My predictions on 10.5
I am one of those sad individuals who looks forward to OS updates not because there is anything wrong with my computer, but because I am eager to see the operating system develop.
Here is my take on what leopard will feature;
Windows intergration - Boot camp has been announced (probably earlier than planned due to people making their own solutions which could affect the compatiblity or usefulness of Boot camp)
However I would suggest that there will also be a Windows replacement within Leopard, a more elegant solution to normal virturalisation software similar to Rosetta which will allow programs written for Windows to be run directly in a Os X enviroment.
Due to the vast amount of software available for Windows there will be applications that are not supported (although I believe apple would try and satisfy the typical 'switcher' by getting all of their programs supported. Boot camp will be there for applications which require native xp enviroment.
Remember the announcement at macworld that microsoft will keep producing office for mac for the next 5 years - this will be roughly the time it will take for the new software to be adopted by all and fully functional.
Name change:
Since Jaguar, the code name has become part of the operating system name - mostly to make the update seem more significant (to the outside observer, updating from 10.3 to 10.4 dosn't seem worth $129, however changing from panther to tiger seems to suggest two seperate operating systems in the same family)
Because of this, I expect the 10.5 name to be dropped and just replaced with 'Leopard' doing this also addresses the issue that there wil be a much greater change between 10.4 to 10.5 than from previous operating systems
(the best way to compare them would be to add an extra zero between the 10.x eg. tiger is 10.0.4 - leopard should be thought of as 10.1)
Intel only support:
The speed of which the new intel systems are comming out would suggest that there will be a full and well established line by the time leopard is released (roughly one year after the intel imac and macbook pro release) The level of windows intergrations (requiring an intel processor) suggested before would lead me to think that leopard will have too many features to be worth putting on a G.x system
It is likly apple will continue to support Tiger as people upgrade and adopt intel macs - very much similar to supporting os9 while people adopted os x.
(also keep in mind mac developed software will be universal and thus still capable of running on older G.x systems - however windows only software which WILL run on the intel macs under leopard will not run.)
Finally I don't believe that the new iBook replacement will have an iSight camera - the iBook has always been designed for schools and thus would be unwise to be sold with a camera, in addition if it was to replace the 14" ibook immidatly on release in the next 30-60 days as the article says, then wouldn't the 14" iBook be on the at risk list?
Here is my take on what leopard will feature;
Windows intergration - Boot camp has been announced (probably earlier than planned due to people making their own solutions which could affect the compatiblity or usefulness of Boot camp)
However I would suggest that there will also be a Windows replacement within Leopard, a more elegant solution to normal virturalisation software similar to Rosetta which will allow programs written for Windows to be run directly in a Os X enviroment.
Due to the vast amount of software available for Windows there will be applications that are not supported (although I believe apple would try and satisfy the typical 'switcher' by getting all of their programs supported. Boot camp will be there for applications which require native xp enviroment.
Remember the announcement at macworld that microsoft will keep producing office for mac for the next 5 years - this will be roughly the time it will take for the new software to be adopted by all and fully functional.
Name change:
Since Jaguar, the code name has become part of the operating system name - mostly to make the update seem more significant (to the outside observer, updating from 10.3 to 10.4 dosn't seem worth $129, however changing from panther to tiger seems to suggest two seperate operating systems in the same family)
Because of this, I expect the 10.5 name to be dropped and just replaced with 'Leopard' doing this also addresses the issue that there wil be a much greater change between 10.4 to 10.5 than from previous operating systems
(the best way to compare them would be to add an extra zero between the 10.x eg. tiger is 10.0.4 - leopard should be thought of as 10.1)
Intel only support:
The speed of which the new intel systems are comming out would suggest that there will be a full and well established line by the time leopard is released (roughly one year after the intel imac and macbook pro release) The level of windows intergrations (requiring an intel processor) suggested before would lead me to think that leopard will have too many features to be worth putting on a G.x system
It is likly apple will continue to support Tiger as people upgrade and adopt intel macs - very much similar to supporting os9 while people adopted os x.
