An Early Look At Mac OS X 10.8

adeelarshad82 writes "Earlier today Apple announced their next OS, Mountain Lion. According to an early look, OS X 10.8 does more to integrate social networking and file-synching into a personal computer than any other OS. It tightly integrates with the whole Apple ecosystem that includes iOS devices and the free iCloud sharing service. Moreover Mountain Lion adds a powerful new line of defense against future threats where a malware app is prevented from running even if it is deliberately downloaded to a computer. Even though Apple's clearly got a lot of fine-tuning to do—and possibly a few features to add, there's no doubt that Mountain Lion already looks very fine." Update: 02/16 15:04 GMT by T : New submitter StephenBrannen writes with some more details culled from CNET. The newest OS X has now been released to developers, with an official release date planned for this summer. "Mountain Lion, as it is called, will further blur the lines between iOS and its Mac OS. iOS features that are being ported include: Messages (replacing iChat), Notification Center, Game Center, Notes, and AirPlay mirroring. Also new to Mac OS is the addition of Gatekeeper, which should help prevent malware attacks on Apple products. Not announced is whether Siri will be ported to the Mac."

Comments

Hear that, MSFT?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hear that, Microsoft? You could bundle a years worth of Windows Updates, give it a catty name, and sell it for $30! Wake up and smell the revenue!

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why bother? Change the package coloring, claim it's the most secure version of Windows and sell the upgrade for $150.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Tharsman]

Why do that when they can just charge 200 bucks for the initial release, with single computer licenses instead of family licensing like Apple does?

I figured Apple may do something like this when they announced Lion would not only be 30 bucks, but also the license would cover every single computer you own (at home, not for business.)

I’m cool with it also since the update is bringing some nice system apps. Game Center alone I would had paid 30 bucks for. Up to this day Microsoft still cant translate XBox Live to the desktop properly.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[guruevi]

$90? Where do you get your software? Windows 7 from the Windows store is $319.99. Even the stripped version (Home) is $199.99

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Bert64]

The difference is that MS charge over $100 for the upgrade, while Apple charge $30...
Because of the cheaper price, people will obviously have more tolerance for more frequent but smaller updates.

Also, Apple lets you install a single copy on multiple machines, MS doesn't, so if you have more than one mac the apple deal is even cheaper still.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[mikael_j]

OS X doesn't have service packs. "Service Pack" is MS terminology.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[stewbacca]

unless you obtained the Apple Software from the Mac App Store or under a volume license, maintenance or other written agreement from Apple, you are granted a limited, non-exclusive license to install, use and run one (1) copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-branded computer at any one time.

"Unless" is a very important word here. Since most people bought Lion from the Mac App Store, the rest of the quote is irrelevant. Simply put, you can buy one copy of Lion from the Mac App Store and use that single copy on ANY Apple-branded computer...according to your cited text, it doesn't even have to be one you own (unless that is stipulated elsewhere in the EULA).

It's not "simply copyright violation". And you are correct, you didn't even need to consult the EULA, because when you did, you got it wrong.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Bill_the_Engineer]

Only if you're breaking the law. That $30 only gives you a single upgrade.

I don't even need to consult the EULA for that one, since it's a simple copyright violation...

You need to actually read the stuff that you link.

Section 2.a. only states that you are not allowed to transfer the OS X that came with your Apple computer to another Apple branded computer. This also applies to people who decided to purchase the upgrade that is packaged on the thumb drive from Apple. BTW you can provide your own thumb drive and go through the iTunes method of purchasing and STILL be able to use section 2.b. below.

Section 2.b. explicitly allows you to use the upgrade that you purchased using iTunes (The method first pushed by Apple) on any computer that you own which is an actual Apple branded computer using at least OS X snow leopard. I legally updated my iMac and two laptops with my $30 update. Apple was even nice enough to help.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Bill_the_Engineer]

You are not forced to upgrade. I still have machines at work that are running OS X 1.5.8 which is still being supported. In fact the iTunes update was pushed to it last week.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Ihmhi]

give it a catty name

Ooh, how about W7 SP3 "Look at that bitch Chantelle with her new shoes, she think she cute"?

