that iOS 8 has less people working on it in support of an OS X 10.10 crunch? Is iOS 8 less important than 10.10?

In past variants of this same story, it was the other way: OS X engineers getting pulled off to help with iOS version crunches. Was iOS then more important than OS X?

The point is why does this keep happening

it's designed to happen this way?

some people's interpretations of the story are that the OSX team are sitting around going "holy crap, we're never going to finish by deadline.. quick, find more people.. screw it, just grab the ios devs.. now 11!!1!!11" etc.

when reality is more like they're just following the roadmap that was designed a few years ago.. as in, everything is going according to plan.

i doubt there's a crisis.. if there were, they'd just hold back an osx revamp til next year.. it's not as if they'd suffer some sort of huge penalty if the OS update were more minor this time around..

(in fact, the only/main reason you're aware of 10.10 being a more 'major' update is because of this story.. you see what i'm saying?)

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10.10?

Has Apple forgotten how to count?
10.10 = 10.1, which we already had (Puma).

lol.. i always thought counting was ..6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 etc..

thanks to you, i realize my error .. it's really ..6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6 etc

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

it's designed to happen this way?

some people's interpretations of the story are that the OSX team are sitting around going "holy crap, we're never going to finish by deadline.. quick, find more people.. screw it, just grab the ios devs.. now 11!!1!!11" etc.

when reality is more like they're just following the roadmap that was designed a few years ago.. as in, everything is going according to plan.

Maybe. That very well could be exactly how it is. But then why the rumor? Generally news & rumors are spun about exceptions rather than mundane. We don't get much news or rumor about things happening exactly as planned. For example, "158 people killed in the plane crash today," not "476,000 people flying on planes made it safely to their destinations today." or "5 people were shot dead in the robbery today" not "7 billion people on earth were not shot dead in a robbery today" or "<famous person> involved in sex scandal right now" vs. "<all these other famous people> not involved in a current sex scandal".

I just hopped over to CNN.com for an example. Biggest headline right now: "Police: Teen planned school massacre" not "Hundreds of Millions of Teens did NOT plan a school massacre" On the video news: "See huge mudslide gulp city street" not "See thousands of city streets undisturbed by any unnatural events". And so on. Business as usual with all of those other teens and all of those other city streets don't get any press or rumors.

Here at MacRumors: "New Retail Chief Angela Ahrendts Appears on Apple's Leadership Page" not "Same Old Executives Still Showing on Apple's Leadership Page" or "iPhone 6 Physical Mockup Allegedly Based on Real Machine Schematics Surfaces" not "Nothing to report on new iPhone today" (though that might be an exception in and of itself).

If this is business as usual, there's no reason for the story, "tidbit", rumor, etc. There's not even a reason to waste time writing about the mundane of business as usual. Typically a rumor or news has at least some connection to an exception- something worth reporting that might be interesting to others. Sure, people can and do just make stuff up as click bait or similar but one can only cry wolf so many times before the villagers stop coming.

As such, I'll choose to believe there's probably at least something to this. There is a hard date coming next month. There is a history of wanting to present OS software wow at that event. It's plausible that either or both OS variants could be behind schedule for any number of reasons. The fault I find is not any of that. It's that this is about the third or fourth time I recall hearing this same kind of scenario going down. Once requires a scramble. Twice should be the opportunity to say "Oh no, not again" and learn that this isn't a one-time scenario. By the third time, someone should be recognizing the need to staff up to solve this kind of problem so it is unlikely to happen again.

So, if there is anything to this and this is only the third time, maybe it can be the last time.

 

[derek4484]

Nooo!

I hope Apple refrains from merging iOS and OS X. A desktop/laptop computer OS needs to be different from a mobile phone/tablet OS. M$ learned that the hard way. Win 8.1 sucks on the PC. Win 7 was/is a great computer OS. I like that Apple is making more features work on both the desktop and mobile world, like messages, but the desktop OS needs to be a separate OS, it needs to function differently.

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it's designed to happen this way?

some people's interpretations of the story are that the OSX team are sitting around going "holy crap, we're never going to finish by deadline.. quick, find more people.. screw it, just grab the ios devs.. now 11!!1!!11" etc.

when reality is more like they're just following the roadmap that was designed a few years ago.. as in, everything is going according to plan.

i doubt there's a crisis.. if there were, they'd just hold back an osx revamp til next year.. it's not as if they'd suffer some sort of huge penalty if the OS update were more minor this time around..

(in fact, the only/main reason you're aware of 10.10 being a more 'major' update is because of this story.. you see what i'm saying?)

----------



lol.. i always thought counting was ..6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 etc..

thanks to you, i realize my error .. it's really ..6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,1,2,3,4,5,6 etc

Apparently you dont know decimals?? 10.10 and 10.1 are the same value.

