10.7 Predictions - Page 2

Currently, not all 64-bit Core 2 Duo CPUs with 64-bit EFI are enabled to load a 64-bit kernel. I know, because my iMac 7,1 (mid 2007) is in this situation. It seems that Apple has enabled a subset of machines with a 64-bit CPU and 64-bit EFI and I've never been able to clarify exactly why. Penryn (about early 2008) is enabled but not any CPUs before that (as I understand it). Given this situation, I would think that 10.7 could support 32-bit kernels, and perhaps that support will be dropped in 10.8. On second thought, if 10.7 came out in 8/11, the aforementioned iMac would be 4 years old, and it is not unheard of for Apple to start dropping support for machines of about that age.

good one

Then there is the situation like im in where we have Late 2008 Unibody Macbooks. We are in desperate need of a new firmware update to come out because atm we are having issues adding more than 4gb ram, Booting into 64bit and some minor fan control issues.

Otherwise the few of us that updated back then will not be able to boot 64bit only kernel os's.

I believe you are absolutely correct...

clouded leopard is a real cat don't know if it true I wouldn't be surprised It makes since with the Google OS coming out . but I hope it will run like leopard or snow just with extra bite with integrated cloud support

Indeed. the "stoplights" went well with the extreme and playfully rounded courners up until tiger, but when Leopard adopted the more mature (and better looking IMHO) style with sharper edges only slightly rounded, the perfectly round window buttons look quite out of place. they should be slightly rounded squares, like the arrow buttons.

Res. independence is long overdue.

I have not upgraded to SL from Leopard. No need. If Resolution Independence does not come, I will have to return to Windows. Last chance Apple. Us low vision folk need this. I could dig a new voice too. Alex is so much better than all the others. Need a girl voice with the same quality as Alex.

I agree about having a new female voice with the quality of Alex.

Have you tried Zoom? Go to System Preferences > Universal Access. Select the Seeing pane, and then 'Options' for Zoom. There, you can set the defaults you prefer. I use a 5 factor.

Here are some useful short-cut keys:
⌘⌥8 to toggle Zoom on/off
⌘⌥+ to enlarge
⌘⌥- to diminish
⌃⌘⌥ to toggle white-on-black and black-on-white

Setting the desktop background to 'medium gray' helps as well.

You can set your mouse to Zoom as well.

Otherwise, it is highly unlikely you have the bargaining chips to move Apple or Windows software development. Resolution independence would be great, and I've got my fingers crossed for it in Mac OS X 10.7. You are talking about a very challenging technical achievement.
Apple needs resolution independence because of the every higher resolution displays. The new 27" iMac 2560-by-1440 resolution is a good example.

Snow Leopard is great for me.

I am familiar with Zoom. Unfortunately, all magnification (Mac or Windows) results in a blurry/fuzzy situation for me. Pretty much the same result as altering my iMac resolution. Apple seems to have a very decent desire to create tools for blind and low vision. I have an iMac 20 inch. I have to get very close to the screen. Alex is a mandatory feature for my situation. I hope, by the time 10.7 arrives, the mini will have true HDMI. That would allow me to buy a TV and run a larger screen in 1366 x 768 resolution. While I am in a huge minority, it wouldn't be that hard for Apple to do. Many machines on the Windows side are including HDMI.

Not sure I get it when it comes to names. Safari? Then again, Firefox is a critter too. Will Apple continue with 10.7 then 8, then 9? Then what ... 11? Would it be OS 11 or OS XI? If Apple were to release the next OS in late 2011, then OS 11 is a perfect name. I like the simplicity of Ubuntu. The OS is number by year and month. Done. Perhaps the next Mac OS will have a pet name from another part of the jungle.

OK, sounds like you are well-informed about your options. So, I take it that you see the blurry screen and augment the screen with text-to-speech.

For myself, I can get by with Zoom on a 24 inch iMac. I don't know whether to presume that a 27 inch iMac at 2560 x 1440 would be workable or too expensive. You could do a try out at an Apple Store. From my experience, Apple Store employees know about 'accessibility', but not how to use the VoiceOver tool. If you want to check out Zoom, just ask them to Zoom to the maximum for you on the 27 inch iMac.

Check out this web site for additional info on the Mac platform about accessibility:

http://www.lioncourt.com/

This web site is VoiceOver orientated. I tried that tool, but found that I really don't need it; Zoom is adequate. Besides, I have both a visual and hearing impairment.