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[Fahrvergnuugen]

In fact, the Mac App Store prevents you from paying for it twice. If you go to another Mac and enter your username and password, it knows you already purchased Lion and you get an "Install" button instead of a "Buy" button.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[thetoadwarrior]

The OS only ever costs $30. So yes MS charging $260.65 for Windows 7 ultimate and then charging $30 for service packs would be a fucking insult. Where as you have to buy 8.7 versions of OS X to equal the cost of Windows 7 ultimate. That means you could buy version 10.0 Cheetah all the way to 10.7 Lion for the cost of Windows 7. So that is nearly a decades worth of operating systems upgrades for the cost of one microsoft operating system and since you .7 left over that means you also get 70% of the cost of Mountain Lion left over for when it comes out.

So now compare that to the cost of XP, Vista and Windows 7 in the same time frame.

Re:Hear that, MSFT?

[BasilBrush]

I'm afraid you don't know what a service pack is. Service packs bring security updates and new drivers. New functionality is a rarity.

Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion are about new functionality. They are equivalent to to the XP, Vista, Windows 8 changes.

Apple does them more often than Microsoft because they can. Vista for example was only so long coming because Microsoft development process was fucked, and they had to restart development at least once.

lockdown coming.

[God'sDuck]

"But what if you want to run an older app, or download a utility that was written by someone who hasn't paid Apple's $99 fee for a developer's license? If you're an administrative user, you can Ctrl-click on the App, choose Open from the pop-up menu, enter your OS X password, and tell Mountain Lion to trust this app in the future."

One step closer to all apps needing to come from the app store.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherf*cking walls around this motherf*cking garden!"

Re:lockdown coming.

[HarrySquatter]

You mean like that "walled garden" known as Android that has the same user options to only install from the Android market or to allow "Other sources"?

Re:lockdown coming.

[ColdWetDog]

One step closer to all apps needing to come from the app store.

OK, paranoid poodle, just how would you balance the attempt to limit damage by stupid endusers who will click on anything remotely interesting? It's basically sudo - 'you sure you want to do this?',yes?, 'OK, it's on your head'.

Although I'm not terribly impressed with Apple's attempt to transmogrify a perfectly good interface for users who typically need prompts to breath, this struck me as pretty reasonable.

Re:lockdown coming.

[HarrySquatter]

Sort of like how Android by default "spreads FUD" about apps not coming from the Android market? Since, you know, you have to check the "other sources" option in order to sideload apps? Yes, even on the vanilla versions of Android from Google it defaults to blocking sideloaded apps.

Re:lockdown coming.

[GrahamCox]

a utility that was written by someone who hasn't paid Apple's $99 fee for a developer's license

According to Gruber at Daring Fireball, the developer IDs will be issued free of charge. It's only if you want to submit to the App Store that you need to pay $99.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Speare]

You mean like that "walled garden" known as Android that has the same user options to only install from the Android market or to allow "Other sources"?

In the minds of many technically-savvy users, there is a huge distinction between a general purpose computer, and media consumption devices like phones and tablets. In the minds of corporations like Apple, eroding those distinctions helps them sell more media consumption devices and more media to be consumed. There will always be more technically-UNsavvy users than savvy, so they're just following the market. However, that leaves a lot of us out in the cold.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Tharsman]

To be fair, OSX already tells users not to trust any app that is downloaded from the internet, and asks you a confirmation to run it. If the app attempts to modify certain sectors, access some data, or even save information in some places, you are forced to enter a password to allow the app to do this.

I think this happens every single time the app attempts such modifications. For the most part only installers trigger this password validation now, and they do every time you run them. At least thats where I see them the most often.

This is not new either, has been there since at minimum Leopard (10.5). It appears the main difference here is the need to right-click (or ctrl click) to get the contextual menu that will allow you to open up the app. Makes it harder for people to accidentally click-open malware apps that somehow get downloaded by them clicking on the wrong thing.

Re:lockdown coming.

[HarrySquatter]

Great, and those technically-savvy users can just click the other option and stop whining. For the average user, this option is great. Is a combo box really that hard for you "technically-savvy users" to figure out?

Re:lockdown coming.

[beelsebob]

No, the OS is set to, by default, say "this application is not signed and hence not trusted", it's nothing to do with spreading FUD, it's a legitimate security device –warning users not to run random things that they don't know the origin of.

Re:lockdown coming.

[HarrySquatter]

It's not a walled garden when it's entirely YOUR CHOICE to restrict where you want apps to only be installable from. If you don't like the default option, click on one of the two other options.

Re:lockdown coming.

[pirix]

I'm confused by your response. Besides the fact that Android runs on phones and OS X runs on computers - which I do think is a salient difference - I also don't understand explaining away one company's bad behavior by pointing towards another company that's doing the same thing. I don't see what Android does as being at all relevant to people's frustration with Apple and their move towards rigid control of their platforms.

