Apple
released Mountain Lion to developers
last week, a new operating system that will make your desktop computer work
more like your phone than ever before.
The trend is clear: The desktop
operating system will merge with the mobile OS in the coming years. The
question is: Why?
Let's start with the trend itself.
First off, Apple is integrating cloud services much more deeply in Mountain
Lion than any previous operating system. That means your music, photos,
calendars, contacts, emails and more can now stay in sync across your phone,
tablet and Mac.
Apple has also unified your messages
across your devices: The Message app (formerly iMessages) will replace iChat on
the Mac.
That's not all: Mountain Lion also
gets a notification center that works just like the notifications you receive
on your phone. Games Center is coming to the Mac as well, allowing you to play
games against your friends who own iPhones and iPads.
Apps like Reminders, Notes and
Contacts are also all getting desktop versions -- and of course these sync with
your mobile devices so your data is always up to date.
Most notable of all: Apple is now
pushing software updates through the Mac App Store, hinting that the App Store
may become the only way to get software on your Mac in the future.
So what are the advantages of your
desktop computer merging with your phone's functionality? And are there any
downsides?
Simplicity
The main reason Apple wants to make
Macs work like the iPhone and iPad is simple. Or rather, simplicity.
Despite decades of innovation and
the invention of the graphical user interface, computers remain too confusing
and complex for the majority of people.
While more powerful software with
complex functionality will continue to exist for highly technical users, most
consumers want a device that's easy to use and intuitive.
The rise of the iPad and iPhone
prove that there's huge demand for such simplicity, and that desktops too will
need to become more streamlined.
The downside of simplicity? Simple
systems are often less "open" and provide less freedom to try new
things: Tasks are either easy to complete (because the developers thought of
that use case) or not possible at all.
Security
Mobile operating systems could
potentially be more secure than their desktop counterparts. In particular, if
Apple makes the App Store the only way to download apps to your Mac, it would
become more difficult for users to install malware (since Apple manually
approves every app in the store).
What's more, mobile features like
tracking the location of your devices or wiping them remotely will make
consumer desktops more secure.
There are downsides to app stores,
however.
Not only would devices become less
open -- the makers of operating systems become gatekeepers -- but you could
argue that Apple and its rivals simply want to force the use of app stores so
that they make more money for themselves.
Syncing
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of
making desktops work more like phones is unity between all your devices.
With a similar (or single) operating
system on all your gadgets, syncing apps, contacts and calendars between them
all becomes effortless.
There's a downside for users,
however: Competing operating systems tend not to work well together, and using
one operating system across all devices means uses are "locked in"
more than ever before.
So there you have it: Your desktop
computer is becoming more and more like your phone -- and in fact the line
between the two will one day disappear.
If you think it's just Apple's
devices that are headed toward a simpler operating system, however, you'd be
mistaken -- Apple is merely in the news because Mountain Lion became available
to developers last week.
In fact, Microsoft's Windows 8 takes
its cues from Windows Phone, meaning that the two major desktop operating
systems will mimic your mobile devices very soon.
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