 

[flat five]

But then why the rumor?

because it's not a rumor? more of a buzz generator of a new OS that's going to be the centerpiece of wwdc?

"this is going to be awesome. we have our most talented people in all of apple working on this thing right now.. wheeeeee!!"

----------

Apparently you dont know decimals?? 10.10 and 10.1 are the same value.

like i said, you already made me realize my errors in counting.. maybe you can further elaborate on decimals? im in a learning mood today


(and while you're at it, can you explain this decimal? -- 10.9.2 -- my head's about to explode trying to comprehend the decimals in there but maybe you can clear it up)

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

because it's not a rumor? more of a buzz generator of a new OS that's going to be the centerpiece of wwdc?

If it's buzz generation and not a rumor, why is it posted HERE?

And wouldn't buzz building to build excitement be something Apple would drive? If so, then it would be actual news (official word).

 

[thekeyring]

It does.

iBooks, Came Center, Calendar, etc. don't. Yet no one complains about their designs.

 

[flat five]

If it's buzz generation and not a rumor, why is it posted HERE?

And wouldn't buzz building to build excitement be something Apple would drive? If so, then it would be actual news (official word).

ok.. you're right. apple is mismanaged and don't know how to properly run a development team.


(to me, they seem to be the best in these regards out of all the large companies but i could be wrong)

i pretty much said my thoughts on all of it already.. we'll just be back&forthing repeating ourselves if we keep talking about it.

 

[jrswizzle]

Oh good god I hope they don't follow the design patterns of iOS 7 in OSX, I really hate this "flat" phase people seem to be going through

Probably in the same way a lot of us hated the skeuomorphic crap we endured for years.

It's 2014 - my phone shouldn't look like a felt pool table or a yellow legal pad. It's a high-tech smart device. The UI will continue to evolve and really you get used to it pretty quickly.

It was stark and different for me at first - but now I wouldn't have it any other way. The choice of background also has a profound impact on the overall look and feel of the device which is cool.

Black/Dark background = darker feel across the device. Though I'll be honest - this is my favorite keyboard in iOS 7. I wish we saw more of it throughout the OS.

 

[flat five]

Black/Dark background = darker feel across the device. Though I'll be honest - this is my favorite keyboard in iOS 7. I wish we saw more of it throughout the OS.

OOMMGG. that is REPULSIVE!!! i HHAATTEE it ssoooo much

(just kidding.. i'm trying to figure out what part of the brain i need to tap into to actually say stuff like that ..didn't work though)

 

[zipa]

Apparently you dont know decimals?? 10.10 and 10.1 are the same value.

Apparently you don't know software version numbers. Or what numeric value does 10.9.2 represent in your opinion?

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

ok.. you're right. apple is mismanaged and don't know how to properly run a development team.

I didn't say anything about this. I'm not there. I simply suggest they can do better if there's anything to this. Anyone can do better- even Apple.

i pretty much said my thoughts on all of it already.. we'll just be back&forthing repeating ourselves if we keep talking about it.

To this, you are right. You seem to take the stance of spinning this into nothing to defend Apple while casting me as resisting such spin. If you work for Apple, great job. If you are just an Apple consumer- like me- what's in it for you to do free PR work for Apple? If the latter, we're both just wanting the best we can get from Apple. These events make it sound like Apple is taking focus from one important thrust to lend it to another. I'm arguing that Apple should stop doing that- if they are doing that- because both needs full focus so that both come out as fully baked as possible. If so, you & I as consumers win because we get a next great incarnation of iOS and a next great incarnation of OS X, not a great version of one but a not-quite there version of the other needing a .1 update to deliver what it should have delivered in the .0 update.

But yes, we've beat this horse to death. I agree with you that I think Apple is among the best for rolling out hardware & software wow generation after generation. The consumer in me just wants that to keep happening, better than ever.

 

[springsup]

AppKit and Foundation Kit are grounded in Openstep Initiative.

AppKit was first developed in 1986 and has been continuously evolving since.

UIKit is framework that relies 100% on AppKit.

How does one call UIKit a Modern API when AppKit 2014 is just as modern.

If you understood the power of delegates you would realize the reason for this relationship you're complaining is antiquated.

B/W Screens are used in Animation, Computer Graphics, Film Industry for comparing the contrast. Having that coding built-in isn't because it's a legacy situation, but something that has been addressed in broadcasting since we started using computer software tools to work within many specific industries.

References to older methods and classes you use to call or not call is intelligent documentation. It gives a path for people porting older applications forward.