Re:lockdown coming.

[HarrySquatter]

The point is that when Apple does something no different from Android (which is not called a walled garden) the only response from these whiners is to whine about "walled gardens" when that isn't the implication of this change. This has nothing to do with trying to lock down OS X. It's about giving users control of what applications can be installed.

Re:lockdown coming.

[God'sDuck]

Oh god a check box..... it's sooooo difficult.... please help me!

Note I said "lockdown coming," not "lockdown here." I'm just pointing out that Apple is very, very smart about social engineering. This is of course very "easy" for technical users to deal with. But many users I support (IT of course, this is Slashdot) don't know how to work System Preferences. A smaller number don't know about control-click. So for those users, applications now have to come from the App Store (or at least be signed). So all commercial application developers will fall in line, not because they have to, but because the incremental cost is small (get a dev key) and the cost of not doing it is huge (grandma can't buy your app).

Once those users are used to the change, Apple will take the next step. By taking baby steps, they can morph OSX into a fully walled garden without much protest, because each step is sooooo difficult that the people that complain are easily shouted down. And then they get 30% of every transaction.

Re:lockdown coming.

[God'sDuck]

What worries me is that it will be just user unfriendly enough that low-tech-savvy users won't know what to do. As opposed to immediately prompting you for your password. My assumption is that this is couched in security, but is actually a deliberate inconvenience to make sure that application developers see a sales loss if they don't fall in line. Yes, it will increase security. I'm just connecting the dots between "Apple making 30% off every app transaction" and "Apple being a business first and a secure OS second" and assuming the business interests are going to take us to some interesting places.

Re:lockdown coming.

[mlts]

I will play devil's advocate here:

Apple's mechanism for checking for signed apps is, IMHO, a very good thing. What this does is force the user to really think about installing a program where the developer wasn't interested enough in obtaining a signing key.

All OSes should have some signed executable mechanism available. What this provides is resistance from attack should a repo/store/marketplace be tampered with, and ownership.

Windows has had Authenticode for years now, to the point where if an application developer doesn't care enough to sign their installer and code, businesses won't buy their product.

As for the OS X App store, yes, it is a double edged sword, and there is justification for being worried that Apple is slowly boiling the frog, but having a store/repo is a security benefit overall, which has been proven with Linux repositories.

Re:lockdown coming.

[jythie]

I am noticing that through this tread, we started with 'Apple will allow users to restrict installations' to 'Apple will no longer allow non-'App' applications'. Good example of whisper down the lane rumors.... 'what if' becomes 'fact' in only a few pages...

Re:lockdown coming.

[Tharsman]

Apple is also offering a free-of-charge Apple developer IDs which they can then use to cryptographically sign their applications. The feature by default will not ask for password for any signed app, so this does not force any developer to go exclusively via the App Store, but it may make it necesary to sign your app.

Re:lockdown coming.

[jo_ham]

Look at Apple's financial statements (and if you think they are lying, tell the SEC) - the App Store makes a profit for Apple but it a very small one in comparison with the hardware sales that are the reason the store exists for in the first place.

Apple has repeated stated year, on year, that the App Store is not much better than break even for them as a standalone product - the real money makers on the store are the third party developers.

Yes, much is made of the "massive" 30% cut they take for handling payment processing, store front, advertising, servers, bandwidth etc that go into running the store.

Yes, they pay all of those running costs and "the rest is profit" - and it *is* running in profit, just a very tiny profit compared to the hardware. They're not running the store to make money directly - they run it at near break even so that they can make money selling iOS devices.

The store prints money for third party developers - Apple stated something like $2.5 billion paid out to developers at the last big keynote I saw (Steve was alive at the time, since he was the one who said it), and it's going to be even more now.

It's not printing money for Apple though, not directly at any rate.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Tharsman]

No, we are talking about OSX 10.8's new signed app treatment. Look at the post you replied before, he notes "This has nothing to do with trying to lock down OS X"

Android was brought up because Android treats apps exactly the same way (well almost) that Mac OS X 10.8 will, yet no one calls Android a "walled garden."

A lot of people here are screaming that forcing users into knowing what they are doing to install unsigned apps translates into OS X becoming a draconian walled garden that is going to destroy computing as we know it, despite being exactly what Android does.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Tharsman]

Now you are just trying to save face in the error.

There is a lot of logic behind bringing code signing to the desktop, starting with the fact that’s where it was born.

