Doom, meet gloom
That ’s not going to happen . ( As we ’ve show this workweek , we believein the future of the Mac . ) However , if you want me to tell you that the Mac is going to remain exactly as it is today , unaltered , into the future , I ca n’t do that either . The Mac is going to become more iOS - like over time — and the iOS is going to gain functionality that currently can only be found on Macs .
To everything there is a season . There will come a day when the Mac is gone , either made obsolete or transformed into something unrecognizable as a Mac . But I do n’t think that sidereal day is going to happen anytime presently . It ’s also important to recall that when you regard a world in which Apple pretend more “ traditional ” computers running Io , we ’re utter about a version of the Io that ’s more than twice its current age — an operating system that ’s already evolve rapidly , with plenty more evolution to come .
Building trucks
For me , the most useful style to think about the future tense of the Mac is to go back to Steve Jobs ’s statement about the matter in June 2010 at the D group discussion in Los Angeles . “ PCs are going to be like motortruck , ” he said , pointing out that most people get cars , while trucks are only sold for very particular , specialised needs . “ This transformation is going to make some hoi polloi anxious . ” You do n’t say .
I trust Apple thinks of the future of calculate as two freestanding market . One is populated with “ regular masses , ” who want data contraption to permit them do e - mail , crop the web , play secret plan , generate bureau documents , that sort of thing . The sort of things millions ( or maybe even billions ) of people do on a day-by-day basis . These are Jobs ’s car drivers , and they ’re ultimately destine for iOS devices . iLife and Lion ’s evolution into iOS - style single - windowpane interfaces are a precursor of this .
The other group , the truck gadget driver , desire business leader and control over their computing gadget engineering science . They need to customize , to automate , to savvy down into the depths of their arrangement in club to get the job done . ( Or because it ’s sport to do — I hump a lot of people own trucks not because they necessarily need the towing capacity but because they just like ram a motortruck . It ’s part of their individuality . ) I do n’t think Apple will give up this market , but I do believe this is the future of what we think of today as the Mac . ( And asJohn Gruber points out , having a heavy - duty Mac motortruck available allows Apple to pretermit dense - duty features from the iOS . )
The realism is , these two unlike sets of computing machine exploiter survive today . They ’ve exist for years now . But the computers industry has utterly give out dish up them both , forcing overly proficient systems on regular folks who just want to get their work done . Since the original Mac , Steve Jobs ’s ( and now Apple ’s ) vision has been to provide that “ computer for the rest of us . ”
Power-user mode
In the end , I do n’t think Apple is give out to force advanced calculator user to use a simplify , iOS - dash interface governed by an Apple - approved Mac app store if they require to proceed working on Apple devices . But I do expect that , one day , that will be the default configuration of every machine Apple sells .
Think of it like the parental - control features already built into the Mac OS . By default , the Mac of the futurity will start up and calculate like a more evolved adaptation of iOS , with a appeal of easy - to - use apps using a familiar full - screen user interface . But go to your configurations app and check a duo of clit , and your computer will transmute from railroad car into truck .
At least , I hope that ’s what happens . There will always be computing truck drivers out there — and I know that most readers ofMacworldfit in that group . Steve Jobs clearly believes that there will always be a need for the data processor diligence to build trucks . The only question is , does Apple desire to remain in the motortruck clientele for the foresightful draw ? If it does , the Mac will have a well future as Apple ’s hand truck .
[ Jason Snell is Macworld ’s editorial director . ]
