What I’d Like to See in Leopard
[I first posted this in August, 2006, prior to Apple's first presentation of Leopard. As we all know, they delayed Leopard, and we'll be getting a second presentation this week. It should contain a host of "new" features that weren't in the first presentation, or in the early betas distributed to developers. So, since none of my ideas appeared in the first presentation, maybe some will show up this week? It's not often that I get two chances at being right.]
With Steve Jobs about to present Mac OS X 10.5, or Leopard, at the company’s World-Wide Developer Conference on Monday, I wondered what would be interesting in the next version of our favorite OS. Speculation runs rife on the web, of course, since Apple’s tight lips haven’t let a single hint out of Cupertino. But enterprising Mac users have been coming up with ideas, and even prototypes (or tricked-out screen shots) of what they want to see.
So what about the Mayor of Kirkville? What does he want to see in Leopard? Here’s some thoughts…
- A tabbed Finder: There have been a few such prototypes making the rounds on the web, and they all pick up on the space-saving idea of using tabs in applications like Safari, suggesting that the Finder should be a single window with tabs. This would simplify life when you need many windows available, since you would be able to copy items from the currently visible window to a tab, which would act like the current spring-loaded folders, opening so you could drop your selection, or drag it onto a folder or icon in that tab’s contents. Oh, and make that a Cocoa Finder, please…
- A collaboration system: Rumors of this have been making the rounds. It would be a text editor (perhaps simply TextEdit) that works with iChat so multiple users can edit a text simultaneously. Some software can already do this, but including it within OS X would greatly enhance this type of collaboration, opening it up to those who are not familiar with the concept.
- A media center: Front Row is here for a local media center (one that is on a Mac connected to a TV) but it would be nice to have remote capabilities for this, via an AirPort Express. This would, of course, entail that a WiFi remote control be introduced, but that’s simple. Let me keep my media on the Mac here in my home office, connect an AirPort Express to the TV and stereo and the living room, and control it from there.
- Voice recognition: Windows users have a big advantage over use Mac lovers: they have excellent dictation software for their platform, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. You speak, it types. This is a real time-saver for people who write a lot, and is great for preventing RSI. Windows Vista is going to have built-in voice recognition features, so why not Leopard? Apple could simply license Dragon’s software and roll it into the OS…
- A subscription: Yes, fans, you read that right: I want to see a subscription model for Mac OS X, .Mac and iLife. Let’s get to the end of buying the OS, or getting it with a new Mac, then having to pay for .Mac (if you want it) and iLife (for a version newer than the one that came with your latest Mac). How about $200 a year for all that? With .Mac at $99, the OS around $129 (every 18 months) and iLife at $79, this would be a commitment for some users that would save them money, but provide a steady revenue stream for Apple. It would make the products easier to market and deliver, since they could all be on a single DVD, and it would allow Apple to integrate them more tightly. Naturally, this would be optional: not all users want .Mac or iLife, but for those who do, it would be a good deal.
- A live desktop: While there are many third-party programs that can display web pages, pictures or videos on your desktop, Apple should roll this feature into Leopard. Unlike Dashboard widgets, this would allow you to choose one or several sources of information to display: a single web page, your favorite video of your kids, a slide show, a list of RSS feeds, or more. It would be eye candy, of course, but it could be practical for many users.
That’s all I can think of for now, aside from tweaks, such as improvements to Spotlight, Automator, and bundled applications. What do you think? What would you like to see in Leopard?
Why should Apple license Dragon Naturally Speaking?, whose predecessor was
available for Mac OS 9 anyway, when already OS X has http://www.macspeech.com/“>MacSpeech‘s iListen for full command, control,
and dictation across the system.
—
- Ben
Q16 1.25 – Tiger
Um, because Dragon is a lot better, and iListen (AFAIK) doesn’t leverage the Intel
processor… Dragon’s got years of experience. I used iListen a bit, and its
accuracy was poor.
Have you seen the video making the rounds of the MS employee demonstrating
Vista’s voice recognition "abilities"? Hilarious results ensue…
No, but I’ve heard from some people who have the beta, and they’re pretty
impressed…
I would like to see Leopard introduce a system-wide iLife library that shares all
photos, music, movies, etc. with every (or specific) user on the same Mac.
I have my own PC fix/repair business and I have been converting all my clients
to Mac’s. I’m frustrated when setting up several user accounts who share one
Mac and then having to expain that their iPhotos and iTunes are only tied to one
account. Every family member enjoys having their own separate login with a
personalized desktop pic, e-mail. and homepage, but the fun stops there when
they all want to view the same family vacation photos or music. I realize there
are a few work-a-rounds for iTunes but the iPhoto sharing hack seems a bit
extreme.
That’s a good point. However, it’s actually not that simple. What do you do when
mom wants to add a CD of, say, Perry Como to the iTunes library? Does it get
added to everyone’s library? Son or daughter probably don’t want that…
Also, if two accounts are open, and you add some files in one account, how do
you add them to the library of the other account?
I agree that a shared system would make a lot of sense, but there are issues.