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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Why Apple's Lion Meows Instead of Roars

Commentary by David Handy



Apple's story about Mac OSX Lion is that it takes things it's learned from iOS and brings them to Mac OS.

But it doesn't go far enough.

Why is there no Notification Center in Mac OS? I'd like to a have one central location where I can see all my new Reminders, Calendars, Mail, Messages, etc.

Why is there no Book Reader in Mac OS? I can buy Books in iTunes, but I can't read them on my Mac.

Why is there no iMessage in Mac OS? Instead, I've got iChat and Facetime, and neither does everything iMessage does.

Why is there no Newsstand in Mac OS? I can't even buy magazines on my Mac, but I'd sure like to be able to read them on my Mac.

Why are there no location-based Reminders in Mac OS? Most Macs sold today are portable devices, just like iOS devices, so it just makes senses that Mac apps should be as location-aware as iOS apps.

Why is there no Twitter integration in Mac OS? I'd like to be able to tweet a photo directly out of iPhoto, or a picture straight out of my Pictures folder, or a bit of text from Safari.

Why is there no Airplay Mirroring in Mac OS? I want to wirelessly mirror my Mac's display to my AppleTV/HDTV. That would be so cool.

Why, for that matter, can't I run any and all iOS apps in Mac OS? I buy and store iOS apps in iTunes, but then I can't do anything with them.

And, again, for that matter, why am I buying Books in iTunes when I can't read them in iTunes?

And there are way too many different Stores in too many different places now.

Where is the Shopping Mall app that integrates all these storefronts?

With a Shopping Mall, I can do something like this: While I'm shopping for Books I can duck next door to the Newstand and pick up some magazines, then zip over the the Music store and check out the new releases, then nip into the Video store and pick up a few movies and tv shows, before finally heading to the App store for some new software.

As it is now, if I want to go shopping, I have to launch app after app after app. And it makes no sense to be buying Apps and Books in iTunes, especially since, once you've bought them, unlike everything else in iTunes, you can't do anything with them if you don't have an iOS device.

It is for all these reasons that "I tot I taw a puddy-tat" rather than hearing the lion roar.