Reflections on the Future of Mac OS X



    Today, Mac OS X is often taken for granted. Of course, we love this operating system and all the programs that we use. But let's take a look back and remember what has been new in this OS recently. A year and a half ago, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard was introduced, which did not offer any radical updates. The last significant user interface improvement was noted in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which, for a minute, went on sale more than three years ago.

    If Mac OS X has not been given due attention recently from Apple, then the fault is most likely the new favorite of Steve Jobs - iOS. Just remember: since the launch of the Leopard market, the mobile operating system managed to go through several significant updates, each of which seriously enriched the functionality of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

    At an October conference called “Back to the Mac,” Apple finally unveiled the new Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, which will begin shipping in the summer of 2011. It was fluently demonstrated just a few functions of the system, for which it is still difficult to say what this “Leo” will turn out to be: another run-through 29-dollar variant like Snow Leopard or a “stuffed” 129-dollar blockbuster like Leopard. But the details that we managed to find out about one obvious trend.



    Developing a new generation of Mac OS X, Apple was inspired by the key feature of the iOS system - its simplicity. Just as Mac OS X was once more convenient to use than command-line systems, iOS was contrasted with its simplicity by Mac OS X and other more powerful but more complex desktop OSs. Apple announced that it plans to take advantage of the knowledge gained during the creation of iOS to make Mac OS X more understandable and easier to use.

    Problem with applications

    Take, for example, the most basic task for an operating system - installing and running applications. Experienced Mac users can perform these tasks even blindfolded, but try to explain this process to a beginner. In a complex system of compressed files, disk images and installer applications, even a “macro drive” with experience can get confused.

    First you need to download the distribution and see where it is saved. When you find it, the question arises: is it the installation file or the program itself? After installing the application, should it be dragged to the dock or run right from here? And what then needs to be done with a disk image? Uninstalling is even worse. Mac OS X does not offer a one-stop solution for this task. Sometimes it’s enough just to drag the program icon to the trash and it will be deleted. But applications that require a multi-step installer to install will require a special application to uninstall.

    And now compare all this with iOS, where installing the application is just a matter of one “tap”. Removing programs is no less easy, and the method is universal for all types of applications. Ease of installation (if you do not take into account the affordability of the price) is one of the main reasons why people so actively and willingly purchase applications for their iOS devices. People who are afraid of the complexity of the process of installing programs on Mac OS X are happy to continue tapping until the next iPhone or iPad screen is filled with application icons.

    Apple carefully listened to the wishes of its consumers. And the Mac App Store, which is about to open, will have to give computer users the simplicity with which they purchase iOS programs: one-click purchase and installation, detailed information about the download and installation process, as well as a clear indication of the installation path of the application. Unfortunately, Apple did not demonstrate the process of uninstalling programs at its October event. But be sure: it will be as simple and convenient as iOS.

    Search Without Finder

    The Mac OS X dock has already come a long way in improving the process of launching applications on a Mac. However, when the user is forced to go beyond the dock, everything becomes noticeably worse. Finder's search tool is a big step in the direction of complication from a simple series of icons on the dock. There is another point approach offered by Spotlight; however, the fact of the necessity of typing in search queries indicates that the battle for simplicity has already been lost.



    iOS has taken the concept of dock to a new level. Instead of simply ranking the most frequently used applications, it organizes all applications in a series of icon blocks. Of course, at worst, you can use the search, but with Finder in iOS, nothing can compare.

    Apparently, at the moment, Apple is thinking about the question: is Finder needed in Mac OS X at all? Launchpad Launchpad, which appeared in Lion, introduced to Mac the principle of building program icons similar to that used in iOS. Thus, she took on the function of Finder as a tool to search for launching applications that are not on the dock. While Mac applications are increasingly using the library metaphor inherited from iTunes and iPhoto, the need to directly interact with files through the file system is gradually disappearing.

    On the road to the ideal of iOS

    It is also worth noting that the operating system often affects the design of applications, since its development tools are installed by integrated applications in the OS. Apple’s new course is that now Mac OS X apps will be more and more like iOS software products.

    For example: iOS applications occupy the entire screen of the device. This is a rational decision, if we take into account the compact screen sizes of mobile devices. From now on, developers for Mac are also encouraged to use full-screen mode in their products. Apple itself has already managed to demonstrate how this can work in the new version of its photo editor iPhoto. Future versions of Mac OS X will provide convenient ways to switch between running applications without having to exit full-screen mode. What does this resemble? That's right, multitasking in iOS 4.



    Due to the limited memory resource of mobile devices, iOS only recently began to support the ability to simultaneously launch multiple applications. At the same time, there should be a constant ability to unload applications from memory and exit from the background so that they are in the state in which you left them. This means that there is no full-fledged save function in iOS applications: all data is saved automatically.

    Although desktop computers do not suffer from such hardware limitations, Apple decided that Mac OS X applications should behave the same way. Future versions of the system are expected to include built-in support for automatically saving data and restoring application state. It is even possible that the dock will no longer visually indicate that the application is working: if the state of the application is never lost, the differences between working and non-working programs will no longer matter.

    Conclusion

    There are many traditional areas in which Mac OS X continues to evolve: the transition to 64 bit will be completed, support for flash memory will be improved (possibly with the advent of a new and more modern file system), and the performance of 3D graphics will receive enough attention.

    However, all these efforts will be relegated to the background in accordance with the new course that Apple has taken with respect to Mac OS X. From the experience with iOS, the company, it seems to her, was able to discover the secret to the success of sales of technological products: simplicity. This does not mean that the Mac OS X that we know and love will be wiped off the face of the earth. On the contrary: having absorbed the most successful ideas embodied in iOS, Mac OS X of the future will get rid of its known shortcomings and make a choice in favor of convenience, simplicity and efficiency. And aren’t these qualities we have always valued on the Mac?

    Source: appleinsider.ru , article translated from macworld.com

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