THE most controversial post I have ever submitted...
This may induce flames so hot, asbestos would vaporise, however, it is opinion only, not an order backed up by the full strength of the US military. Read on:
How many of you have rested in bed or on the sofa and toyed around with your iPod Touch or iPhone?
Played for hours with the apps and games? Relaxed, got creative, gone to battle, surfed the web, composed some beats. All with a stress free hassle free intuitive experience previously only offered by one previous 'invention' - the pencil and paper. Robust, immediate, versatile and timeless in it's operation.
Compare, if you will, with (desktop) OS X (and any other OS). No matter your experience, no matter the app, no matter the device - every year, every month, every week, every day, every hour, every minute you devote a significant proportion of your time to organising, re-arranging, struggling with, re-starting, re-configuring your folders, your desktop, your apps, your work, your tasks. Do you really know how to use every feature in software you have been using for over 10 years? Do you REALLY find it intuitive, even using the best designed Logitech mouse, perfectly positioned 20" wide screen monitor and curvy ergonomic keyboard? How long does it take you to perform a task? Do you really enjoy using your computer? Of course, you enjoy your work, but do you really perform as productively with this machinery as you do with the tools available prior to the invention of the transistor?
I don't think so.
Apple, Inc. have achieved something revolutionary with the iPhone/iPod Touch OS, five years in development, absolute secrecy, features and performance beyond anything any blog or rumor site could uncover. A compact robust intuitive OS that even according to Star Trek, would take over 100 years to arrive at.
So (dear Apple) why not discard 'desktop' OS X altogether and simply build a number of iPod Touch type devices of varying form factors - with the same multi-tasking and thoughtful integration as the new (and unexpected) Palm Pre, but with that 'only Apple can do this' perfection of experience?
Yes, I mean, drop the iMac, the MacBook, the Mac Pro completely. Expensive, clunky, un-intuitive machinery that may look appealing, but are not really human friendly the second the hand touches the trackpad or mouse.
Imagine picking up a 9", 15" or even 17" dockable iBook Touch with a slide out QWERTY keyboard, collapsing on the sofa, and selecting the Photoshop and iWork app icons - holding down the 'home' button to allow multiple selections - if you would like them to both run at the same time. Paint, pinch and process with your fingers. Sketch with a stylus if you want! Hold down anywhere on the screen to display a pop up menu and select 'Copy'. Select iWork and Insert/Paste into a spreadsheet that you glide and zoom around using your fingers, punching in figures, dragging columns and applying styles all with the fluidity and ease the living feeling animal mind expects.
Apple, isn't it time to be brave again?
