Posted on 03/05/2012 4:37:26 AM PST by SmokingJoe
With Apple and Microsoft both recently displaying their respective operating systems: Mac OS X Mountain Lion and Windows 8. Digital Trend's Rob Enderle explores why Apple's lion may no longer be king of the mountain.
This last week has been fascinating. Both Apple and Microsoft introduced their new operating system for PCs. Interestingly, folks are raving about Windows 8 and ranting at OS X Mountain Lion. Both products are far from final and, of the two, Mountain Lion has far fewer changes. Given that we don’t like change, you’d think folks would like that. But it seems they are comparing Mountain Lion to iOS and the last version of the MacOS, and finding it either doesn’t change enough or changes too much. In short, Apple may have inadvertently announced a tweener product. I also think we are seeing the first indication that Apple can’t function as well without Steve Jobs. Let me explain.
Early Products Are All About Perceptions I was looking at the PlayStation Vita the other day, and remembering that, had this product come out two years ago, it would have easily eclipsed the hottest product of that time — the iPad — which cost more and did far less. Over time, however, perceptions changed, and even though it is the best hand held game system ever released, people look at it in the shadow of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and seem to find it wanting.
(Excerpt) Read more at digitaltrends.com ...
Have you run 8? When you have them side by side, you can see how very much the same they are.
When you scroll the tiles, the background image moves a tiny bit in the direction you’re scrolling - exactly like ICS. When you hit the Applications button, they both bring up the same checkerboard of icons - only 8 scrolls and ICS goes screen-to-screen. When you click the running apps button, they both bring up the same list of running apps in thumbnail form on the left side of the screen.
The home screens do look different - because of the tiles - but their functionality is almost identical. MS totally ripped Google off....or there’s an incredible coincidence.
Only ICS is better thought-out and more usable.
Yes, iPad is great for recipes. Small size, easy to grab & move, and minimal worries about stuff (liquids, powders) getting into it and causing damage. I’m typing this now on my iPad after the boy smeared cream of wheat on it, and I have no worries that a damp cloth will tidy it up; smear CoW on the laptop and someone would have a fit.
“even though it was really just a netbook without a keyboard,”
And that’s the mistake the competition and naysayers keep making. Netbooks sans keyboards have been around a long time and went nowhere. It’s not about the hardware, it’s about the hardware and software and UI and OS and delivery and walled garden and price and etc all rolled into a single out-of-the-box package. AND that it is not a “computer” (if you need one, get one, iPad isn’t it).
Yup. That is why my friend really didn’t like it. What he needed was a computer.
Metro is so "Miami Vice".
I guess I am thinking more about the psychology of using it. I like icons and widgets and I like being able to put them where I want and develop muscle memory so I can buzz around and do multiple tasks without thinking or bumping into the OS trying to help me.
Windowed computing is coming to Android further pushing it towards a Win 7 type of operation. I don’t want Android on my main computer but I am happy with the prospect of my Asus tab operating more like a traditional windowed operating system.
I haven’t used Win 8 but watched somebody else demonstrating it for about 15 minutes, I see your point.
Umm.. no. Nothing rushed about this one.
“Have you seen the requirements for the OS? They’re not really even marketing it to your standard desktop user.”
It comes in two versions: Desktop/laptop, then tablets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VnsHmVs1UA
“It’s completely a tablet/touchscreen OS,”
WRONG!
“which I think is going to come back to haunt them much like Windows CE did.”
Drawing wrong conclusions from wrong premises.
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