By virtue of Android and iOS being new platforms they happened to be entirely built around code signing, but Smartphones are little more than cell capable PDAs, devices that allowed you to do anything you wanted. So did Windows Mobile, actually. Code signing requirements are just an evolution in computing, unless you are 12 you would have seen it coming years ago.

At the end of the day no freedom is being limited in the Mac desktop with this. Entirely the opposite: you are simply gaining more power. The user is getting the tools he needs to be able to say "i only want signed apps to ever run on my computer." He has just as much power to say "let everything run on my computer".

Any hypothesis of Apple locking down the OS just by giving users a strong security tool is just FUD.

Re:lockdown coming.

[Tharsman]

Apple developer IDs are entirely free, not technically.

The way Apple Developer program works is that you first get an Developer ID. Once you have that, you log in and you can subscribe to the iOS Developer program($99/year), the Mac Developer Program ($99/year), or the Safari Developer program (free.)

You only have pay for the Mac Developer program if you want access to software and OS betas and App Store publishing among other things.

Up to this point everyone has stated only a Developer ID is required to get the required certificate. Anyone that goes through said process would know the rest I listed here. Gruber likely thought not everyone would figure Dev IDs are free.

Hyperbolic much?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

"Moreover Mountain Lion adds a powerful new line of defense against future threats where a malware app is prevented from running even if it is deliberately downloaded to a computer"

While having a mechanism for the OS to check and display the cryptographic signature and signing party on an executable before executing it, the notion that this is 'new' seems to stretch credulity. Most Linux distros have been signing packages since shortly after they stopped supporting vacuum tube based systems, and Windows users have been getting little boxes describing(or freaking out about the lack of) 'Authenticode' signatures on drivers, activex controls, and executables for years now...

There are, undeniably, times when Apple introduces novel things, or non-novel-but-polished-to-an-unprecedented-sheen things; but this would not seem to be one of them...

Re:Hyperbolic much?

[Bill_the_Engineer]

Sometimes "new" just means "new to OS X" not "new to the entire field of computer science".

When you view the release notes on a different application do you immediately update the word "new" to such levels of importance? Probably not.

What a strange article

[SDF-7]

The opening paragraph has to be the most rabid bit of product love I can recall, especially compared with the actual content.

"upend the video games market"... Really? Just because the screen (if you have a laptop [aka can use the computer anywhere near your sofa] and the AppleTV box) can be wirelessly mirrored to the TV? And using hypothetical controllers that don't exist? Uh-huh.

"For the consumer market ... may be the most significant OS release since Windows 95". A fairly bold statement, given there's nothing in the article that even tries to back that up. Is the new security model supposed to be that big of a paradigm shift (for users, not for vendor lock-in)? Is it the "ooh... you can post to a blog quicker!" stuff? It pretty clearly looks like a point-release to an existing OS that is mildly interesting, but hardly redefining the consumer space.

Normal users shouldn't install just any program...

[RocketRabbit]

As much as this review will cause hysteria among the Slashdot crowd (OMG THEY ARE LOCKING OUT CHOICES) I am very much in favor of using the App Store as the default repository. This has two major benefits as far as I see it. First, the applications will actually go into the /Applications folder instead of being run from a mounted .dmg file. Second, applications will actually get updated.

Another benefit is that this move will nip a lot of malware vectors in the bud.

Before everybody gets their panties in a twist, note that you can still install whatever you want after entering an admin user/pass and changing the settings.

I will agree with PC Magazine on a few points though - why the hell does a notepad have to look like a real life notepad? That's just cutesy stupid bullcrap.

Yearly upgrade cycle.

[RyuuzakiTetsuya]

gruber's got a few words on mountain lion..

Interesting to see Apple's moving to an annual release cycle.

Mountain Lion?

[Quiet_Desperation]

Eh. I was pushing for Lion King.

Re:Oh Boy!!

[Megane]

Hey, Napoleon, did you hear that 10.9 is going to be named "Liger"?

Re:OMG! OMG!

[JBMcB]

What do you think this website is? It's for geeks. Geeks like gadgets, and talking about gadgets. If you don't like these posts, filter them out, or go somewhere else.

Re:OMG! OMG!

[Quiet_Desperation]

I will risk saying this without the Anonumous box checked

Look out, we've got a badass over here.

The only hysteria I see is the people going off on rants and/or tossing out homophobic slurs (like Mr. AC above) when there is Apple news. Seriously, any Apple news here or on Ars or Wired has endless "Derp! iFag! iSheep! iHerd! Nothing I don't like should be allowed to exist!" in the comments.

There's thousands of popular things out there I don't care for. I ignore them for the most part.