OpenStep has been dead for a loooooooong time. Maybe some parts of it made sense in the early 90s, but it's 2014 now and it really doesn't make sense.

Also, you're mistaken about the relationship between UIKit and AppKit - UIKit does not depend on AppKit at all. iOS devices do not include a copy of AppKit on them at all; it's not just not a public framework, it isn't even a private framework. It simply does not exist on iOS devices.

Delegates are not that powerful. They have less overhead than notifications, but not really much less than KVO. You can only have one delegate on an object at a time - so if you're writing a control which wants to watch the appearance of its containing window, you'd need to replace whatever delegate is already attached to that window. Notifications and KVO are both to-many, broadcast callbacks. That's what I call powerful.

And the point really is that AppKit isn't consistent - some things are exposed with notifications or KVO, and others just aren't.

UIKit is a much more modern API because the conventions it uses are much more consistent. It does a lot for you to make the simple things really easy - things like layout and animation, for instance. It's a much more pleasant API to work with, and that allows designers and developers to be much more expressive.

References to old stuff in documentation may be useful for porting, but in that example none of those values were useful for over a decade. Not only that, you're still required to tell the system which backing type you want whenever you initialise a window, which doesn't make sense. Ultimately, you reach a point where the documentation contains references to so many functions that it's just a mess.

 

[deluxeshredder]

Probably in the same way a lot of us hated the skeuomorphic * we endured for years.

If you really hate graphically rich UIs, there was the very flat Windows Phone since 2010 and semi-flat Android 4 since 2012.

It's 2014 - my phone shouldn't look like a felt pool table or a yellow legal pad.

Yet PowerPoint-style graphics, early-2000s-web-Flash style animations and crazy neon colours are somehow "cool" and "clean".

It's a high-tech smart device.

"There is no place for haute cuisine garbage".

The UI will continue to evolve and really you get used to it pretty quickly.

I couldn't.

It was stark and different for me at first - but now I wouldn't have it any other way.

Do you also hate OS X Mavericks which is aesthetically true to classic iOS?

The choice of background also has a profound impact on the overall look and feel of the device which is cool.

It only affects a couple of screens.

 

[flat five]

I didn't say anything about this. I'm not there. I simply suggest they can do better if there's anything to this. Anyone can do better- even Apple.



To this, you are right. You seem to take the stance of spinning this into nothing to defend Apple while casting me as resisting such spin. If you work for Apple, great job. If you are just an Apple consumer- like me- what's in it for you to do free PR work for Apple? If the latter, we're both just wanting the best we can get from Apple. These events make it sound like Apple is taking focus from one important thrust to lend it to another. I'm arguing that Apple should stop doing that- if they are doing that- because both needs full focus so that both come out as fully baked as possible. If so, you & I as consumers win because we get a next great incarnation of iOS and a next great incarnation of OS X, not a great version of one but a not-quite there version of the other needing a .1 update to deliver what it should have delivered in the .0 update.

But yes, we've beat this horse to death. I agree with you that I think Apple is among the best for rolling out hardware & software wow generation after generation. The consumer in me just wants that to keep happening, better than ever.

hmm. no, I don't work for apple nor is the source of me saying any of this a stance of defending apple.

I run a specialty construction crew from design through project completion. I have framers, concrete finishers, and a laborer or two..

the first day of a project, everybody is a laborer-- moving stuff around etc.. am I understaffed? do I need more laborers

then framing starts. at this point, there's no concrete being poured so the finishers assist the framers.. do I need more framers?

on pour days, most of the framers assist the finishers.. do I need more finishers?

etcetc.

and yes, if it really came down to a serious deadline, I could bring in more people and complete sooner.. the problem is, once you get past a certain point, more people don't directly correlate to amount of progress.. with the way I'm set up now, crew wise, I could double the size, double the budget, and increase progress by ~1.5x. not 2x
if a client absolutely needs a project done by a certain date then they will be the ones paying the extra costs coming in at a less valuable rate.

are you willing to pay $100 for 10.10 just so you can get it two months earlier?

the thing with apple which they are even better at than they are with management is maximizing profits.. that's their goal.. their goal isn't to push new technology out to it's buyers as quickly as possible-- and yes, I get it that that's what you want. we all want it.. but apple releases when the figure they'll be most likely to maximize profit.. they'll actually hold off on releasing things in order to have a fatter payday.

you saying hurry hurry hurry will not only increase your costs as a consumer, it will lessen their profits. double whammy. not going to happen.

 

[Gudi]

Maybe it is a personal misinterpretation - this is macRUMORS after all. But that's what we do here - interpret or misinterpret rumors and what they mean to us as individuals.

