I was reading the Wall Street Journal earlier this week (on yet another flight) and found a great article on the new OS from Apple (currently code named Mountain Lion).
You can read the article here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577226864202052768.html
A couple of interesting things to note;
1) I am talking a lot more about Apple these days
2) Apple may be attempting to address an issue I raised a little while in the following post: http://aokcompat.blogspot.com/2012/01/another-form-of-compatibility.html
The gist of the article is that Apple is planning (and now doing) to integrate their two operating systems Mac OS and iOS. Meaning the next release of Apple's desktop Operating System (Mac OS: Mountain Lion) will start to merge functionality (and importantly application compatibility) with their tablet and mobile platform (iOS). This may seem like a no-brainer - and "of course they should do this.."
This seems like a good idea to me for the following reasons;
1) I can play my iPhone and iPad games on my Mac Air - Cool!
2) Merging platforms generally seems like a good idea - for shared code, share UI/X (experience)
3) Most important: my multiple device, multiple platform, multiple access mode (multi-multi-multi) problem dissolves.
Yes, dissolves into a (hopefully) cogent strategy to that allows me to "do what I want to do" regardless of the machine/hardware/access point that I am currently using/abusing. And as I am sure most of you now know; Apple will automatically download/install an application on each of your platforms (where applicable) when you install an application on any one device. Meaning: if you install an application on your iPad and there is an iPhone equivalent, the next time you update your iPhone you will have that latest applications...
Multi-Multi-Multi becomes one user experience - regardless of hardware.
That said...
You think this is a good idea still? Well, look at the results that Microsoft had with attempting to bring a desktop experience to the phone. It didn't really work for me. There were a number of reasons;
- using a stylus sucked (yes, this is the technical term)
- the hardware was not ready (read: powerful/fast enough
- the form factor was not quite right (screen too small and the resolution was almost good enough)
Will this approach work for Apple?
Here are two images that tell a great story. First, the share of Apple's Mac OS in the desktop space.
Second: The current share price of Apple Stock.
I think that a lot of people think that this is going to happen and be a "good thing"
I can't wait - I just can't wait... In fact, I downloaded the latest (BETA) version of Apple Messages which can be found here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/
References:
Apples Mac Makeover
Another form of Compatibility: Application Eco-systems
http://aokcompat.blogspot.com/2012/01/another-form-of-compatibility.html
Introduction and Overview of Apple's Mountain Lion
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