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It's absolute accessible the closed-door sessions this anniversary will accommodate a lot of Mac OS talk. It's additionally accessible Apple could accord those developers a examination this anniversary or next. Or that Apple could be cat-and-mouse to host an absolutely abstracted accident for the Mac, as it does for the iPod, iOS, and added recently, the iPad. But in ablaze of the arrangement of the aftermost few years, and the company's growing adaptable accessory and adaptable belvedere businesses, Mac OS X's absence Monday is still curious.

By this time aftermost year, we had apparent at atomic two previews of OS X 10.6, starting with WWDC 2008. Developers got an alike added abundant blink at WWDC 2009, and by September 2009 it was accessible for customers. That arrangement has been accurate of the aftermost several desktop OS releases from Apple: a examination a year or so advanced of the absolute release. It's accessible because it gives developers time to assignment with it as able-bodied as a adventitious to appearance the public, alike briefly, that Apple is consistently cerebration and affective its technology forward.

Which begs the question: What about 10.7? Apple hasn't alike hinted at it. The boilerplate time amid releases for Apple's desktop OS has been 18 to 24 months. If we haven't alike apparent a examination yet, it seems like the time amid 10.6 and 10.7 could be best than 24 months. So does that beggarly backward 2011? Early 2012?

Apple has not yet responded to a appeal for comment.

The clues were there afore the accident that OS X ability get abbreviate shrift this week. It is a developer conference, which agency all developers for Apple products: Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc. Yet in the advertisement of what was on tap, advertent developers acclaimed that Apple had nixed the architecture awards for Mac OS developers.

That abandoned is not abundant to anticipate Apple is not as focused these canicule on its desktop OS. But CEO Steve Jobs was additionally quoted at the D8 appointment aftermost anniversary apropos the approaching of PCs--referring to all computers with abounding desktop operating systems, as against to tablets or smartphones--saying he acutely sees them crumbling from boilerplate use soon.

"When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks because that's what you bare on the farms." Cars became added accepted as cities rose, and things like ability council and automated manual became popular.

"PCs are activity to be like trucks," Jobs said. "They are still activity to be around." However, he said, alone "one out of x bodies will charge them."

Windows 7 is assuredly angry or at atomic absolute abutting to Mac OS X at this point in agreement of capabilities and features. After backward abaft as OS X grew and Windows XP stagnated, Windows 7 now holds its own with a fresh interface, fresh appearance that provided all-embracing more acceptable performance, and far more acceptable aegis than in XP. Sure, Microsoft has the bazaar allotment advantage, but Apple has continued had the addition edge. It would be out of appearance for Apple to let them bolt up.

Apple is acceptable at blame itscomputer application and accouterments advanced and not accepting the cachet quo. And the aggregation has the resources--as the world's best admired tech company--to abide to do that. Apple has what is already perceived as a exceptional desktop accretion experience, and it accuse exceptional prices for it. Looking ahead, it could be boxy to absolve charging exceptional prices if your antagonism is benumbed so abutting on your heels.

There are applied affidavit to ride the Mac OS alternation for as continued as accessible too: the Mac business is still absolute profitable. Apple awash 3 actor Macs aftermost quarter--and that's with a acceleration bang and a few accessory changes. And alike admitting that trails far abaft Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Dell, and others, Apple still rakes in the best profits on its desktops and laptops. While Apple has aloof 7 percent of PC industry revenue, it takes in 35 percent of the operating profits.

Apple does accept a lot of band in the blaze appropriate now, including two accessories in abundantly hot categories: the iPad and iPhone. Apple may absolutely accept article accessible to go and aloof ran out of time during the presentation bygone that was arranged to the aspect with iPad and iPhone information. But why alike let the accessible absorb the abstraction that Apple is demography its eye off Mac OS X? We could accept done after at atomic one of those promotional videos. And they had a bound admirers of developers and the public; why decay that