(also keep in mind mac developed software will be universal and thus still capable of running on older G.x systems - however windows only software which WILL run on the intel macs under leopard will not run.)
Finally I don't believe that the new iBook replacement will have an iSight camera - the iBook has always been designed for schools and thus would be unwise to be sold with a camera, in addition if it was to replace the 14" ibook immidatly on release in the next 30-60 days as the article says, then wouldn't the 14" iBook be on the at risk list?
Comments
Originally posted by theapplegenius
I think most of that is wrong.
My main reason for posting this was to invite inteligent discusion on the matter.
But if you have nothing more to contribute, time will tell who is right.
Originally posted by fezzasus
My main reason for posting this was to invite inteligent discusion on the matter.
But if you have nothing more to contribute, time will tell who is right.
First, Apple has legally gone on record to fully supporting PPC for Leopard.
Secondly, the source trees aren't difficult to maintain. We did 4 CPU Architectures at NeXT and 2 at Apple isn't difficult.
Thirdly, It's taken 6 years for a portion of the base to move to OS X PPC. How long do you think it will take for them to drop those PPC boxes and become consumed by Intel?
Also, you have a point with the iBook, but Apple does do stupid things every now and then.
- Noah
Doing this will make Leopard seperate to the programs and thus make it less open to attacts.
One thing to note is that Boot Camp reminds users that 'This is your first taste of Leopard' I feel there will be similar features within leopard.
Secondly I am not suggesting that apple will drop support for G.x systems completly, but I am suggesting that due to my other predictions that making a G.x version of Leopard would cut out alot of features and because of this Apple may see fit to continue maintaining Tiger and creating universal programs.
Originally posted by theapplegenius
I think most of that is wrong.
I think most of it is wrong too, but mostly not the same things as you.
Originally posted by fezzasus
I may have written it poorly. I didn't mean windows virturalisation, consider it more of a windows replacement built into Leopard - the capacity to run windows programs without needing Windows XP.
Oy. It would be much MUCH cheaper just to install a copy of Xp on every Mac than try to make that work without hick-ups.
Originally posted by mdriftmeyer
First, Apple has legally gone on record to fully supporting PPC for Leopard.
Secondly, the source trees aren't difficult to maintain. We did 4 CPU Architectures at NeXT and 2 at Apple isn't difficult.
I consider these two points to be just one. If PPC is supported on Leopard it will be a drastically reduced feature list due to the level of intel optimization. Boot camp will not be supported, neither will my first predicting about running windows programs directly in Os X. Features which I believe will be having the most development and as a result features which provide the main reason to upgrade to Leopard.
Originally posted by mdriftmeyer
Thirdly, It's taken 6 years for a portion of the base to move to OS X PPC. How long do you think it will take for them to drop those PPC boxes and become consumed by Intel?
Roughly the same time, however that is a non-point. The fact that software being developed from January is univeral would mean that the PPC boxes are just as useful as the Intel machines.
Originally posted by Anders
Oy. It would be much MUCH cheaper just to install a copy of Xp on every Mac than try to make that work without hick-ups.
Perhaps, but this is the only way to ensure that Apple can appeal to all of the market with the money going to Apple.
Perhaps this should be considered as the xbox 360 - it costs the company more to make it, yet ensures that the company will control the market when it comes to making that money back.
Bad bad idea.
Originally posted by Anders
You would have to reverse engineer Xp to make it work. That would result in MAJOR lawsuits from MS. And when Vista is released you would have to start all over again.
Bad bad idea.
How does Wine get about it?
Originally posted by fezzasus
How does Wine get about it?
1) Because its a mess that needs to be tailored to each application you want to use.
2) Because it doesn´t offer anywhere near the user experience Apple wants to present to its customers.
3) Because it isn´t Apple, a major OS player you can sue for $$$$$$$$$$$, but a group of open source programmers developing it.
