- 2006.12.20
For the last six years or so, Mac OS X has been the big thing
when it comes to Macs. The 3D interface, the iApps, the features,
the security, the stability - all of this makes OS X
great.
But when I talk about OS X, it occurs to me that Apple isn't
naming it's products the way it used to.
Here is a list of every major version of the Mac OS starting
with version 1:
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7.1, 7.5, 7.6, 8, 8.1, 8.5, 9, 9.1, 9.2,
10.0, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5
It seems Apple really want's to use X for as long as possible -
but why?
I was thinking about this last night, and it occurred to me that
Mac OS X may very well be the last of the conventional
GUIs.
After X Comes...
Apple seems to want to use the "X" label until they hit 10.9,
but what can we expect after that?
It's been said before: We can't really expect another big
revolution in GUI technology. When you look at it, not a whole lot
has changed in the way a GUI works in the 23 years since Apple
introduced the Lisa.
So what's next? Well, I think it has to be Spoken Word User
Interface (SWUI), an operating system that doesn't rely on a
keyboard or a mouse, but rather spoken words.
I think Apple may be hard at work designing an operating system
that uses a SWUI, and I think they might be trying to make it like
the HAL 9000
computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey - but hopefully not as
homicidal.
Apple
has been integrating speech synthesis with the Macintosh ever since
it's introduction in 1984, and they've had voice recognition
technology available ever since 1993 with the Centris/Quadra 660av and the
Quadra 840av.
There are two problems with the voice recognition built into the
Mac OS today: The first is that the voice recognition built into
the Mac OS doesn't work very well, because it's nothing more than a
program painted on top of an operating system that doesn't work
well with voice recognition. The second is that Apple hasn't done
anything to update voice recognition since 1998 with Mac OS
8.5.
Hello, Computer...
So what will the operating system of the future look like?
I think I have a general idea. First off, menu bars and the
mouse will be the first things to go, as there will no longer be a
need for them. I Imagine the same will go for file icons,
application icons, folder icons, and so on, because they will no
longer be needed.
In order to find something, open something, or change settings,
all you'll have to do is ask the computer to do it: "Computer, open
my Excel workbook from last Monday, reschedule my doctor's
appointment for next Thursday at 2:00 p.m., open my MySpace page,
Queen to Bishop 6, and call my Mom on iChat."
And what will the new Operating System be called? I think it
will be called Mac OS XI - or maybe even Mac OS XV.
I can't confirm any of this. Right now it's only science
fiction, but I figure it has to happen at some point in the
future.
It may be science fact in 2013, or it might not be science fact
until the 23rd century. Only time will tell, so I guess we'll just
have to wait. 
