So why are they taking resources away from the Leopard development team? How does that help the iPhone?
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WWDC 2007 Keynote Scheduled: Monday, June 11th 2007
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So why are they taking resources away from the Leopard development team? How does that help the iPhone?
They're not. They're moving resources around so that OS X is fully working on the iPhone first, and then they'll concentrate on getting it to work fully on Macs.
While both Macs and the iPhone will be running "the same" operating system, it's not exactly an identical environment in which the two versions will be running, nor in the same configuration. They have entirely different UIs, different CPUs, and different roles. There are substantial code differences between them, even if the base is the same.
Sure, I appreciate that. Apple has continuously had projects running in parallel like this, with a generic OS project and one or more hardware projects running concurrently with each having a slight branch of the OS code - then a subsequent reference OS release would roll these changes back into the main OS codebase. That's why Macs ship with machine-specific install disks, then a subsequent OS release will run on any released Mac.
However, this is new. I don't recall any instance where the project-specific OS was released ahead of the generic OS.
I don't buy the "iPhone is so huge, we needed extra resources to deliver all that it can". I think the most likely conclusion was Leopard was slipping, and was in danger of missing the iPhone's June release. So they gave up on trying to rush the generic Leopard to release and concentrated on getting just the iPhone branch out.
This worries me. I'm sure Leopard will be fine, but this schedule/resource juggling doesn't inspire me with confidence in iPhone OS 1.0.
No, I wasn't saying anything at all, I was just mumbling about a previous thread here on MacRumors which I don't even remember who, where or when it happened
Of course a display should be used at it's native resolution, but that was not my suggestion. I don't even know if this is possible but imagine this situation:
You have a screen with a native resolution of 1280 x 1024 (for instance), which has a concentration of 72 pixel per inch, that means that for every inch there are 72 pixels displayed, thus giving you the appearance of a "standard" display.
However, imagine that Leopard pushes that number over, let's say 100 ppi, you would have the same native resolution (1280 x 1024) but instead of having 72 pixels per every inch you would have 100, which would make text and graphics seem much crispier! I don't know if this makes sense or if it is even plausible but I feel that the "current" display's that we own are not "crispy" enough graphically and that the next step is to enhance the graphic quality of GUI's.
Like I said before, I'm just mumbling
I think this is unprecedented though in that this isn't "the" generic OS. The generic OS you're talking about above is Mac OS X, not "OS X". The generic OS, Mac OS X, will never run on an iPhone.
There are three levels here. Darwin, some base packages common to iPhone OS X and Mac OS X, and the high levels, iPhone OS X and Mac OS X. The high levels diverge. Neither will ever exist in a generic form that runs on the other's hardware.
There's nothing in the recent announcement to suggest that Apple is cutting development of Darwin or the common base packages.
FWIW, ignoring the situation that the operating systems we're talking about are not comparable, the logic of putting together an OS for "all Macs" ahead of or behind putting one together for "some new piece of hardware" is different.
For new Macs, the important issue is getting them out the door with a tried and tested working operating system. You start with a mature, well tested, OS, and make only the modifications needed to get that OS running on the new Mac. At the end of the day, it's a Mac. It's supposed to work the same way that all the other Macs work.
For the iPhone, the situation is different. The iPhone is not intended to operate like a Mac. It needs the features Leopard brings. Therefore, it needs Leopard, whether it's tried and tested or not. Tiger just will not do. Tiger would need refactoring and major new enhancements added to support this.
If it didn't, they wouldn't be waiting for Leopard. Apple has released AppleTV with Tiger, proving that if the OS is capable, they'll use it over the "next big thing."
I'd hazard a guess that this is in part why the iPhone is causing a little strain at Apple at the moment. Not only is it a new piece of hardware that needs an entirely new support structure, but it's having to run an almost completely new operating system, that itself has its bugs and problems. Had iPhone been scheduled for next year, it could have been built upon the tried and tested Leopard platform, as AppleTV was with Tiger this year. But it wasn't, and Apple is essentially having to tie two huge projects together.
Needless to say, if they didn't need to do that, they wouldn't.
It is because Apple has never released such a product like the iPhone.
I think that the whole delay thing is being over exaggerated. Apple has a goal to make a dent in the phone industry, working with a major player like AT&T. Reputations are at stake as well as customer gains for AT&T. Resources are going to be pouring from both sides to make sure that this phone is VERY sucessful.
Not knowing much about Apple as a company myself, I wouldn't have guessed that they would need to borrow resources from one project to work on another. But that's just internal QA if you ask me (that is, if you ask
). Also, on another note, delaying can be one of the best things for an OS dev team (unless you're Microsoft...). This gives everyone a little more breathing room to make sure things are working good instead of getting something out there for people to tinker with and be mad at cause XYZ features don't work like they should; causing people to wait for a .1 release. By giving the team four more months, they can test stuff and maybe even add a few things. Having Leopard being discussed and not released on WWDC gives Apple some time to perfect and include more things into the OS that might make up for the October release. In 7 weeks we will finally hear of these secret features and from there will know whether or not the wait will be worth it.
You'll all see.
Short answer: Yes.
Outside of RDF that is called lying
Most of the focus will be on Leopard, with a few glimpses of other products here and there.
But there has NEVER been a 3-hour keynote before, apart from the glacial presentation given by Gil Amelio in 1996.
Unless Jobs decides to babble about the iPhone again, I am sure we're gonna have a good time there...ON VERRA!!!
I'm sure the branch of OSX on the iPhone and the generic OS differ greatly at the higher level, but they're not entirely different either. If the iPhone has a version of Safari, then it almost certainly is based upon WebKit. It has Cover Flow, it most likely has Core Animation. Playing music/vidoes means it has Quicktime. All of these frameworks require myriad other Cocoa frameworks for support - so the two OSs share a hell of a lot more than just Darwin.
