If that happens (and it almost definitely won't, at least for a long time), then switch. Making a decision based on pure speculation is a terrible idea. There are plenty of good reasons to switch to Ubuntu, but "I have a feeling Apple has a secret plan to turn OS X into iOS" isn't one of them.
Yes it is. They make much more money off of iOS than they do Mac OS. Therefore, Mac OS will become iOS because Apple isn't your friend they are trying to make money just like any business.
Ford makes more money selling trucks than they do selling anything else, but no one would argue that therefore all their cars will become trucks because Ford isn't our friend.
They are two products serving two populations, and it seems unlikely that their timelines will converge anytime soon. However, "not converging" doesn't translate to not sharing. There are obviously some things iOS that would be at the least nice to have in Mac OS (the app store being the one of discussion now), just as there are things in Mac OS that would be (or already have been scooped and are already) nice to have in iOS.
@jpdbaugh, it's not an either-or proposition, it's a both-and proposition. Creating an app store will make the Mac both better for "average" consumers AND creative developers who want to monetize. Additionally I think increased usability from increased touch gestures and advanced expose functionality will help everyone. It's very difficult to argue that OS X advancements have been tailored to strictly one the consumer or the other creative professional: Time Machine, Spaces, Expose...these have been a win for everybody.
I think if there's something to learn from Apple it is trying to take seemingly divergent markets or divergent goals and finding creative ways to reconcile them: form and function (look at the battery compartments in their wireless keyboard, for example), cost and sustainability, business and consumer markets, young and old.
Despite the fact that unifying two codebases makes much more sense than selling a truck to a family I must say that I disagree.
The problem for me is not convergence per see, I would not mind having features from an portable OS in the OS that I use in my laptop or workstation, the problem is the impression that since iOS devices came to exist OS X is becoming more irrelevant, I think this tweet summarizes the situation: http://twitter.com/iTod/status/27297928138#
If the iOS model of a locked down consumption oriented operating proves to be more profitable that is what Apple will focus on. Its not evil or wrong it will just be what makes the most money. Its really that simple. Apple isn't out to make the core group of users happer but rather the casual user.
Buying Lion with the proposed changes is voting with your dollar that you want more of those changes in future iterations. Not buying it and switching to something else says that you don't like the product. I use Snow Leopard right now but I think brand loyalty is stupid. I don't owe anything to Apple to keep using their product if I don't like the direction it is going in.
No, buying Lion (or any other product for that matter) means you find THAT product of value. Not buying it based on conspiracy theories about future directions doesn't tell the company what the delta was that actually made you mad and provided no/less value.
Those proposed changes being changes that give users and developers more features and options?
Sure: don't buy it because of loyalty, that'd be stupid — but not buying it because of some worry about changes that the next version might have (and that Apple has said nothing about and that would be fraught with a number of technical and political difficulties anyway) is cutting off your nose to spite your face. And to use your phrase, it's voting with your dollars against something that's not harmful - if anything, it's sending a message to Apple that a certain group isn't going to buy their freedomful product anyway, so they might as well let those people use Linux/etc and turn the Mac into what you're afraid of.
Come on, this is a simple software purchase, $100 or so. It's not a moral choice of any significance whatsoever, and laying the moral dimension onto it is not productive or helpful.
You are making a mistake in not realizing that is Apples end game to make Mac OS much more like iOS. Don't you think they realize how much money they are making off of iOS developers? They want the same thing for desktops. Not to mention the huge amount they would save in customer support from not allowing users to do anything beyond Apples control on their machines.
The truth is for Apple this might as well be a great business decision. It is probably in their best interests, because their goal at the end of the day is to make as much money as possible. There is nothing wrong with that I just won't be buying it.
Apple makes money selling hardware. The money they make from iOS developers is a drop in the ocean — the App Store is merely a means to an end; to provide users with lots of great apps, so more people buy Apple hardware.
Sorry, but that's not true at all. iTunes alone makes Apple over $1 billion in revenue per quarter. That's a lot of money and alone could almost vie for a Fortune 500 listing.
Revenue is irrelevant. The question is how much profit iTunes draws in. I don't believe that Apple has ever released exact figures, but I've always heard that iTunes is a fairly low-margin business for them, so it's contributions to Apple's total profits are probably much lower than the contributions from the Mac business. Granted, the App Store may draw in much higher margins, but talking about revenue is still missing the point.
Yeah, I exaggerated. But out of $20.34 billion in revenue this quarter, that revenue is still a sliver. That sliver isn't going to lit Steve's eyes up and get him to go all crazy. You don't get Apple levels of success by acting shortsighted or stupid.
