“What is coming in Mac OS X 10.5, code-named Leopard? Does anyone outside the executive suite in Cupertino really know? Putting aside the half-baked rumors and hoax pages floating around Web, the truth must wait for Steve Jobs’ keynote address at the company’s WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) in early August,” David Morgenstern writes for eWeek. “But that shouldn’t stop us from dreaming.”
Morgenstern’s short list of improvements that he’d like to see in Leopard:
• More support for small businesses: The Mac platform needs an application or an integrated suite that provides the functions of Microsoft Outlook on the Windows platform.
• Improved Windows support through virtualization: Apple can’t afford to rile Microsoft right now (or at any time, really). Microsoft can see the advantage of Mac users running copies of Windows on Intel Macs. But something like Wine would set off fireworks in Redmond.
• Make Automator fit for ordinary people: Automator is great stuff, but still too tough at times for everyday use by ordinary users. Most Actions are scripted by professionals. It must be made more accessible and easy to use.
• Refine Spotlight searching: I don’t know if I can express exactly what must be done to take Spotlight to the next level, however, I know it must improve.
• Fix the performance of the Finder and the networking stack: Finder is still acting erratic at times and it too much to ask that Apple fully test on Windows networks—any and all Mac OS X releases—before they ship?
Full article here.
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Related article:
Fixes and features Apple should build into Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard – June 29, 2006
More Prefs with Spotlight, Front Row, and Automator.
Better Finder (OMG TABS)
Let me put windows on…for games…
I hurt myself today to see if I still feel.
I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real…
Into the flood again
same old trip it
was back then
so i made a big mistake
try to see it
once my way
Okay. Let’s review.
1) A lot of Outlook’s functions are integrated into OS X. What this guy wants is address book, calendar, sync, and mail meshed into 1 app. Plus he wants light task assignment in the same app. This is a design/usage philosophy question. There are ppl that cannot survive w/o this kind of app. Maybe Apple should just provide this a combination interface? This may ween the Windoze junkies off Outlook.
2) Yeah Redmond will wig out. I think Parallel is the closest the Apple can get w/o Gates asking his buddy the PM of China to shower Cupertino with low yield nukes.
3) Yeah and VB is easier….Morgenstern, you are just accustomed to VB. MS pushes it because it is based on Bill’s pride and joy technology GWBASIC.
4)Gimme a break. Spotlight is unix find on speed w/ categorized cross application/location results…come on it don’t get any better than that.
5) Well I think it is Microsofts responsibility to test it’s network software with any and all Apple OS’s before shipping. I mean it is the M$ software that is crap, why would Apple screw up software to be compatible with M$???
Generally my only statement to Morgenstern is: RTFM! Of course all OS’s and application suites do not work exactly the same. duh!
Just my $0.02
How about:
Apple buys Parallels and implements Workstation (if not something like Wine)
Apple licenses PopCopy 2 and puts it in the OS.
Some type of Excel replacement to complete Apple’s MS Office competitor. (Pages & Keynote so trump Word & Powerpoint)
Apple includes a sample video inside every Windows Quicktime/iTunes download with features of OS X.
– – – NeverFade
Shouldn’t you be on a ledge somewhere?
How about a decent spreedsheet for those of us unwilling to run exloitabe Microsoft code on our boxes?
I couldn’t beleive even OfficeMac is exploitable, but’s 100% true.
Microsoft is like a old racehorse that needs to be taken out to the glue factory and shot.
eWeek jumping on the “Leopard Speculation” bandwagon. Nice to see.
I want some really new, fun and exciting apps that can do fun stuff like, pie charts and spread sheets.
1) Darwine-like functionality. Accept no substitute
2) Make iWork really work by turning it into Apple’s version of MS Office.
3) Spotlight is fine
4) The stack does suck…but the BSD stack has always been a little not right. Can’t blame this on MS. You need to blame the guy from BBN who first wrote it many, many cycles ago.
5) Like the PopCopy 2 suggestion.
6) How about a leaner Safari? Safari still bleeds too much memory.
Just Stop:
That’s Johnny Cash, covering a NIN tune…
but yes, I am on a ledge somewhere…
I’m aware.
Just seems a better of a fit in a myspace forum for ledge-dwelers.
This forum is for nerdomaniacs, geekoids, Brain-e-ak daredevils.
Related topic:
Wishlist
Gee, thanks so much, BrooklynNYC.