While it'd be great to have a stable OS to work with on a new hardware project, that's not always the case. Very often the Mac hardware and OS projects run in parallel and the hardware project is very much dependant on that OS. If the OS slips its schedule, both do.
That's why I find it strange they're not waiting for Leopard, but pushing ahead with the iPhone OS branch. If there were problems with the iPhone development, then why not delay it, and release it simultaneously or just after the Leopard release when they could focus just on the iPhone?
I think the reason is the iPhone isn't the problem, Leopard is. And rather than delay both projects, they're taking the chance that they can still get the iPhone out on time. I think it's a big risk.
From Engadget,
"Update: Apple called to let us know that there was a typo on the schedule page, and the keynote is actually 10-11:30AM -- so an hour and a half, not three hours. Somewhere Ryan just let out a huge sigh of relief. (Apple also mentioned Jobs wasn't guaranteed to present, but c'mon, he wouldn't really hold out on us like that, would he?)"
"Update: Apple called to let us know that there was a typo on the schedule page, and the keynote is actually 10-11:30AM -- so an hour and a half, not three hours. Somewhere Ryan just let out a huge sigh of relief. (Apple also mentioned Jobs wasn't guaranteed to present, but c'mon, he wouldn't really hold out on us like that, would he?)"
what does this mean?
now i would imagine that it would be quite easy for nearly all of the presentation to be on iphone and leopard features. new hardware?..... i would certainly expect hardware updates sooner now, wwdc looks to have lost some of its thunder.
we shall see.
now i would imagine that it would be quite easy for nearly all of the presentation to be on iphone and leopard features. new hardware?..... i would certainly expect hardware updates sooner now, wwdc looks to have lost some of its thunder.
we shall see.
Yah right. revolutionary. So far from what we've seen its an evolutionary update more then anything else. WWDC will reveal if those "top secret features" were top secret bullcrude or not.
People REALLY need to stop drinking the Kool-aid and stop giving Apple the benefit of the doubt. I long again realized that Jobs is the pinstripe-suit-straw-hat-wearing salesman who walks into town selling his magical elixir that will cure everything and promote global peace. All I can say at this point is talk is cheap Mr. Jobs. Show us the product.
In other words, booooooring...15min of Leopard and 1:15h of iPhone...I am starting to feel that Apple is really leaving the Mac behind, just as it did with the Apple II...
What does this hide???
Isn't this a sign that Apple has a lot of surprises for us coming up? Apple wouldn't be the kind to BS and waste time. This is double the usual keynote time.
Maybe it is time to expect the all new touchscreen ipods.... along with the iPhone.
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Isn't this a sign that Apple has a lot of surprises for us coming up? Apple wouldn't be the kind to BS and waste time. This is double the usual keynote time.
Maybe it is time to expect the all new touchscreen ipods.... along with the iPhone.
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http://www.mostofmymac.com
This will hopefully be full of Mac stuff. Oh wait, the iPhone is being released....
They fixed the error - they Keynote will only last 1.5 hours long, as it always does.
I don't get it...
Ok So Apple delays leopard this week until october, but "promises" that in June we will be told about all of the "secret" features that have been promised.
I don't get it. If by june, you would be able to demo them... then why can't they tell us what they are now? Yes yes, I know the features are done enough to give us a blow by blow presentation on them, but why not just anounce them?
WHy would they do that?
Well when they delayed leopard for the iphone, they could have said, oh "one more thing" here are the secret features we were promising you.
IF they would have done that, everyone would have forgotten about the delay...
Thoughts?
Ok So Apple delays leopard this week until october, but "promises" that in June we will be told about all of the "secret" features that have been promised.
I don't get it. If by june, you would be able to demo them... then why can't they tell us what they are now? Yes yes, I know the features are done enough to give us a blow by blow presentation on them, but why not just anounce them?
WHy would they do that?
Well when they delayed leopard for the iphone, they could have said, oh "one more thing" here are the secret features we were promising you.
IF they would have done that, everyone would have forgotten about the delay...
Thoughts?
BRLawyer said:
BRLawyer said:
What, 3 hours long = sing Apple's praises, 1.5 hours long = Apple has abandoned the Mac? How does that make sense. Obviously Steve Jobs is going to talk about Leopard because,
A.1) WWDC: The 'D' stands for developer
A.2) The iPhone is not yet open for 3rd-party devs.
B.1) FCS is out
B.2) 8-core Mac Pro is out
B.3) There aren't any other impending products in the pipeline aimed at Devs
C.1) Apple is handing out betas... meaning SOMEthing will have to be said about Leopard.
C.2) S. Jobs has promised secret features -- whether that means anything or not, I don't know.
MacRumors readers never fail to confuse me with their negativity.
-Clive
Because you need a large block of time to display an OS's features which requires a press confrence or other media event. That not something you can just schedule any old day. It takes time and money.
WWDC is the perfect opportunity for Apple to do it. It's annual so it's expected. It saves Apple the hassle of scheduling extra fanfare. Plus if they didn't do it at WWDC, what would they? Nothing. FCP is out, 8-Core Pros are out, there isn't anything else a Dev would care about besides Leopard.
In fact a WWDC preview of Leopard makes perfect sense. I hope you see that now.
-Clive
All they would have to do is update the website.... The current mac osx leopard sneek peek is a great page... just add more features.
and what would they talk about during WWDC? the IPHONE. There is some part of me, that is scared that the iphone will take over yet another keynote. Yeah yeah I know, the keynote is for developers, and the iphone isn't open to developers yet... but hey.. maybe thats when it will become open to developers?? Maybe SJ will announce some Iphone developers toolkit?
"but don't worry, more on leopard/ilife/iwork later"