Here is the Apple introduction to the VoiceOver tool:

http://www.apple.com/voiceover/info/guide/

With regard to HDMI – as far as I know, Apple is not going that direction. They are favoring MiniDisplayPort. I just did a Google on MiniDisplayPort and came across this adapter:

http://www.startech.com/item/MDP2HDM...Converter.aspx

I am not an engineer; I am just pointing out a dubious option. Even after a connection, there could be functional problems. As far as I know, there is no route from a Mac to a TV with HDMI, even via an adapter.

Safari is a bundled web browser that comes with Mac OS X. Firefox can be installed on Mac OS X and used instead. But, Safari understands the VoiceOver tool.

As for the Mac OS naming convention. the 'X' is pronounced as 'Ten' and is an integral part of the OS name; 'Mac O S Ten'. The subsequent release number is conventional, such as 10.6.2. After that is a mascot name such as 'Snow Leopard' that is easy to remember. So, in this thread, we are speculating about what could be in a future Mac OS X 10.7 release, mascot name unknown, and perhaps it will be available sometime in 2011. There may be a preview of the unreleased OS at the upcoming Apple World Wide Developers Conference, perhaps this June. So, stay tuned.

Finally, I don't participate in the Mac versus Windows war.

BertP ... Thanks for the information. I am familiar with lioncourt and screenless switchers. I have used screens readers to test them. Jaws for Windows is a resource hog, but fairly easy to use. Window Eyes is just the opposite. By far, VoiceOver is the best. While zoom works for others, resolution independence sounds like something many others would like too. Not everyone has razor sharp eyesight. The only reason I have a Mac is the speech. It may be enough to keep me from going back to the dark side. We shall see. Microsoft often has a name for the new OS in progress too. Most never hear of it. Maybe Apple could go domestic and name the next one Maine Coon. Grin! My understanding is pretty much hit and miss with HDMI. Apple TV has it. I can see where the iMac would not use HDMI, but the mini is perfect for Home Theater. I may have to rethink my negative feelings about the iPad. It may be perfect for my visual needs most of the time. But it isn't a real computer. Since Snow Leopard was nothing huge, I would think Apple is going to have to razzle dazzle us with the next one. I do believe in the Mac versus Windows thing. Windows looks better on my iMac. That matters.

I see you are well informed, and that is great. Let me add a little more of what I know. The issue of resolution independence is not really an issue for the visually impaired, but the effect of displays having higher resolutions and thus the subsequent shrinking of the desktop menu, icons, etc. Even for sharp eyed people, that is becoming a problem. Many icons are hard coded for 72 dots per inch. So, even if you increase the font size (not talking about Zoom here), the hard coded icons cannot follow along.

So, basically, resolution independence is about keeping a so-called standard desktop that is readable for those with good vision intact proportionally even when the displays vary in dots per inch. As I understand it, most of the resolution independence work is already in place since Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). There is speculation about what is the cause of the hold-up. Some say it is about getting third parties to let go of their hard-coded icons. There may be other technical reasons that is not in the public domain.

Sorry I cannot help out regarding Mac to TV displays. I don't have any mobile devices such as the iPhone 3GS, and I don't expect to get an iPad either.

The fundamental reason I am on the Mac platform is that it is a Unix variant with a high quality user interface. I can fall back on VoiceOver in the future if my vision gets worse. I can go to Terminal and continue learning how to program in Ruby 1.8.7. I can use the Safari Online web site to access technical books that I cannot read in print. But at the same time, I am not a partisan regarding the merits of the various computer platforms.

Snow Leopard was important from a system perspective to prepare for the future. My guess is that Mac OS X 10.7 will have the razzle-dazzle for users since the necessary under-the-hood work such as Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL is now implemented. The software development focus can now shift back to the end user.

I think we can expect additional enhancements to VoiceOver, although I am not privy as to what they will be. To me, the great thing about VoiceOver is that it is an integrated alternative interface that also crosses device boundaries via the Mac OS and the iPhone OS. That is an enormous technical achievement worthy of respect.

