The timing may be suspicious, but the OS looks more to Google than to Microsoft
"Apple Speeds Mac 'Mountain Lion' to Take On Windows 8" Bloomberg Businessweek
"Steve Jobs is gone, Windows 8 is coming and Apple panics" betanews
As predicted, the tech press spent much of the rest of the week trying to make sense of last Tuesday's news that the latest version of the Mac operating system, Mountain Lion, is due out before the end of summer.
Most of the speculation had to do with the way Apple (AAPL) handled the announcement, privileging some reporters with previews and not others. (Why MG Siegler, who doesn't usually write reviews? Why not Andy Ihnatko, who does?)
Many wrote it off as Apple's way of keeping the press firmly under its thumb. "Access isn't an entitlement," Ihnatko tweeted philosophically. "I've gotten things early, I've not gotten things early. I can only do my job, day to day."
Some, as the headlines quoted above suggest, smelled something even more Machiavellian in the annoucement -- the first time in memory that the press got to test a Mac OS before Apple the Mac development community could. According to betanews' Robert Johnson:
"Apple more typically announces a new OS version months before it's made available to anyone, typically during their Worldwide Developer Conference. But with 10.8 things are different. The timing allowed Apple to preempt the release of Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which Microsoft announced in January would be the end of this month."
Was Mountain Lion announced prematurely to take the wind out of Microsoft's (MSFT) sails?
Click to enlarge. Data: Wikipedia. Chart: PED
The timing is curious. Even if Mountain Lion's release doesn't happen until the last day of summer, developers will have less time to prepare for it than for any OS X since Panther in 2003. (See chart.)
But as John Gruber and John Siracusa pointed out in Friday's The Talk Show podcast, the new features being added to OS X -- messaging, notifications, app synching, etc. -- are all about integrating the Mac more tightly with iCloud.
Google (GOOG) is the master of cloud-based computing, not Microsoft. So if Apple had any competitor in its sights with last week's Mountain Lion announcement, it's Google.
Fortune's curated selection of tech stories from the weekend. Sign up to get the round-up delivered to you each and every day.
* Is the Consumer Electronics Show, a.k.a. C.E.S., losing its clout? Nick Wingfield over at The New York Times argues the convention, which drew 149,000 people last year, isn't quite the powerhouse it used to be, thanks to product launches at company-only events or smaller conferences. (The New York Times)
* New Yahoo CEO Scott MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Jan 9, 2012 3:30 AM ET
All investors seem to want is a bigger piece of the company's $53 billion cash pile. They'd do better to pay attention to what Windows 8 and Windows Phone really mean.
By Kevin Kelleher, contributor
FORTUNE -- Microsoft's obituary has been written plenty of times. There was no place for the software mammoth in a tech world designed -- and dominated -- by Apple. CEO Steve Ballmer was unable to steer the MORE
Sep 20, 2011 10:56 AM ET
Shots were fired in both directions as partisans previewed Microsoft's next tablet OS
Source: Twitter
A war of words -- blogged, tweeted and syndicated -- broke out at Microsoft's (MSFT) annual developers conference Tuesday when the company distributed Samsung tablets loaded with beta copies of Windows 8, its answer to Apple's (AAPL) OS X and iOS, rolled into one.
Paul Thurrott, the news editor of Windows IT Pro and host of the Windows MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Sep 14, 2011 8:27 AM ET
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* Microsoft (MSFT) did a big unveiling for Windows 8. The operating system update features a radically different, streamlined user interface heavily influenced by the company's tile-based Windows Phone 7 operating system and optimized performance. (CNNMoney)
* Facebook made its Friends Lists feature smarter with new features like Smart Lists, which automatically creates and MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Sep 14, 2011 3:30 AM ET
Fortune's curated selection of the day's most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to you every day.
* Microsoft teased Windows 8 yesterday at All Things D's D9 conference, unveiling a versatile user interface heavily inspired by its Windows Phone 7 platform. While users will be able to access the classic Windows desktop experience they'll also experience the Start screen above, which presents users' apps MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Jun 2, 2011 10:24 AM ET
A curated selection of the weekend's most newsworthy tech stories from all over the Web. Sign up to get the newsletter delivered to you everyday.
Windows 8 may include a Ribbon-like user interface. Photo: PC World
PC manufacturers -- and apparently, some users -- have gotten their hands on early builds of Windows 8, which will include support for ARM chips and features like enhanced graphics, 3-D support, facial recognition, MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer-Reporter - Apr 4, 2011 8:44 AM ETEvery morning, discover the companies, deals and trends in tech that are moving markets and making headlines. SUBSCRIBE
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| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of America Corp... | 7.95 | -0.16 | -1.97% |
| Intel Corp | 26.73 | -0.43 | -1.58% |
| Microsoft Corp | 31.27 | -0.17 | -0.54% |
| Ford Motor Co | 12.28 | -0.25 | -2.00% |
| General Electric Co | 19.39 | 0.17 | 0.88% |
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 12,938.67 | -27.02 | -0.21% |
| Nasdaq | 2,933.17 | -15.40 | -0.52% |
| S&P 500 | 1,357.66 | -4.55 | -0.33% |
| Treasuries | 2.00 | -0.04 | -1.96% |
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