I didn’t happen to see it in the RELATED ARTICLE above or earlier today in ITS OWN ARTICLE.
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/10033/
Yep, I’m one of those too…. but I was listening to my iPod at the time while working, and this great song came on, and I really couldn’t keep my fingers from typing what I was hearing….
I apologize if I was intruding on your nerdom… oh wait, no I’m not.
How about a feature like TASKMENUBAR!!!
I only wish that Apple ships Leopard on schedule.
That’d be one feature a certain PC OS vendor couldn’t hope to match.
I said this before in the other Leopard feature article, but I think it would be cool if they can incorporate moving files with expose. It would be nice if you could move the cursor over one of the windows and it would bubble-zoom like on the doc and from there click and drag a file or folder into another expose window and transfer files that way.
You are looking at Outlook as a desktop-only solution.
The key to winning in any small or large corporate space is groupware. Outlook has a nice chunky Exchange server going on.
With what Apple product do I have the ability for my admin to set up a meeting for me, and mandate it into my calendar/iCal? How can she enter new contacts into my address book and notify me dynamically? And the list goes on and on…
Groupware is a powerful tool for business communication, and Apple knows it is a bear to tackle, and is why they have only scratched the surface with a desktop, iCal, AddressBook solution… They have not put the resources in place to handle this beast, and looking at MicroSoft and IBM (Lotus), the solutions available pretty much stink, and not for lack of effort of $$$, but just because it is an absolute monster to develop.
Of all the products M$ has spewed out over the years, their groupware solutions is actually a decent product.
Man, that hurt to say… Vista blow! There, I feel better now.
NeverFade…
Love that Johnny Cash cover. It’s just a great tune. Very haunting. Thanks for sharing. One of my faves.
Fix the Finder freezes, delays, hangs, and such. Add better Exchange support to Mail (i.e., do not require Exchange-via-IMAP). Try harder to eliminate those surprise beachball appearances. Improve iDisk and FTP support (I find these two features of Finder so buggy that I am required to use a third party app in both cases). Make it easier to discover and browse Windows networks … more like what Windows users are accustomed to, I suppose. Yes, add Windows virtualization, with security restrictions so the whole system doesn’t go down in flames if Windows is hacked. Built-in virtual desktops would be cool. Add categories or something along that line to Mail/iCal/Address Book. Improve the Finder ‘Find’ command so that it will actually find everything you are looking for (unbelievably, it sometimes misses search words that are obviously in the filenames being searched). More cool screensavers, wallpaper, and what not. What about RSS publishing built into iCal (that will export one or more calendars automatically to a FTP site)?
This was written by a person that obviously doesnt understand much about the entire computer industry, or software, or networking or IT. I belive what he is saying about outlook, Apple needs a large scale, and highly desireable version of Microsoft Exchange server. As well as OSX server needs to be advertised and attack windows directly. Without a stronger server integration it will never make its way in big companys. I work for EMC, and they do not even acknoledge MAC as a platform because its market share in big buisness is very small, and its market in Server buisness is even smaller. Most IT managers fear apple because they dont know much about it, even if OSX server is superior they dont know, nor do they care to know anything about it. Just like apple is doing on the home front, they need to grab the buisness market’s attention, and implement solutions from the SERVER side, once that starts to change, the workstations will also. The end user in a company rarley has any say in the computer they want.
My wishes.
1. Ability to edit colours of labels and maybe more than just 7 colours.
2. An audible sound alert if someone or yourself logins incorrectly. And the ability to edit/change the sound. This would be invaluable in a classroom situation.
3. Maybe a way of ‘telling’ the computer to wake from sleep. How thats possible I don’t know if the entire computer is in sleep mode.
Just a few qick thoughts. I suppose it’s to late now that most of Leopard is probably written by now. Maybe in 10.6.
Hurl the dock into the sun.
– Pull the Dashboard icon off the dock and it TERMINATES. Drag it back on and it re-ignites. It should be that simple.
– Vertical preview pane in Mail
– When installing an app, the OS should “record” all changes that the app makes to the system and store them in some type of script in the app bundle. When the app is dragged to the trash and then emptied, the trash should recognize this, execute the “script”, and reverse the changes. Boom – all file remnants removed. Make the trash smart.
– Virtual desktops (Like Open SUSE/Linux running Xgl/Compiz): This is very, very cool AND useful as well.
– A Steve Ballmer screen saver.
Just a few….