What is your view on the future of the mac?

[JoEw]

Opinions? Is this annual os x release thing mean that in a couple years there will be no more mac as we know it? I'm so confused about what is happening here, I am running snow leopard on my amazing 27" imac and I LOVE it. I have not upgraded to Lion due to so much negative response with it. I was considering doing it real soon but now I just have no clue what to do. Or if I should continue to stay on the OSX bandwagon if the future of it seems like it will "dumbed" down and made to basic to the point of it being more annoying than convenient. For the record I LOVE iOS devices but at the same time I love snow leopard and almost everything about it. Can you guys give me your view on Apple operating system(s) in 2 or 3 years?

 

[arjen92]

Of course Apple's OS will change. A lot probably. They're not gonna stop innovating (Microsoft tried waited a few years with windows vista, people weren't happy).

You should get Lion. It's already at 10.7.3. So you don't have to worry about it being unstable or having bugs.

Also, why are you depending on the opinion of others? Did you experience Lion yourself, or is everything you do based on what others think? I think there's even more people who switched to Lion without any bad experience, than people with bad experience.

You'll have to get adjusted. I had my doubts about the new Lion for a long time. Now I got adjusted to it.

 

[Gregg2]

Can you guys give me your view on Apple operating system(s) in 2 or 3 years?

Well, yeah. But it would be wild speculation and not very useful.

 

[Carl Sagan]

I really like the iOS features like Messages and Notification Centre coming to the Mac, I like the streamlining of key Mac apps to match their iOS counterparts, I like the Mac App store and iCloud. I don't like the look of Gatekeeper if you consider the idea it could mean eventual lock down of applications like iOS. If that happens i'll happily go back to Windows as it will be the superior OS at that point.

 

[brdeveloper]

I really like the iOS features like Messages and Notification Centre coming to the Mac, I like the streamlining of key Mac apps to match their iOS counterparts, I like the Mac App store and iCloud. I don't like the look of Gatekeeper if you consider the idea it could mean eventual lock down of applications like iOS. If that happens i'll happily go back to Windows as it will be the superior OS at that point.

If there'll be a time when we'll have to jailbreak a Mac workstation, I will instantly move to Windows or Linux.

 

[s.m.knipe]

If there'll be a time when we'll have to jailbreak a Mac workstation, I will instantly move to Windows or Linux.

This ^^ (I guess that's why I keep Ubuntu on hand...)

But in regards to the OP's question, I can foresee Launch Pad gaining importance and possibly becoming the the default launcher (maybe the full OS X desktop will be access by a three-finger swipe or something), because it is simple and solves at least 75% of use cases. This simplified UI is where the market is going (look at rumors of Windows 8/Metro, Ubuntu/Unity, Google's Chrome, popularity of iPads, etc.), and Apple won't want to be left behind. I am actually fine with this provided:

1. We are not locked down like iOS and have to be "jail broken"
2. We still have access to full desktop usability/functionality.

I can see iPad-like touchscreen iMacs & MBA/MBP's, whose advantages at the higher price points will be the added functionality of a full desktop experience (like I said, probably activated by a gesture or physical positioning of the device), and more power/storage. I also look for the Magic Trackpad to replace the Magic Mouse in shipping iMacs sometime relatively soon. I could be wrong though...