Great post BertP. If zoom worked for me, I'd never even speak of Windows. It is easier for me to view a Windows screen. I am familiar with how to make my mouse pointer larger in Universal Access. It is jagged looking and less accurate. Without buying extras, Windows is more visually friendly for me. Can also get away without a mouse more frequently. On the other side of the coin, Apple is killer for speech. It comes with the OS. Huge. The included speech with Windows is a joke, and only Orca for Linux is more antiquated. Purchasing speech for Windows is the equivalent of buying the lowest priced iMac. Guess I should count my blessings and shut my mouth. On the other hand, I can see the screen better on my iMac running Ubuntu with VirtualBox. Can't use it natively, since Ubuntu can't find my bluetooth keyboard or mouse. If I had good skills in Terminal, Ubuntu might be my primary OS. I understand why Apple created BootCamp. Some people just have to use Windows sometimes. I would like to see Apple create their own virtualization software. Then it would stand a better chance of working correctly. I would be all over the iPad if it could dual boot, the proprietary OS and my favorite version of Linux with a bluetooth keyboard. The iMac could be the number one machine on the planet if Apple could get the same quality of touch as the iPad.

WPLJ42, I opened a new thread called 'Visual Impairment solutions' under 'Mac OS'. I have a reply for you there. It has some technical stuff on VoiceOver.

Regarding this thread, one VoiceOver enhancement in Mac OS 10.7 could be adding support for HTML5. Just guessing here.

Bert. Don't know anything about Ruby. Did notice I could get it for Ubuntu though. Works with Windows too. What is the Safari Online website?

I should have said 'Safari Books Online'. This is a commercial website for viewing computer books online. Do a Google on the term to find the website.

As for Ruby, I was interested in it as a possible replacement for AppleScript. I came across this article by Matt Neuburg that expressed his frustration with AppleScript:

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/mac/...with-ruby.html
http://appscript.sourceforge.net/

On Snow Leopard, Ruby 1.8.7 is already installed. Leopard has the previous version at 1.8.6.
I installed 'rb-appscript' and got it to work. Big problem: I do not know Ruby. Thus, I been studying an introductory book on the language via Safari Books Online.

This blog has some interesting articles on Ruby and MacRuby:

http://antoniocangiano.com/ruby-and-...mmended-books/
http://antoniocangiano.com/2009/08/1...ruby-on-linux/
http://antoniocangiano.com/2009/03/2...cruby-matters/

So, Apple has MacRuby in development (open-source). I do not know if MacRuby 1.0 will be ready to be included with Mac OS X 10.7. I plan to try it out after I have some Ruby proficiency. It sounds very exciting because it can directly access the Cocoa frameworks. and can be compiled via Clang and LLVM. The latter two are also open source Apple projects. Here are some links to MacRuby:

http://www.macruby.org/
http://www.macruby.org/blog/2009/03/...al-branch.html

I want to make it clear I am not a developer. For myself, I like the conciseness of Ruby as opposed the verboseness of AppleScript. I like the idea of not learning Objective C, but rather using MacRuby along with HotCocoa to access Cocoa frameworks. The creator of Ruby, Yukihiro Matsumoto, did the original development on Linux. I am not familiar with Linux, but you could start here:

http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/

You are so over my head. I would love to understand Terminal, so Ubuntu and I can get along better. One thing Apple hasn't done much with is text to speech. I tried it when my Mac was new. It is awful. That would be handy for a lot of people, if it worked well. Another reason for another voice like Alex, one that is female. One voice for VoiceOver, and another for text to speech. I think you would enjoy Linux. Even without much of a working knowledge, I find it very flexible.

Please find my response in the 'Visual Impairment solutions' thread. This thread is about '10.7 Predictions'.

As you will read in my other post, the reply should be here. Text to speech needs to advance. Trying to talk to your Mac, at least in 10.5, is a joke.

Since I mentioned MacRuby eventually being included into a future release of the Mac OS, here is an interesting tutorial on MacRuby and Grand Central Dispatch.

http://www.macruby.org/documentation/gcd.html

My bad. My reference should have been speech recognition and not text to speech.

OK. Well, I agree that Mac OS X does not have a worth while speech recognition tool. I tried it System Preferences > Speech and click on the Speech Recognition pane. I understand it is very old technology. I tried it out and it could not recognize my voice at all; but I also have a moderately profound hearing loss (and hearing aids with great digital technology to massage the sound just for my needs). It follows that my own speech is not up to par, even after a lot of work. It could recognize the voice of one of my relatives.