So Fuck you!

Oh, yeah, no overreaction in your post at all.

Re:OMG! OMG!

[Tharsman]

True Apple Haters know that Apple stuff are not gadgets, they are [insert degrading fashion term for gadgets here]!!! No geek would like [repeat what I said on previous degrading insert, amp it up by preceding it with the word "shitty"]!!!

Re:OMG! OMG!

[Anonymous Coward]

After reading the article, I failed to find any hint of exaggeration that would merit the comparison to curing cancer. This is slashdot. It's about gadgets and tech. Updates to an OS, especially those that change the nature of the desktop/laptop experience, are worthy of a post. And I'm not just an Apple fan -- I would find it just as interesting to learn of new updates from Microsoft, HP, Linux, or any of the other players.

If you are feeling frustrated, perhaps you should spend your time elsewhere until you've regained (or developed) a sense of objectivity. About the only thing that has me puzzled is how the parent post rated a 5.

Re:Normal users shouldn't install just any program

[blueg3]

Since when does one run applications from a mounted .dmg file instead of from the Applications folder? You're supposed to copy the application bundle in the .dmg to the Applications folder to install it, then trash the .dmg.

Re:OMG! OMG!

[kanweg]

An Apple boycott would be silly, as just about any other manufacturer (Dell etc.) have their stuff manufactured over there too.

Apple is the first tech industry to join the FLA which is currently visiting China. First impression: Conditions are better than the norm:
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/technology/Apple+iPad+factory+conditions+better+than+norm+agency/6162817/story.html

Bert

Re:Normal users shouldn't install just any program

[AndreR]

Here's my experience maintaining a couple of friend's and family's Macs:

- .dmg files in the Applications folder.
- Apps in the dock that refer to the .app inside the .dmg, which is still inside the Downloads folder.
- "My application stopped working after I emptied the Downloads folder".
- People who actually opened the .dmg and then the app inside it every time they wanted to use it.
- Every single .dmg ever opened since last rebook still mounted, icon showing on the Desktop and in Finder.

Here, we're the 1%. Apple wants to make life easier to the 99%. Can't blame them.

Re:OMG! OMG!

[WrongSizeGlass]

There is always rumors about a new iOS, or a new iPad or a new iPhone and somehow people get are juiced about them, in the end I just can't reconcile this enthusiams the people are having with the immorality of how these things are created. So Fuck you!

I know that Apple gets all the bad press for the Foxconn manufacturing atrocities, but keep in mind that Foxconn makes 'gadgets', and many other things, for many major companies besides Apple including Acer, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio. The 'employment accommodations' are basically the same for any product they are making, so let's not pretend Apple is the only company who shoulders the "immorality of how these things are created".

Let's hear some of your vitriol aimed at these other companies as well, or you're just another Apple hater using Foxconn as an excuse.

Re:Not free.

[sglewis100]

iCloud isn't free.

5GB is free

Which is it? I guess my DropBox isn't free either, although I don't think I've ever paid.

Also, to the guy that said Apps are too big so you can't back up in 5gb... I have an iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad, and have used about 2gb of my 5gb storage. You see, apps don't count (you redownload them for free). Music doesn't count (you redownload for free). Photos don't count (PhotoStream doesn't subtract from the free storage). It's for settings and documents.

Save As = Duplicate?

[MeNeXT]

I still can't wrap my head around one simple issue. The simple one click process which allowed you to take a form letter with a few minor changes and save it has now become this funny process of duplicate and save??? Renaming something and adding steps does not make it simpler. I only updated one system to Lion because this seems to keep on getting in the way....

Keep iOS walled garden on iOS. I don't need silly apps to accomplish tasks I need an OS which will allow me to work. If Apple doesn't have a solution or if the software does not support it I will find my own solution. Sharing is not iCloud, Facebook or Twitter. Those are products. There are thousands or even millions of other solutions out there. Beside iCloud why not FTP/SFTP/SSH? Why no support from the Finder for the iPhone/iPad? Why is there only one way to skin a cat on OsX? As Apple continues with the iOS walled garden the functionality of the desktop is diminishing. My car is not made by Apple and yet I need to interface with it. My phone is not made by Apple because my iPhone could only connect to one computer. 32 gigs and I couldn't use it other than with one computer or a jailbreack.

Common people we are going back to 1983 where Apple products were locked down and limited by the vision of one company. The beauty of OSX is that it is on top of a very powerful OPEN system. As Apple locks this down it's just getting in the way like the ugly notes and contacts interfaces. /RANT

Re:OMG! OMG!

