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Jobs: A Decade of OS X Upgrades Ahead
by , 9:10 AM EDT, October 22nd, 2007
Mac OS X 10.5 isn't due out until Friday, but that isn't stopping Apple from putting its sights on what comes next. The future of Mac OS X still has plenty of growing room, and CEO Steve Jobs expects to offer new operating system versions every 12 to 18 months using Leopard as the foundation, according to The New York Times.
"I'm quite pleased with the pace of new operating systems every 12 to 18 months for the foreseeable future. We've put out major releases on the average of one a year, and it's given us the ability to polish and polish and improve and improve," Mr. Jobs said.
Apple's forward momentum isn't limited to it's operating system, or even its iPod line up. Mac sales appear to be strong as well, and according to analyst reports, the company is ready to move into third place behind Hewlett-Packard and Dell.
Mac OS X 10.5, or Leopard, will go on sale at 6PM local time on Friday, October 26. The launch is about a quarter behind schedule because the company temporarily shifted developers to the iPhone project. In comparison, Microsoft's Windows Vista shipped about five years late and was stripped of many of its promised features.
Observer Comments
Quotegeoduck wrote:
I do wonder though. 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9, and then what?
10.10, 10.11...
or
OS XI
11.1, 11.2, ...
I have the feeling that Apple won't be abandoning that sexy "X" any time soon. Microsofties can claim that the annual (plus) issues of new versions are merely "point upgrades" because of this naming convention - but we simply know better. The problem is that Apple's just about run out of Big Cats. Only Lion's left.
Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:21 am Subject: Version numbers, and big cats
Apple release 10.4.10, and 10.4.11 is said to be imminent, so I wouldn't rule 10.10 and 10.11 out. Version numbers aren't truly decimals.
As for Big Cats, Lion and Cougar are both still available. Apple is reported to have trademarked Cougar and Lynx. http://www.macrumors.com/2003/07/24/apple-trademarks-lynx-cougar-leopard-tiger-and-more/ (the link in that article to USPTO doesn't work).
QuoteGuest wrote:
... Now the hunter is set for the kill, why not simply move to 10.6 Destroyer, 10.7 Obliterator, 10.8 Ball Breaker, etc., etc. Of course, eventually the hunter will become the hunted at which point we move to 11.1 Defender, 11.2 Castle, 11.3 Drawbridge, etc., etc.
Isn't "etc., etc." just a little bit redundant, redundant?
QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteAs for Big Cats, Lion and Cougar are both still available.
Technically speaking, the Cougar is not a Big Cat. There are only four Big Cats: Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar. Panther is a generic term that may refer to certain leopards or jaguars. The Cheetah isn't a Big Cat (it lacks the ability to roar, which is the defining trait).
Don't forget the Liger. It would be a great name to debut some native VM capabilities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liger
QuoteGuest wrote:
Technically speaking, the Cougar is not a Big Cat. There are only four Big Cats: Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar. Panther is a generic term that may refer to certain leopards or jaguars. The Cheetah isn't a Big Cat (it lacks the ability to roar, which is the defining trait).
Very true. So Apple has a history of naming Mac OS X releases after large cats (as opposed to Big Cats), which makes cougar, lynx, ocelot, bobcat, etc. fair game.
Worst case scenario, they'll have to resort to generic engineering and to produce a liger (which is pretty much my favorite animal. I think Brett agrees.).
QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteAs for Big Cats, Lion and Cougar are both still available.
Technically speaking, the Cougar is not a Big Cat. There are only four Big Cats: Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar. Panther is a generic term that may refer to certain leopards or jaguars. The Cheetah isn't a Big Cat (it lacks the ability to roar, which is the defining trait).
I did NOT know that. Thanks, Guest.
FYI, my favorite will be Mac OS X 10.9 - Manx.
Why would Apple have to stick with living species? What about "Sabertooth"? Of course, 10.21 might be called, "Snagglepuss."
Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:40 pm Subject: U.S. government definition of "big cat"
QuoteBryan wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:QuoteAs for Big Cats, Lion and Cougar are both still available.
Technically speaking, the Cougar is not a Big Cat. There are only four Big Cats: Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar. Panther is a generic term that may refer to certain leopards or jaguars. The Cheetah isn't a Big Cat (it lacks the ability to roar, which is the defining trait).
I'll just posit another perspective from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From the FAQ "Big Cat Question and Answer."
"Lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, cougars, cheetahs, and any hybrids thereof. This list is consistent with the definition of big cats in the Lacey Act."
Edited to fix URL.
Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:45 pm Subject: Jobs: A Century of OS X Upgrades Ahead
I have solved Apple's Mac OX 10.xx naming difficulties.
Mac OS X 10.10 should be the end of the cat line! And besides only girls like cats and they buy too few computers.
There's been how many cats now? Six if we count X 10.0 Cheetah which seems to some to have been a beta release. But I digress. So, how many cats are left? Just as some other smart guys (Guest, Guest, jimothy, brett_x (gees, I forgot about the Liger and Tigon, genius), xmattingly (yes, xmattingly, there really is a tigon, too), have suggested; how about X 10.6 Lion, X 10.7 Lynx, X 10.8 Cougar and X 10.9 Cat (the domesticated variant in the series). With Steve's dealings with animation how about X 10.10 Sylvester, or X 10.10 Scratchy. Thus the end of the Cat series and onto the X 10.post10 series.
I think this will fit, but then in these complicated times my philosophy, that there is wiggle room in anything probable or improbable under the stars, has uncomplicated a lot of complications for me.
Now this is clever. I am suggesting that the next practical animal that also has only 3 letters in its familiar name, also only 7 letters in its Family name and also is both domesticated and wild is a practical choice. Of course I am suggesting the Dog and not just because I have a Corgi which, by the way, would make 2 great entries in the Mac OS X 10.post10 series -OS X 10.11 Corgi and -OS X 10.56 Pembroke. There are at least 72 different breeds of the domesticated Dog. If Apple comes out with a new OS X every 18 months, the Dog name could carry OS X 10.post10 through to the end of the century, easily.
And yes there are wild dogs after which this line could be named but then you run into the Cat name problem of too few wild dogs to complete the OS X 10.11-99 series and I am trying to uncomplicate things for both Apple and the Bewildered, some of whom have suggested in previous forums and Apple commentaries that Apple will sink when it runs out of Cat names for OS X 10.xx series. And by 2100 I will be long gone but I'm sure there will be another smart fellow or gal, maybe, around to help Apple with its naming difficulties up to the next millennium.
Cheers,
mhikl
Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:00 pm Subject: you have got to be kidding
Quotemhikl wrote:
I have solved Apple's Mac OX 10.xx naming difficulties.
Mac OS X 10.10 should be the end of the cat line! And besides only girls like cats and they buy too few computers.
[chant]
I will ignore ignorant people.
I will ignore ignorant people.
I will ignore ignorant people.
[/chant]
MacTad--female owner of three Macs, an Airedale Terrier and a Dachshund/Jack Russell mix
Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:24 pm Subject: re: you have got to be kidding
QuoteAnonymous wrote:Quotejimothy wrote:
Apple release 10.4.10, and 10.4.11 is said to be imminent, so I wouldn't rule 10.10 and 10.11 out. Version numbers aren't truly decimals.
As for Big Cats, Lion and Cougar are both still available. Apple is reported to have trademarked Cougar and Lynx. http://www.macrumors.com/2003/07/24/apple-trademarks-lynx-cougar-leopard-tiger-and-more/ (the link in that article to USPTO doesn't work).
Except they already used cougar, remember panther? Yeah, they are the same thing. Of course that didn't stop them from using panther after they already used puma. They are all the same animal, Puma concolor. Oh well, ignorance is bliss I so they say, if only I could try it once.
"Panther" is a colloquial term that can refer to a mountain lion (cougar, puma, catamount), leopard, or jaguar.
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