Originally Posted by
melgross 
I don't see where you get the Google/Apple thing. At one time, before Google started copying Apple's product line, it looked as though they might merge. Their products were complimentary. But then Google began to compete with Apple, and now, all bets are off as to what will happen between them.
I could write a REALLY long post on this, but I'm sure you don't want me to. So I'll just write a slightly long one.
My take on where Apple is going now, because of Steve's long term vision, is to extend the iPhone OS. Heh, we had a thread (maybe it was early in this one) in which someone complained about Apple's use of "i" before so many products.
Well, I hate to see this OS referred to as the iPhone OS because the Touch, and especially the iPad are most certainly not phones, though they can make Skype and Vonage VOIP calls.
So, let's call it the iOS for now. It could be a worse name.
Apple is taking the iOS upscale with the iPad. I think it will continue to go further.
You see, he's being cagy here, and is leading developers down a path they don't even know they're taking!
So, the iPhone comes out without programming possible. Use the cloud is the first mantra, with a promise to make everyone happy with development later.
Then comes the SDK, and the app store. So everyone and their sister begins to write programs for these little devices. They become wildly popular, and so do the programs.
So, most every company starts writing programs for them. And I mean everyone. Media companies, industrial companies, software companies, governments, etc. So we've got a whole load of developers here.
But this is for a phone, right? So, well, it's ok then to get programmers to write for it with the different cpu, and different gpu with the limitations all small devices have.
But they're growing software development teams to write for it.
So, almost three years later, Apple announces the iPad. With the same basic OS, but with additional features, a more powerful hardware with a real computer sized screen.
Well now, there are over 140,000 apps that can run on this. but they run better when modded for it. So they start working on it.
But wait, it also can run iWork in modified form, and it's finally got a "real" keyboard, and a good, big virtual one. This is a new opportunity! So, we start to see more software companies hiring more programmers to write more sophisticated software.
Now, normally, companies don't want to change processors they're writing for, because they have to change their codebase over, and gain expertise with it all at once.
But hey, we're writing for phones, of COURSE we've got to work with a different hardware base, and a slightly different OS, which just HAPPENs to be based on full fledged UNIX so it's got far more power than any other phone OS.
Hmm! So now there are at least a couple hundred thousand programmers with experience on this platform.
And the platform expands over the years. Slowly but surely.
Next up, a model with 15" screen at maybe 1600 x 1200, and more powerful processors.
Then before you know it, these companies have almost as many programmers working on the iOS on ARM as they do working on OS X and x86.
But, guess what? The iOS machines are vastly outselling the machines using OS X and x86. Whoops!
As Apple reduces the OS X x86 machines in their line, most work is being done on iOS and ARM.
Guess what Apple is doing to these companies?
And the iOS is now the 2nd most used OS, and rising fast.
Well, where might we be in 2020?
What was that about the OS wars being won?