Yes, and let's keep it to MacRumors and not drift into MacFantasies. I'm tired of people declaring, they are fine with the new UI no one has even seen yet. A rumor is something that based on what we know could become true. See it as a possible new entry for an imaginary website named MacFacts. So even when talking about rumors, we don't want to speculate too much.

 

[Gudi]

The last time we heard that OSX is more prominent on stage than iOS was the "Back to the Mac" keynote.

Which brought Lion upon us.

And Lion introduced two of my favorite OS X features, Natural Scrolling and Invisible Scrollbars. Actually make it four, Fullscreen Mode and Mission Control. Now that I'm thinking about it, Mac OS X Lion was the best release ever.

 

[Michael Goff]

key words in this sentence are 'sounds like'.. it's your interpretation and possibly nothing to do with reality.

ie- you read some news blip that people that normally work on iOS throughout the year are putting in some time on osx and your interpretation is that it's some sort of crisis.

i'm pretty sure apple is doing just fine in the amount of employees dept.. they're probably overstaffed in all reality.. i mean, if i go into an apple store, there are way more employees there per sq.ft than any other retail establishment i know.. i assume the same goes for their engineering depts.

Different fields. Just because they have a huge retail presence says nothing about their engineering situation.

 

[jonblatho]

The only way I get excited for 10.10 is if the new design is a unified design. I'm not talking about 50% new, or patching things here and there. I'm talking about a unified design which spans across the OS and Apple's apps.

Not gonna happen. I'd love to see a more unified design, but remember when people were whining about the general lack of button shapes on iOS 7? Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but button shapes seem to be far more important on a mouse-based UI than on a touch-based UI.

Don't get your hopes up.

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Apparently you dont know decimals?? 10.10 and 10.1 are the same value.

I'm sure I can find at least 10 occurrences on the MacRumors forums where this discussion has been had.

Version numbers are not decimal values. 10.9.1, 10.9.2, and so on are not decimal numbers. It's up to the developer whether or not they want to, in this case, use 10.10 or 11 or 20 or whatever number they want.

My bets are on 10.10.

 

[mtneer]

Who said anything about hiring B, C or D level engineers? Do you really think Apple- the MIGHTY APPLE- is limited to the "local area" for talent?

Do you really think Apple would find it "expensive" to recruit A-level talent? How much profit did Apple just announce for 1 quarter? Do you not think that A-level talent from around the world are not proactively trying to get in at Apple? You make it sound like Apple would have to work really hard to attract the best & brightest. I bet they are swimming in piles of resumes from months ago they haven't even been able to look at yet. If you had A-level talent and that specific kind of talent, would Apple have to engage in an "expensive" campaign to try to find you and lure you to Apple or would you have long ago submitted your credentials to Apple (and probably many times since)?

Not all "expenses" can be paid in dollars. Not everyone fits the culture at Apple - even people renowned or capable elsewhere (Papermaster, Browett?) can make the organization pay the price in productivity, cultural clashes, friction and decision paralysis.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Not all "expenses" can be paid in dollars. Not everyone fits the culture at Apple - even people renowned or capable elsewhere (Papermaster, Browett?) can make the organization pay the price in productivity, cultural clashes, friction and decision paralysis.

Wow! How many of this kind are there here? I'm offering some gripes about Apple pulling talent off one thing "we" desire to be great (iOS) to shift it to another thing "we" desire to be great (OS X) and I'm getting a steady stream of spinning this like it's best this way. Could Apple build something to kill a bunch of people and some of you would spin "world's too crowded anyway"?

If there's anything to this rumor, we consumers lose. Why? Because talent focused on iOS isn't continuing to focus on iOS. Instead they are pulled away to help with an apparent crunch in OS X. Can they get back to iOS and do a great job? Sure but maybe it will take a bit longer than planned to do the same great job. Who loses? We lose.

Why do we lose? Because apparently- for about the third or fourth time now- Apple can't take some of the enormous cash WE give them to get their staffing right so they minimize these crunch scenarios. And yet, poster after poster is spinning anything they can come up with with why this is a good thing.

I know for some Apple can do no wrong but WOW! Believe what you will. For me (which is not you), I'd be happier knowing that both OS X and iOS was getting their full level of focus right into their respective launches. I use both every day and wouldn't want either to get a bit shortchanged because the other has a more pressing deadline. That's just me though. Apparently, that's a dumb thing to want. Why? Apparently, because the only way to get it requires Apple hiring incompetent talent, B-C-D level engineers or Apple must waste a fortune trying to find and lure A-level talent to work for Apple (because apparently A-level talent isn't doing all they can to try to work for Apple) and so on (you've read the thread). Spin, spin, spin because anything Apple does- good or bad for us consumers- is exactly the right thing for Apple to do. Wow!