My Thoughts On Mac OS X Lion

Earlier last week, Apple released the second developer preview of Mac OS X Lion. Although the developers who have downloaded it are under a non disclosure agreement (NDA), there are many who have leaked information regarding the unreleased OS. You can find that information here.

From what Apple says, they have tried to bring the brilliant features from iOS to the Mac OS, hence the name for the event in which they announced Lion; 'Back To The Mac'. This means that the next major release of Mac OS X will be more like iOS in every way, from visual effects to the functionality (for example, the new Mail and iCal apps).

There are two main implications for us geeks.

Initially, we will have less control over what we can access, change, and modify in our computers. I feel that in the near future, just like in iOS, Apple won't let us know where our apps and documents are stored. Then this may lead to things like the limit of how much we can change what our computers look like (in terms of software that is). Another main change which all geeks are going to be averse to is the idea of the Mac App Store being the only way apps will be allowed on to the mac. Now I don't see this happening for a couple of years, but yes, I do anticipate it's inevitability. 

Even though I am an “Apple fanboy” (I think), there are certain aspects of the company I don’t like. This includes things like their choice for form over functionality. Or their closed iTunes, iPad, and Apple TV ecosystem. But the thing I dislike the most is the fact that Apple is a control freak! This isn’t so much their fault but that of the expectation people have of them. After Steve Jobs’s return to the company, he wanted to rebuild its reputation, and one of the ways he saw to do that was to have what many now call the Apple Experience. And Apple has agreed with this to a certain extent, for example whenever they demo a product or talk about a new feature (AirDrop in Lion for example) they mention how simple it is and how “it just works”. Apple has to uphold this reputation of having the perfect products which never have any problems and are made from fairy dust. To do this, their products must uphold a very high standard. And that is why they are so controlling. Even a small slip in this delivery from what is expected could spell disaster. A perfect example of this was “antennagate”. There really wasn’t a problem until the media said there was, and then the moment Apple started giving away free cases, the media cooled down.

What makes me even more scared is that unlike Microsoft (and I write this in the nicest way possible) Apple is a company which aims for the masses. It seems as though they don’t have any interest in the smaller markets. For example, they discontinued the Xserve and integrated Mac OS X Lion server into the client version. Which shows that they aren’t really interested in catering for the enterprise (although they say that they just want to make it easier for them). Also Apple dabbled with the idea of going after the high end market with the original MacBook Air, but really that didn’t do too well, so they updated it and changed its price to fit the masses, and what a better price than $999? Again, a small market didn’t work for them. What really got me noticing this change was when I saw Steve Jobs’s interview at the D8 conference last year (you can watch it here). He made the analogy that computers today are like trucks. They are really what people mainly use today, but sometime from now people will start using cars instead (which was his metaphor for advanced simpler tablet type computers) which have less customizability and power, but are smarter and easier to use. Eventually these “cars” will be what sells to the masses, and Apple following tradition will only cater for them.

What I really mean is that the way I see things at the moment, it seems as though Mac OS X Lion is a stepping stone onto something much larger and greater (Mac OS 11?), and I really hope the world doesn’t end up like what is depicted in Motorola’s super bowl ad. I want Apple to provide amazing products we can all use and love, without loosing the freedom of doing what we please with our machines.

My twitter: @tanaymodi1