If MS saw this as a threath it wouldn´t exist.
Originally posted by Anders
1) Because its a mess that needs to be tailored to each application you want to use.
2) Because it doesn´t offer anywhere near the user experience Apple wants to present to its customers.
3) Because it isn´t Apple, a major OS player you can sue for $$$$$$$$$$$, but a group of open source programmers developing it.
If MS saw this as a threath it wouldn´t exist.
Wine is also being made by people in their free time, Apple is a large company paying people to come up with software solutions.
A Windows competitor that can run the same programs would be very welcome and have favor in any court case after previous attempts to break up the windows monopoly.
Originally posted by fezzasus
Wine is also being made by people in their free time, Apple is a large company paying people to come up with software solutions.
A Windows competitor that can run the same programs would be very welcome and have favor in any court case after previous attempts to break up the windows monopoly.
This is just plain wrong. The truth is the opposite. First WINE is a cloned set of APIs which emulate the Windows APIs. It does not violate Microsoft's intellectual property rights. On the other hand, it is limited.
A well-financed Windows competitor would not be less susceptible to a Microsoft lawsuit, it would be more so. It is the theory of deep pockets. Even if Microsoft suspected that WINE used its intellectual property, it has little to gain by suing. First: WINE is a project, not a person or company. Whom would Microsoft sue? Second: the project has no money. Even if Microsoft prevailed against the project, it would have absorb the costs of bringing the lawsuit because WINE couldn't pay any legal judgment or settlement. A well-financed competitor solves both problems. It presents a clear target for a lawsuit. Second, its deep pockets means that Microsoft could receive payment for any favorable court ruling or out-of-court settlement. In either event, the competitor would pay Microsoft's legal bills.
Your whole premise means that you have no understanding of the law, or of anything else. The courts' rulings that Microsoft is an illegal monopoly did nothing to diminish the company's legal rights. Tom, Dick, and Harry do not have the right to appropriate Microsoft's intellectual property because it is a monopoly or for any other reason. Only the courts may impose a penalty for Microsoft's illegal behavior.
Rumor was, back in the era of Steve's big MS/Apple deal, that Apple got access to the Windows API's as part of the deal. MS got access to Apple's tech as well. Not saying this is true. The rumor, however, did exist. There were also rumors of Windows apps already running under Rhapsody. (Mac the Knife claimed this, I think) In fact, the Apple board even suggested this ability as something that should be in Rhapsody. I remember reading that on the MacWeek front page. Of course rumors that old can't come true. Hey, wait a minute, rumors of a Mac OS for Intel are also that old.
1) I think Boot Camp will be incorporated into the OS as a Virtualization scheme. The whole reboot to use windows is kinda crappy. I use VPC right now and it's nice just to be able to mouse out of the screen area and be be back in OS X. However, I've seen the beta program from Parallels and that would be FABULOUS, I think - but then again, a lot of people really want dual boot for gaming and I haven't seen any feedback yet on how the parallels workstation responds in this arena.
2) The finder WILL get somewhat of a fix. I don't think it'll be too major, but it will change somewhat. Not quite sure how, but Apple has been hearing people gripe about this for a while and I just don't see them ignoring it anymore. Besides, wasn't there a patent filing not too long ago dealing with this??? Better ftp support maybe?
3) The whole idea that Apple will abandon PPC is flat out wrong, along with the theory that Apple will just name it Leopard. It's nice when your consumer base can refer to something by its code name, but call tech support at some time ... they'll ask you for a version number (7, 8, 9.x or 10.x.x) Point updates are crucial to understanding what software on your system needs to be patched
4) I think spotlight will get a little more ingrained into the OS. I see native iPhoto support coming (please...)
5) iChat gets an update to support more messaging clients and .gif animated icons
6) Grapher gets an overhault o make it a tad more powerful
Ummm ... beyond this, I dunno ... I just like being surprised by Apple when it comes around to update time...