I was wondering, is Apple stuck with Mac OS X? The letter X does mean 10 in Roman numerals, and we are now at 10.6.1 but how long will this last?

Going back in time, by release date, Apple never staid that long on the same "number" :

Mac System 6 - Released in April 1988, with 6.0.8 released in April 1991
Mac System 7 - May 13, 1991 with 7.6 released in 1997
Mac OS 8 - July 26, 1997 with 8.6 released May 10, 1999
Mac OS 9 - October 23, 1999 with 9.2.2 released in December 2001
Mac OS X - March 24, 2001 with release 10.6 released August 28 2009

It's been 8 years with X, longer than System 7.... But look how fast the pace was with OS 8, 9, X....

Is X a lucky letter/number for Apple? How long will they stay with it? Surely they will have to skip to something new after 10.9 ...?

Why fix whats not broken?

umm to add new features, to improve whats there, to make things easier, and i could go on

its life, to make what we have better

Well from what I have read it is broken Snow

+ 1

snow leopard might just be the next vista

After 10.9 they should go with OSX X.X and call it Cougar.

Why can't they do 10.10 and 10.11.... etc.... etc....?

Before Mac OS X, the number used to mean something, like a major release. Now it's like a brand, it does not mean anything.

We will have Apple Mac OS X, version 11.0

Evolution?

Well, what it comes down to is OS X already works fine, so why change it's underlaying system?

Microsoft change the way Windows works every now and then and you've suddenly got massive compatibility issues. OS X remains more or less the same and thus fewer problems.

Not really, they usually refer to it as OSX 10.x so really they could do an OSX 11.x

OSX was a complete rewrite of the whole OS when it was released (if I'm correct). I don't expect them to get off of X till another complete rewrite. But then again, like TruckWEB, it has become a brand. It's OSX.

I read somewhere, and I have to agree, the last name in the animal series really should be Lion, as it's the King of the Jungle.

I'm not talking about feature or evolution of the OS, I'm just talking about brand name or software version. Apple is stuck with "X" since 2001, 8 years ago. Is "X" now a brand name? Considering that Apple seems to think that 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.x are all Major release (Like Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7). Those point release are not service pack (like 10.6.1 was).

If "X" became a brand name, that means we could endup with Mac OS X version 11, and it no longer means "10".

I agree, just branding to stick with a known name for their OS. The number associated is mainly for us tech folks to keep up with, and the average consumer will know the operating systems by Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard, etc. I think having a techincal name, and having a "fun" name is a good idea to keep the interest of consumers....Technical name marketed to Technicians and Businesses, fun name marketed to the average end users. Don't get me wrong, I hate Apple, but I think what they do with naming conventions is a good idea.

I guess they could potentially go up to OS XIII.

They still call it "OSX" because it sounds cool.

Yea, not quite, troll on somewhere else.

Talk about asking questions for nothing...

What's the difference if 10.1 were in fact 11, 10.2 were 12, 10.3 were 13, 10.4 were 14, 10.5 were 15, and 10.6 were 16? Would it really change something if Snow Leopard was Mac OS 16 to you?

It's just a regular naming scheme, get over it.

Nah, at every single event and keynote, Steve refers to it as OS Ten.

We have a conundrum here.

Its always pronounced by Apple as "OS Ten".

Mac OS X HORSE.

They could keep calling it OS Ten because of the "brand" but Apple changed the system software name from System to Mac OS at 7.6, so anything could happen. Of course Steve was still doing his NeXT thing back then.

I agree. "Mac OS X" is the name of the platform. It's the next-generation platform after the original "Mac OS."

As usual, version numbers really don't mean much of anything. Think of Mac OS X 10.6 as "Mac OS X, Version 6," because that's what it is. The "X 10.x" is redundant.

Windows XP was the same deal and they didn't bother about the XP part.... I think you guys are looking at it to much, I seriously think they'll do a total rewrite or major release with Mac OS 11

They'll probably name it Mac OS Eleven

Well, on the "major underlying platform" discussion, I think eventually a brand new platform will someday be created, when I have no clue.

This article over at TUAW is a pretty good read to get your imagination going though, so check it out

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/09/15/is-the-futu...mac-the-iphone/

Possibly just a name change from "Mac" OS to "Apple OS X" v. 11 ?? meh, just a random thought

How about for progression? To make it better? Evolution? Revolution?

I dislike people who want things to "stay the same".

That does not make any sense.

Apple adds an x.1 after like 2 years of work. They won't just produce magic and create a new Mac OS 11 in 2-3 years of work...
At this point, creating something revolutionary would take much more than 5 years to Apple.

Final Fantasy much?

I think Apple is on a good track since that is only the prefix- to their operating system's name. As the OP mentioned, it is like a brand for their OS. The only thing they change is the animal in which represents the new revision or model of the OS (e.g. Jaguar, Leopard, Snow Leopard, etc.).

Of course, if given enough time, they could release OS XXX for the adult audience.