Apple Thoughts: The Mac is Back: Was it Ever Missing?

"Last month, Steve Jobs took to the stage, most likely for the final time this year, to launch a new version of iLife and new updates to the MacBook Air line. More importantly, he spent a lot of time talking about the product line as a whole, how the Mac and iOS platforms relate to each other and what the future of the Mac might look like with the next generation of OS X, now known as Lion. There's been a lot of speculation as to what the ramifications of all this are. Here's my take on what it all means."

An interesting view on where Apple may (or may not) be heading with hardware and software. The author makes several points:

• The Mac is a not a hobby, it's a business. The Mac isn't going to go away anytime soon. There are things that need a computer and not an appliance. It's all about content creating and/or consuming. Photoshop on a iPad? I don't think so. Creating a video? Please, no.
• Don't expect hardware convergence. The author thinks that a touchscreen Mac would be no better than a comparable Windows system. It's also about maintaining a true user experience and meeting expectations.
• Don't expect platforms to converge either. Functionality will converge that make sense, otherwise not. Think again about content creation versus content consuming. It's all about the content - the end result.
• Expect MacBook Air designs to sneak into other hardware. Specifically spinning hard drives will disappear slowly as the price of solid state storage drops. This enables simpler "state management." The computer is on or off. No more suspended, sleeping, resuming. Close the lid, open the lid. Desktops may be slower to converge.

Bottom line is (in the author's opinion) that the Mac is back. Personally I don't think that it was ever gone. Hardware and software will converge, somewhat, but I still expect the hardware will be classified as either "consuming" or "creating and consuming." As Apple has often stated, the user experience remains a priority. Imagine a 17-inch MacBook (or a Windows laptop) with a terabyte of SSD and 32GB RAM and the physical footprint of a MacBook Air! I can't wait!