Analyzing Apple's Trends to Predict their Future

This is a mix of an open letter to Apple, as well as a prediction as to their future products based on either trends or hopes.

I have been thinking a bit about how Apple has been creating their products, and trying to decipher the Apple "code" as to what they will release next. The hardest part to predict is always the time frame. Apple likes to have the product 100% perfect by the time it is released to ensure the released products keep to Apple's high standards of excellence. So, this could mean that predictions are months away, all the way to 3 years away...unfortunately.

If you look back at Apple's trends, how have they been releasing products? If you look closely, they have a strong tendency to implement existing technology and advancements into their new releases; just in a way that we all didn't see coming. So when the product is released, we are left thinking, ohhhhh...that's a great idea. How did we miss that.

For example, many of the technologies that were released in the iPhone, we all knew about anyway. The perfect example, CoverFlow. This software was released into iTunes months before the iPhone's release. When CoverFlow was released for the iPhone, we were in awe and amazement as to how they actually implemented the software, because, well, it was a huge step forward, but one that we should have seen coming.

There are countless amounts of comparisons and examples dating back in the hardware side of things, so I'm going to try and focus mainly on software, because this is where I see most potential for amazing products.

The shining star of examples is iTunes. The individuals in charge of the design and implementation of the software should be given a great deal of credit for previous OS builds, as well as Apple's newest cat, Leopard. If you look closely, we should have been able to put together Leopard's Finder window in photoshop way before the release of the OS. iTunes paved the way for Leopard's finder. The layout is identical to that of iTunes.

It appears to me that Apple tends to test their new advancements in technology with smaller products before they release them onto a larger stage. Example, iTunes CoverFlow::iPhone::Finder. Or, iTunes Search::Spotlight. I believe this is Apple's thought process in regards to their upcoming releases.

So, what does this mean in regards for future Apple releases. Look around, take technologies that we believe are advanced, and apply them into a larger venue; which brings me to my predictions; also, now that you know how I came to these conclusions, they should make a bit more sense.

I believe that if Apple is going to keep traveling down the exact same road of success that they have been on, we "should" see iPhone-esque computers in the near future...depending on how long Apple has been developing them. Which again, brings me back to a time-frame. It is much too difficult to predict, but they should be already in development, It is just a matter of when. My guess, it will arrive with OS X 10.6. It is just such a huge step to take in a short period of time.

How will this all work? This part is a bit tricky, but there can be a solution. I believe that the upcoming iMacs and newly updated displays are the products that will see the focus of these changes. The displays out are to their limits in how they can really make them stand out more. Yes you could make the edges a bit thinner, and make them more HD, but this is not what Apple has done in the past. When they change a product, they don't do it with minor adjustments. This is why they wait so long to release products, it is so minor adjustments won't be needed. The product is already perfect. Apple makes ground breaking changes to their product lines when changes are made. Now that you have this understanding, it should be easy to predict that Apple's new displays and iMacs will be converted into full-blown touch screens, much like the iPhone (aka, the smaller product to test how this technology will work with consumers).

The first step could be into the desktop arena to test this application of technology, then it may be retrofitted for their laptops in the future. Again, there is no telling when this change will happen, but it IS going to happen with almost no doubt in my mind. Apple, Inc. is much more intelligent of a company in regards to their product pipeline than many of us, as well as investors give credit to.

How it actually will fit into the operating system is the hard part. I feel that due to the fact that a finger varies in size from person to person, the option for a full touch interface may be out of the question, but don't hold me to that, Apple is desperately trying for seamless operability with the iPhone, so who knows what they will think of. I feel that a dual (touch and mouse/keyboard) interface will be in the works as the most applicable solution. Also, the option to enable/disable the touch factor may be available. iTunes is setting itself up for this technology already, with scrolling and CoverFlow already growing on each user, using hands gestures is a matter of putting it into the software and applying a touch screen...boom (I had to). I'll go in to detail for a quick second as to how I believe the gestures will work, but this is not that important of an issue to look at right now.

First; scrolling in iTunes, exactly as the iPhone. Imagine being able to scroll through your entire iTunes library with your finger. It will be much easier to find what your looking for, and to play with in general.

Second; scrolling with CoverFlow. The technology is already built in, now we wait for implementation of gestures.

