Just curious on why OS X is called OS X, and will there be ab OS XI in the future?
OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)
Because it was the successor to System 9. No one knows what the next generation of Operating Systems from Apple will be called.
It's not OS X, it's spoken as OS Ten.
macjack wrote:
It's not OS X, it's spoken as OS Ten.
Um. It is OS X. X is 10 in roman numerals. 😎
macjack wrote:
It's not OS X, it's spoken as OS Ten.
Now you tell me.
Someone at my local Genius Bar told me.
A better question may be, why is it OS X when Systems like OS 7, OS 8 or OS 9 are not roman numerals?
The best question would be, "Why does it matter?". 😉
MJ has an orderly mind 🙂
macjack wrote:
A better question may be, why is it OS X when Systems like OS 7, OS 8 or OS 9 are not roman numerals?
It just looks cooler.
In a technical sense, it is called OS 10. Getting the version number of any OS X release has it numbered as 10.x.x. An obvious example being the current 10.11.5. I doubt Apple will ever say why they chose to use a Roman numeral X rather than 10. Marketing and looks, I suppose.
Even more mysterious is why they've hung on to the X moniker for so long. Mac users have to constantly explain to non, or new Mac users things like no, 10.4 is not a free upgrade from 10.3. Then you have to clarify that the first point number is a major release, not an update.
When they reached 10.9, I figured the next one had to be 11. Wrong again. According to a vendor who's RIP we use, Apple informed them (two or three years ago now) that the Mac OS will eventually be 64 bit only. As in, 32 bit apps won't even run, not just 32 bit kernel extensions. So when they rewrote their RIP, they made sure to write in pure Cocoa, 64 bit. All of Adobe's CS 6 and later apps are also 64 bit only. Those vendors paying attention to what Apple tells them are getting ahead of the game and not waiting until a new release of OS X suddenly leaves them scrambling to update their code when 32 bit goes away.
I can make a guess when that happens, the name will then go to OS 11, but I sure wouldn't count on it.
Kurt Lang wrote:
I can make a guess when that happens, the name will then go to OS 11, but I sure wouldn't count on it.
But it's better if it goes to 11!
(For anyone who hasn't seen This is Spinal Tap, step away from the computer and go watch it now.)
FWIW, I didn't like Spinal Tap. 😁
But it's better if it goes to 11!
When you need that little bit extra! 😁
Some people just have no sense of humor. 😉
Why is OS X called OS X?