[jbolden]

This isn't exactly a rumor the article points to Apple's website. The details here are rather official. Given that there is an already released developer preview, no reason to call these rumors.

Re:Not free.

[AresTheImpaler]

The apps themselves do not count towards the 5GB only the data created by them. I have less than 1gb on iCloud backups and use both an iphone and ipad. I have Rage installed too.

Re:Not free.

[Anonymous Coward]

(Responding AC because I'm at work...)

A free account is 5GB, which can't even handle a full ipad backup (something I recently encountered as it tries to back up your apps as well, and with a game like rage weighing in at 1.1GB, you can see it fills up quickly).

You could not be more wrong.

http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html

"Your purchased music, apps, books, and TV shows, as well as your Photo Stream, don't count against your free storage."

Re:OMG! OMG!

[mystikkman]

There is always rumors about a new iOS, or a new iPad or a new iPhone and somehow people get are juiced about them, in the end I just can't reconcile this enthusiams the people are having with the immorality of how these things are created. So Fuck you!

I know that Apple gets all the bad press for the Foxconn manufacturing atrocities, but keep in mind that Foxconn makes 'gadgets', and many other things, for many major companies besides Apple including Acer, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio. The 'employment accommodations' are basically the same for any product they are making, so let's not pretend Apple is the only company who shoulders the "immorality of how these things are created".
Let's hear some of your vitriol aimed at these other companies as well, or you're just another Apple hater using Foxconn as an excuse.

Apple deserves and gets the most blame because they are the ones with most margins to spare and the most cash in the bank (~100 billion). I like how the Apple lovers gloat about Apple taking 75% of the smartphone profits, making tens of billions of dollars of profit every quarter and being worth more than Microsoft+Google COMBINED, and how they get most of the profits from the PC industry as well. So the answer to your question is, how much more money can Nokia pay it's workers on the $20 handsets it sells the most before declaring bankruptcy(ending up in workers completely losing their jobs), versus Apple with it's multi-hundred dollar margins while playing $8 or so for assembly for each iPad and iPhone?

Of course all of them deserve blame, but Apple deserves the most blame, they are in the best situation financially to pay better than all the companies you have listed, and STILL make monster profits. That's why the bad press is directed more against Apple.

Re:OMG! OMG!

[UnknowingFool]

Apple deserves and gets the most blame because they are the ones with most margins to spare and the most cash in the bank (~100 billion). . . So the answer to your question is, how much more money can Nokia pay it's workers on the $20 handsets it sells the most before declaring bankruptcy(ending up in workers completely losing their jobs), versus Apple with it's multi-hundred dollar margins while playing $8 or so for assembly for each iPad and iPhone?

So Apple is to blame because the system that exists where most electronics manufacturing occurs in countries like China simply due to the fact they make more profit? I see where does HP and Dell fall in line as (by all accounts) they make many more computers than Apple in China?

Of course all of them deserve blame, but Apple deserves the most blame, they are in the best situation financially to pay better than all the companies you have listed, and STILL make monster profits. That's why the bad press is directed more against Apple.

Um Apple does pay better than their competitors. However maybe you haven't parsed the notion that these are the same exact factories that work for Apple's competitors. Meaning paying one set of workers more than another does not really change the situation very much. And the situation is cultural. If you live in rural China where most of theses workers originate you have two choices: Subsistence farm and be at the whim of droughts and floods or go work in a factory far from home. Be aware that if you don't like the work, there are millions of others ready to take your place. As for wages, they are a decent wage for China. Most slashdotters can't seem to understand that living wages differ in different parts of the world. $7.25/hr in the US is a fortune in some places. In other places, that is pittance.

The New Naming Paradigm?

[Lord of the Fries]

So is this the evolution of Apple's "cat" themes? Pick a general cat name for an odd release, followed by a specialized variant for the even number?

10.5 Leopard
10.6 Snow Leopard
10.7 Lion
10.8 Mountain Lion

Will there be a contest for the next set? I'd like to submit

10.9 Kitty
10.10 Hello Kitty

Re:OMG! OMG!

[Uberbah]

Apple deserves and gets the most blame because they are the ones with most margins to spare and the most cash in the bank (~100 billion).

Except Apple is getting all of the blame, not just "most". Microsoft also has a gigantic pile of cash, yet you don't see anyone holding their feet to the fire over the XBox 360 and all the suicides at that Foxconn plant.

Which is why this is just an excuse to break out the Apple Hatorade.