Mac OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion
With the recent release of the preview operating system to certain journalists Apple has made one thing abundantly clear, the basic architecture of OS X is not going to be changing for a very long time. There will be no significant change to the dock, the Windowing system or the preference pane. The native apps will largely stay the same. OS X is just a platform for apps now.
The main points of progress with the OS in Mountain Lion 10.8 are new cloud connected applications that will seamlessly sync between your iOS device and your OSX computer.
There will be new iterations of iCloud, Notes, Reminders, Messages and the Notification Centre will make an appearance. Messages will replace Mail and have an iOS iMessage look, feel and integration.
That’s fabulous, it truly is – I’m an iOS and Mac user and further integration between my phone and workstation is ideal for me.
This preview has really driven my interest and now I’m feeling like I wish I could have this upgrade, but not later, right now! I would want this now!
You know, I had waited with baited breath for iOS 5 so I could finally have my iTunes sync wirelessly. Or, excuse me, while plugged in and charging, and making sure I’m logged in and iTunes is turned on and running, and then only sometimes, in fact no, no, let’s be honest – it hardly ever works. It makes me so sad.
Yes, I’m sure there’s a configuration option or two that can solve this for me, that’s not the point. The point is that I can’t just have a small app running in the background that constantly sync’s my iTunes based on my scheduled preferences. It’s too restricted. It doesn’t work properly. They haven’t cut the cord to the computer, they’ve forced me to plug in, and when that doesn’t work – go back to plugging in to home base.
All I want is for my iTunes changes to be immediately reflected on my iPhone when my phone is on my wifi network – why is that so difficult? Why can’t that be an option I turn on? Why can’t it be easy? If I alter a playlist or create a new one and deem it iPhone worthy, check to see if my phone is on the network and then update it. Why is that a problem? Why do I have to plug in? Why does iTunes have to be running? Why do I have to be logged in? You already have the iTunes helper process, bake it into that ffs – it’s always running.
I’m also aware Android can do something very similar to this for me, Android also has carrier-locked apps that I can’t get rid of. Thanks, but no thanks.
The point is, it doesn’t really work – so don’t expect Mountain Lion to blow you away either, Lion certainly didn’t. The biggest feature of Lion, for me the main reason I upgraded was because the Window system got a small upgrade that allowed you to resize windows from any point instead of just the bottom right corner – that change happened in 2011. That’s pretty sad, right?
All the cracks will begin to appear slowly for Apple, but they’re there, believe me, they’re there.
For me, and a lot of others, this is Apple’s main point of contention with the rest of the world – their ecosystem is closed and everything depends on them getting it right time and time again on the first attempt. Is opening your ecosystem the way to gain an advantage over Apple? Get the community working for you? Is that really how you beat Apple? Or is that how you just think you can beat Apple?
Microsoft thinks it can best Apple by including it’s tablet interface within it’s next Operating System, delivering not only a workstation OS, but tablet capabilities as well. So, Microsoft sees Apple’s success as it’s point of failure as well. There is a disjoint between OSX and iOS. Apple is trying to remedy that, Microsoft is trying to bake the two products together in Windows 8, and hopefully realizes that they actually have the largest “app store” in the world once they’ve completed it.
Make your phones run your metro tablet interface on top and then run all of your standard Windows apps on your ‘phone’ too. That’s how easy it would be for Microsoft to shock the world with a massive end-around.
Apple built an App store into their OS with their Mac “App Store” – why hasn’t Microsoft been able to replicate that success? Why are they so far behind and falling further back when the opportunities are staring them right in the face? Use the Metro UI from Windows 8, have native Windows Apps running on your dual core phone, open Office Web Apps to the public for free, get your App Store running, integrate “Live” into everything.
Also, change the meaning from “live”, like “live on stage tonight!” to “Live”, as in “Live, your life – Microsoft”.
That’s how easy it would be for Microsoft – it makes you wonder why they would fail? And yet, they will.
Speaking of Microsoft, I’m shocked at what’s happened with their share price recently. I know they’re deadset on becoming an old, stodgy, uninventive, patent based company that does nothing of significance other than collect licensing fee’s, so I’m taken aback by the sudden rise in the stock price. What gives?
In terms of the technology world, I don’t see another company more well placed for a massive downswing than Microsoft. They’re losing in every single consumer marketplace and really not even fighting back. Windows Phone 7 is a joke, the marketing around it was ridiculously stupid, “Windows Phone 7″, what dipshit thought that up? The XBOX 360 is far too closed off and the speed of innovation in this area is laughable when it could it have been ground-breaking.
It was supposed to be the centre of my entertainment world and living room – all it does for me is play re-hashed games with the added bonus of playing them with screaming 12 year olds online, should I wish to pay for that unique pleasure.
I’m sure there’s a new XBOX coming, and I’m also sure that it won’t not suck at streaming video content nor will it allow PC games to be rendered via it on your living room TV. It will do nothing revolutionary. That much, I can guarantee you. It will push advertising, paid movies, paid content, paid DLC and anything else Microsoft can sign a “deal” for. Basically, it will be a device to screw you out of your money, over and over again. Yeah, it’ll ship units – but Microsoft will continue it’s slow death spiral. They won’t have their iPhone moment, they will slip into obscurity and focus on their ‘business’ customers. Not next year, not 5 years from now – but 10 – 15 years from now, Microsoft, if they continue on the path they’re on, will be irrelevant to consumers.
So, someone other than Microsoft will win the living room. I don’t say that simply because the product won’t stream mkv’s, I say that because their thought-process around not being able to stream MKV’s extends to all other aspects of their business model – that’s why they fail. They try to tell consumer what they should want, rather than giving consumers what they’ve asked for.
Those are the exact reasons why Apple succeeds, and no one gets it. Big business is still trying to treat consumers like we’re idiots, and then they shake their head in disbelief when it fails – I’m beginning to see more and more of that out of Apple too, and that’s how they will fall.
Have a look at the new OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion at Engadget.com
Ubuntu / Linux – now that everyone is just about off that bandwagon, the time is right to stick close to it and keep an eye on their roadmap and innovation. It will be important to see whether or not irrelevance and stagnation cause the Linux and Ubuntu community to react and innovate rather than continue to follow their culture of “read, repeat”.