And I know that Microsoft has speech recognition integrated into Windows. By repute, I understand that Dragon Naturally Speaking is the best. There is a MacSpeech based upon the aforementioned speech recognition engine.

Will a better speech recognition tool be integrated into a future Mac OS like Windows? I don't know, but I have my doubts. Even the best speech recognition is not without problems in the current state of the technology. Perhaps Apple chooses to leave this technology to third parties.

Apple is active in "Speech to Text" development though they have kept a lot of their technology underwraps.

iPhone Speech to Text Patent filed

Apple adding Voice Commands to Apple TV?

Also of note in the last link is the mention of Jerome Bellegarda a Spoken Language Engineer. He's published a few books on Latent Semantic Mapping.

Amazon book in 2008 on LSM

So I'd hazard a guess that Apple doesn't promote their Speech to Text but they are working on solutions and in typical Apple tradition they'll deliver a surprisingly workable solution despite not promoting it as much as say Microsoft.

I had forgotten about the IPhone 3GS Voice Commands. Some of the iPhone OS technologies have migrated to the Mac OS. The trackpad support as an example. Just as VoiceOver has migrated to the iPhone OS when a sufficiently powerful iPhone could utilize it. So, it would seem to me feasible for Voice Commands to be migrated and adapted to the Mac OS Speech > Speech Recognition pane. And maybe that pane will be re-named 'Voice Commands' ?

I also now recall that iTunes now has some sort of language translation function to generate song titles to be down loaded to the iPod Shuffle.

Thanks for your links.

I believe everything except the iPod Classic uses some type of speech. It comes as a surprise to me that Apple would have speech recognition in Mac OS, when it is so lame. Microsoft is ahead here. You can talk to a Ford car. When something goes wrong, you have to stop the car, turn off the engine, get out, close the door, and start the entire process over. Giggles.

Despite things that are wrong with Mac OS X speech recognition, a rather brilliant young lady created this:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macos...etherobot.html

Remember that mention of text-to-audio-file Automator action I made in the Visual Impairment solutions thread? What I am conjecturing is that iTunes uses that technology to generate short audio files containing the song title, which is subsequently downloaded to that dumb iPod Shuffle to do some razzle dazzle on owners of the iPod Shuffle. Beyond that, iTunes has some sort of capability to translate song titles before-hand from one language to another for the benefit of an international audience.

It has been a very long time since I have been on Windows, so I can't say much. But, speech recognition technology is still an immature technology. This is clear from the links that hmurchison provided.

I have not looked at the link you provided yet.

Finally, Apple actually does not have what I would call speech recognition technology installed in the Mac OS. Naturally Speaking is trainable. As far as I know, I cannot record my speech pattern and tie it to an action. Maybe I have not figured it out yet.

'Microsoft is ahead'. Are you sure? Notice that hmurchison said that Microsoft was 'advertising'. He was not being respectful.

I do believe Microsoft is ahead of Apple in some areas. Now that satellite radio is all one company (Sirius XM) there is no competition. Fortunately, we have Microsoft and Apple. Both attempt to be the best. I get into trouble here, for voicing my opinion against Apple. I can't see the screen on the MacBook. I don't know about the MacBook Pros. Way out of my price range and always will be. Same goes for the Mac Pro. I will never buy another iMac. So Apple makes just one box for me ... the mini. While it seems to be the most popular as a server, I want one to hook up to a TV. It is perfect for Home Theater. Instead, Apple goes in that direction with Apple TV. I have no desire to ever Hackintosh a PC. Never. So my next computer will either be a mini or a PC. The next OS will be the deciding factor. I had an iMac G3 and never could get the hang of OS 9. I am very comfortable with OS X Leopard. I will skip Snow Leopard. I've been a PC since the days of the 8088 and 8086 chips and MS DOS 3. I could live with Windows, but would miss Alex everyday. Windows, and Ubuntu make for a lot of options on the visual side. I don't feel Apple does as much. Navigating with zoom is awkward, regardless of the operating system. If there is a way to modify the Apple font sizes (globally) I don't know how. Windows yes. Ubuntu yes. Lots of clean options for the mouse pointer too. Apples does fine, don't get me wrong. But I do believe the other guys, including Linux, are more flexible. Off to the fridge for my Kool-Aid. It happens here, you know. They call me things like Troll and Fanboy. I'm just honest, which doesn't always work here.

