Add a Comment   Return to Previous Page

Time for Consolidation

Entry 803, on 2008-06-26 at 20:06:15 (Rating 1, Computers)

When people ask me what I found out about the future of Mac OS X from the recent WWDC conference I think about it for a while then have to admit that, to the average user, there won't be much change in the next version of the system. Many people would see this as disappointing but to many support people its great news. One of the big complaints from computer technical staff is that the OS is continually gaining new abilities but these aren't efficiently implemented and are often not well documented.

This is particularly apparent in Mac OS X Server. I continually encounter weird problems with server and there is a lack of good documentation to explain how to set things up properly and overcome technical issues. Just yesterday I encountered a weird bug which seemed to be undocumented and which I fixed more through luck than good technical skills!

So when Apple say that the next version of Mac OS X will concentrate on consolidation we should all be happy. Better memory management, more efficient use of the CPU, the ability to use the GPU for general processing, better disk management, and generally better reliability should be welcomed by everyone. Having better documentation, especially for server, would also be a huge step forward.

If the basics are handled better then new functionality will naturally arise as a result, maybe it will be from third party developers instead of Apple, but it will happen. For example, Photoshop could benefit greatly from more efficient memory management and access to the GPU for complex graphics operations.

So I'm hoping that when Snow Leopard does arrive we will not see much change from Leopard (at least on the surface). Maybe that's why Apple chose such similar names!

Comment 1 (4522) by Anonymous on 2016-07-22 at 14:35:12:

Did it work out as you expected?

Comment 2 (4523) by OJB on 2016-07-22 at 18:55:38:

Well yes, it did. Even though the final version of Snow Leopard (10.6.8) is no longer supported it is still considered one of the most efficient, reliable versions of Mac OS X, OS X, macOS ever.

You can leave comments about this entry using this form.

Enter your name (optional):
Enter your email address (optional):
Enter the number shown here:
Enter the comment:

To add a comment: enter a name and email (optional), type the number shown, enter a comment, click Add.
Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous.
Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry.
The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.

I do podcasts too! You can listen to my latest podcast, here: OJB's Podcast 2026-04-14 How Far is that Star?: How would we really know how big the universe is? Or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed, on my RSS Feeds page.

If you're not sure what to view from the thousands of pages on my site, here are some suggestions: My Latest Airshow Report (photos and movies from Warbirds Over Wanaka, 2026), My Favourite Wines and Beers (tasting notes for some of my favourites), An Interesting Astronomical Observation (learn a bit about astronomy from these observing notes), See Some Photos (A short rail journey through the Taieri Gorge), Read Some Mac Tips (Learn about how to use your Mac, and fix some problems).

Latest Site News and Notifications (Desktop): You are currently viewing OJB's web site, version 2.4 which has some major changes, and possibly errors! Please report any problems to ojb@mac.com.