My quick mental musing today is to whether or not Android, iOS, and Win Phone 7 really qualify as full operating systems, or just useful user interface, like the things your blue ray player run on? Honestly, this is a question I've been ruminating on for some time now. So many of the major changes going on in the computer industry are based off of these three systems, but are they really anything more than quaint toys we used to access greater content? Without the functionality of the cloud, are these devices even worth messing with? And if the cloud concept fails, will the fascination of the general public still be so fixated on the 'smart phone'?
I have my opinion, but I'm not here to rant. I want to know what the readers think. Leave your thoughts and rants in the comments below, and let me know whether or not you think some changes need to happen to the current touch tablet interfaces, to make them into 'more of an OS'. Thanks.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
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"An operating system is software, consisting of programs and data, that runs on computers, manages computer hardware resources, and provides common services for execution of various application software."
ReplyDeleteAnd since smart phones, by definition, qualify as computers then naturally...
Of course they are operating systems.
I am currently a user of the iPhone4 which runs the iOS operating system. I am able to do everything I need to do with my phone... on my phone. It is, for the most part, a stand-alone system... with only a few minor exceptions (no more than a standard PC deals with), most of which will be addressed in the iOS 5 update. But, to be clear... as it stands... I do not need the cloud to run my device.
However, as far as the cloud is involved... It is my understanding that the point of the cloud is to promote inter-connectivity between and allow the access of content from a number of sources on as many (if not all, in time) devices as the user demands. In essence, to remove the on-going problem of divided content, information loss and ultimately (hopefully to at least some degree) proprietary hardware/software. The cloud cannot fail. Our technology is more than capable (and ever growing)... it is in high demand by the general public. There is no 'if' involved. Only 'when.'
When you say things like 'quaint toy' or defining the cloud as a 'concept' or the public's 'fascination' with smart phones... I really begin to question your knowledge of current technology and the direction that its progression is heading. As if you are still stuck in the late 90s where your computer sat in your home with fledgling communication abilities and, for the most part, we users went about our day-to-day without much thought otherwise. I'm afraid that you are still running 5-10 years behind... that that is my impression. As a fellow technologist, these changes discussed should have long since been accepted... as the general public is long past the questioning phase and well into the consumption phase.