While most of the buzz these days goes to mobile systems, smartphones and tablets, most of the real work continues to get done on larger, more traditional desktop and laptop computers, nearly all running (in descending order of market share) Windows, Mac OS X or (some variety of) Linux.
And whether you’re ready or not, new operating system versions are coming your way, courtesy of both
Like the current OS X 10.7 Lion, it continues Apple’s desire to make Macs work more like iPhones and iPads. With the new OS, Macs gain iOS-like reminders, notes, messages and notifications, and using Apple’s free iCloud service, these will be automatically synched between a user’s Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Messages can be sent to other Mac or iOS users – like text messages but without involving a cellphone company – and these, too, will be synched between Apple-branded devices.
While Apple is adding iOS-like features to Macs, the systems remain distinct: iPad apps won’t run on Macs; Mac apps won’t run on iPads.
Gatekeeper security might make it more difficult for malware to install itself on protected Macs – in exchange for giving Apple, through its App Store, more control over how users get software.
The previous version’s iOS-like features were controversial. Some – like the Launchpad screens of program-starting icons – are widely ignored. Others, such as changing track pad scrolling direction and dropping Save As from program menus, are widely disliked. Mountain Lion’s features may prove more popular. Its price - $20 for a licence to download and install it on multiple computers – will be popular.
My advice – before having any hands-on time: if you haven’t upgraded from OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, you probably shouldn’t rush into this, but if you’re running 10.7 Lion, this will (hopefully) be a more polished version.
Like Apple, Microsoft’s Windows 8, which won’t be officially released until the fall – November, perhaps – aims to make traditional laptops and desktops act more like mobile systems. Unlike Apple, Microsoft is giving preview copies of Win 8 to anyone who wants one. A developer’s preview was released (and not just to developers) last fall. It was followed by a consumer preview in February and a release preview in May.
Also unlike Apple, Windows 8 is designed to run on tablets as well as more standard PCs.
It’s a risky strategy. The company has taken the tile-based Metro interface used on its positively reviewed (but not particularly strong-selling) Windows 7 Phones and made it the basis of Windows 8. The result is finger-friendly for touchscreen tablets but a steep learning curve for keyboard/mouse users. I’ve tried out the various previews on traditional systems – despite improvements from earlier previews the latest version continues to feel awkward to me.
But even on tablets, Windows 8 will face issues. Expect two families of tablets running Win 8. Some will be based on the same sort of Intel or AMD processors used in standard PCs; these will be able to run the huge library of old-style Windows applications – but those applications won’t be optimized for fingers and touchscreens. Other tablets will use ARM-style processors like Apple’s iPad; while these offer much-improved battery life, they won’t be backwards compatible with older Windows software – only new applications specifically designed for Win 8’s Metro will run. The potential result: massive buyer confusion. Many home and business buyers skipped Windows Vista to stick with XP. My suspicion: this time around large numbers are going to want to stick with Windows 7.
Apple and Microsoft are not the only ones creating operating systems for traditional personal computers. The various distributions of the open-source Linux continue to evolve. Ubuntu may be the most popular desktop Linux distribution – with new versions every six months. The latest, version 12.04 is easy to install and use. It also boasts long-term support and is free. •