Third; Spaces (One of the most exciting). The implementation of Spaces in Leopard gives Apple a great opportunity for future development. This could be a feature that most users ignore or discard as not that ground breaking, but combine this with a swipe across your screen and you now have a new space, you get ground breaking. My guess is, it will take 4 fingers to switch screens.

Fourth: Dragging; This would be an issue that would cause Apple to scratch its head. There are many routes one could take, but I would think, the best would be the pressure sensitive display that we already know Apple is working on, as implied by their patents. Just put a bit more pressure onto an area on your screen, and the file automatically sticks and you can now move it around the screen. A simple solution to a complex problem.

Fifth; Application potential. Apple's new Core Animation is paving the way for this advancement. Everything is going to be automated and done for you, that you will no longer have to do the little things any more. Which makes it easier for your hands to control the interface. The application potential is through the roof. On the consumer end and professional. To look at the best view as to what this could do for applications, look at Delicious Library. Who knows, maybe iTunes will in turn look exactly like DL, or DL will become a way for you to play your files, rather than just look at them. I am not a developer for either company so I have no idea what they are thinking.

Sixth: Productivity. Apple is all about being more productive and automating the difficult tasks for you. Imagine how fast you will be able to operate your machine using your hands directly. This will be one of the largest selling points for their computers.

I could go on and on with the potential of this type of implementation of technology. The ideas could be endless.

What does this mean for Apple...everything. It doesn't appear that any other company is attempting to combat this technology on the consumer end yet. Microsoft's surface is in the works, but is no where near applicable to everyday consumers. Looking at the trends, this appears to be a technology that is going to be released by Apple, it is just a matter of when. Financially what does this mean...invest in Apple now. We have only seen a grain on the tip of the iceberg with this company. The future is looking immensely bright. Apple has the potential to be one of those companies that if you invest a little now, 50 years down the road, you will be sitting pretty. It amazes me that most people do not see this potential within Apple. Everyone is looking at now and what is happening right this second, as if a faulty monitor or screens that accidentally get scratched is going to bring the demise of Apple, Inc. Apple is in its baby stage (which is hard to believe for some) and is maturing year over year over year. Their future plans are much larger than we potentially believe. My advice to you, invest what you can now, and forget about it. Leave for your retirement fund because it will pay off more than you will think.

Time Quitting Applications

The purpose of this project was to run handbrake and encode video from a dvd, and when it was complete, the program would quit and appear as if it was never open.

Step 1: Create an iCal event at the time you want, in my example I will use handbrake, handbrake to quit. Let's choose 3:00pm. Create a new event for 3:00pm and label it whatever you would like. Under URL, I used a fake URL and put in http://www.qwer.com. This will distinguish this event from others if you use iCal frequently.

Step 2: Download the automator action "quit application 1.0" from this website: http://files.macscripter.net/Automator/Finder-System/quit%20application.zip

Step 3: Load this automator action into Automator in Mac OS X and begin a workflow.

Step 4*: The first action will be an iCal item entitled, "Filter iCal items". Under "Filter" select Events, and under "Whose" select URL, and in the blank space enter the exact URL you entered for the event earlier.

Step 5*: The next action to put in your workflow will be also in iCal labeled "Delete iCal Events". As it states, this will delete the iCal event you created.

Step 6: The next action will be in Finder labeled "Quit Application". This is the action you just loaded into the app. Under the drop down box, select the program you wish to quit, in my example it would be handbrake. Under "Save changes", select NO.

Step 7*: You will then select "quit application" again underneath the one you just put in. This time in the drop down box, select iCal. Under "Save changes", it doesn't matter if you select YES or NO.

Step 8: In Automator, select "File" then "Save As", enter the name you would like, but instead of saving it as a workflow, it will be saved as an application. You can put in anywhere you like as long as you know where it is.

Step 9: Go back into iCal to the event you created with the URL, and under "alarm", select "Open File". In the drop down section right below where it says "Open File" change this to "other and locate this application from Automator you created. Set the alarm for something like 1 min before and it will open this file 1 min before the time the event is scheduled.

Step 10: You are done, leave iCal open and the other application, in this example Handbrake, and everything will be quitted out of and the event you created will never appear to exist. Enjoy!

*You don't need to do these steps if you don't want to. It just removes everything to appear as if this process was never created.