Generalities without specifics to support your opinions are of no value whether one is a Mac fanboy, Linux fanboy or Windows fanboy.

State where Microsoft is ahead.

State how Linux is "more flexible."

One of the things I mentioned was being able to change font sizes (DPI) in both Windows and Ubuntu. Windows 7 makes it easy to switch from 100, 125, or 150%. I have my copy of W7 RC set at 125%. It makes reading these posts a breeze versus a pain. Both Windows and Ubuntu have more options for changing the mouse pointer than Mac OS. Out of the box, that is. The only thing that keeps me locked into Mac OS is the speech. Apple allows the ability to use color or grayscale and reverse image. The mouse pointer can be made bigger. In my case it is less accurate. I click on the green plus button it the upper left, and I often get the yellow minus one. Mac OS is just a little less keyboard friendly. There are sometimes when you have to use the mouse. Little things I consider advantages to Windows and Ubuntu. The Appearance feature in Ubuntu is way more versatile than it is on the Mac. I cannot change how Leopard looks. That is a drawback when you are looking for features that work better with low vision. Fonts is one thing. Being able to work with various color options is a plus too. It would be fine if all I used my Mac for was the web. I could bump the text up a few kicks and all is perfect. Not being able to see all the screen in the zoom mode is quite the pain. I have zoom turned on, but the keyboard shortcuts won't work. They are grayed out in the Universal Access. So I have to turn zoom off, then back on. This is constant and a pain as well. By the time I can get zoom to be comfortable, even though it is blurry, I have access to about 30% of the screen. I am comparing apples to apples too. Same iMac. Windows looks better than Mac OS after I increase the DPI by 25%. Ubuntu looks better on Windows using VirtualBox than it does on Mac OS. I have nystagmus. It is an involuntary and constant eye movement. While it isn't terribly common, there isn't an optometrist on the planet who is not aware of it. Except for speech, where the Mac is miles ahead, everything else I need works better on a different OS.

Absolutely on...

Cougar, Lion, and Lynx.

Those were the three I would have picked out.

G'day

Have you tried a cursor enhancer (for want of a better word).

I've got iCursor 1.4 http://mac.softpedia.com/progDownloa...load-7216.html

and with the Circle option picked in the Lighter mode, I have created a shimmering Circle of red and yellow at the bottom right of my cursor.

It's free, and operates as an Application.

My settings are:

System Name : Lighter
Total particles 100
Duration 2
Particle Size 15
Texture Circle
Cursor offset X 20
Cursor offset Y 80
Acceleration X : 0
Acceleration Y : 0
Direction X :1
Direction Y :0

Nah. Those aren't a real animal.

OS X "FLYING SQUIRREL" - YEAH, BABY!

And they can use the animal in promo pics. There is even an X pattern when the "wings are spread..."

LOL

I want to see a unified interface, right now, it's a random mix of aqua and marble :/

Hopefully:

'iTunes' as product will be dropped, and replaced with a seperate media center app that features the following tabs:

- AppStore
- Movies
- Music
- Photos

A Mail progam that didn't forget your passwords three times a day would be nice.

I'm getting a bit sick of retyping my passwords and checking the 'Remember my password' box (whcih clearly isn't connected to anything).

Complete GUI makeover with tabs and a look closer to the iPhone/iPad

I believe i distinctly heard that after Snow Leopard, that Apple was going right to work with Mac OSX 11. Has anyone heard that too?

I'm thinking Mac OSX 10.7 Cougar. As for "features" of 10.7 I'd have to say that anything really consumer facing that was dropped from 10.6 to develop the foundation will get revisited.

New Marble UI will likely be introduced?
I see a bigger expansion of MobileMe integration with the system (TimeMachine) and iLife '11
OpenGL will get fully updated to 100% support of all versions including the latest version
OpenCL will be expanded into the core frameworks
New interfaces will be included such as facial recognition, head and eye tracking, etc..

who knows what else they might add, I'm hoping for a peak at WWDC '10 but I'm thinking it will be mostly focused on new iPhone hardware, and new iPhone OS4 features for that new hardware, and demoing pandora as background app, some games with fast app switching, and a few other examples of the multi-tasking modals. they increased the $$$ for a ticket by more than $300 so maybe this year the 5000 attendees will get a new iPhoneHD/4G instead of a dev preview of 10.7