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Removal of 'Mac' from 'OS X' a sign of Apple TV?

S

Suzuku

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 8, 2009
10
0
So I was thinking: Apple has a history of removing certain key words in their title to signify big changes or a broadening of their catalog. When Apple removed the 'Computers' from 'Apple Computers Inc.' it was because they were branching off into more industries than just computing (phone, digital distribution, MP3 player, etc). When they removed the 'Phone' from 'iPhone OS' it was because they were bringing the OS to more hardware than just the iPhone (iPad, iPod Touch).

Now, with Apple removing 'Mac' from 'Mac OS X' it's possible they're planning on applying that OS to a piece of hardware separate from the Mac. The only thing I can think of at this point that would make sense is a real Apple TV. The rumors are getting more and more frequent (reminiscent of the pre-iPhone and iPad announcements, really) and this name change coinciding with the ramped up rumors is too conspicuous to be coincidental. What do you guys think?
 
The name change certainly suggests a separation between hardware and software, which could either hint at the software finding a new home (as you suggest) or simply be Apple making the separation for the benefit of consumers' understanding (of the hardware/software distinction).

It's certainly interesting and I'm looking forward to seeing Apple's future products!
 
MasterHowl said:
I don't like the sound of it, by maybe they're going to completely unify Mac OS and iOS eventually... Who knows eh?
Click to expand...

Unify them at what level ? They already use the same kernel, the same display server, the same core frameworks (CoreGraphics, CoreData, Foundation frameworks, the NeXTSTEP stuff, POSIX library and ANSI C library).
 
I think it's an "ex-post-facto" change. The shift has already occurred, with OS X now running on:

-Mac
-iPod
-iPhone
-iPad
-Apple TV

The name change is a response to what's already happened.

And, by the way, the change from Mac OS X to OS X happened last year with Lion.
 
KnightWRX said:
Unify them at what level ? They already use the same kernel, the same display server, the same core frameworks (CoreGraphics, CoreData, Foundation frameworks, the NeXTSTEP stuff, POSIX library and ANSI C library).
Click to expand...

I know, but I mean in terms of the features. There were a lot of Mac OS things in the first few versions of iOS, and now they're slowly bringing more iOS features to Mac OS
 
It's just a streamlining of brand names. OS X makes even less sense on an "Apple TV" than iOS.
 
rorschach said:
I think it's an "ex-post-facto" change. The shift has already occurred, with OS X now running on:

-Mac
-iPod
-iPhone
-iPad
-Apple TV

The name change is a response to what's already happened.

And, by the way, the change from Mac OS X to OS X happened last year with Lion.
Click to expand...

Really?
When I go to the "about" menu it still says:
Mac OS X
Version 10.7.3
 
rorschach said:
I think it's an "ex-post-facto" change. The shift has already occurred, with OS X now running on:

-Mac
-iPod
-iPhone
-iPad
-Apple TV

The name change is a response to what's already happened.

And, by the way, the change from Mac OS X to OS X happened last year with Lion.
Click to expand...

Tiptizzle said:
Really?
When I go to the "about" menu it still says:
Mac OS X
Version 10.7.3
Click to expand...

cambookpro said:
He's talking about 10.8 Mountain Lion. The preview was released last week :)
Click to expand...

No rorschach thought the "Mac portion was no longer there in "Lion".
ML wasn't here "Last Year"

It's very simple. Most people refer to the OS as "OSX" and that's what Apple decided to do.

Nothing sinister here.
 
Peace said:
No rorschach thought the "Mac portion was no longer there in "Lion".
ML wasn't here "Last Year"

It's very simple. Most people refer to the OS as "OSX" and that's what Apple decided to do.

Nothing sinister here.
Click to expand...

Ah, sorry, missed that bit. Anyway, I think Apple stopped branding Lion as Mac OS X on their website yet it was still officially called that.
 
If Apple did release an "Apple TV" then it would most likely be iOS-based rather than OS X-based.
 
MonkeyBrainz said:
iOS is OS X based...
Click to expand...

At it's core, yes, they share the same unix underlying structure, but that's where the similarity stops.

Plus, it was pretty (extremely) obvious that I was referring to running iOS than Mac OS X, not being based off of them.
 
chrf097 said:
At it's core, yes, they share the same unix underlying structure, but that's where the similarity stops.

Plus, it was pretty (extremely) obvious that I was referring to running iOS than Mac OS X, not being based off of them.
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'm just trying to be obnoxious. Can't you let me have that?! Gosh.
 
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