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Mac OS X 10.5 codename

Ivan's picture

Leopard closeup

Now that Tiger's first update 10.4.1 is out, it's about time to speculate about what will be/is the next codename for 10.5. Mac OS X versions are named after large felines. Let's see a quick history first:

  • Mac OS X 10.0 - Cheetah
  • Mac OS X 10.1 - Puma
  • Mac OS X 10.2 - Jaguar
  • Mac OS X 10.3 - Panther
  • Mac OS X 10.4 - Tiger

Let's enter these names to Google Sets and see what the small set gives us:

Mac OS X 10.5 Lion

lion closeupApple promised to slow down with new releases of Mac OS X. There was 18 month between Panther and Tiger, so 10.5 will probably come out early 2007. Longhorn is due sometimes end of 2006 as well, unless MS pushes the deadlines again. Lion, the head of animal kingdom would be a great name to fight Longhorn. Not that Apple has to worry about Longhorn really.

On the other hand, it's a cheesy name, not as cool as the first five. For the word lion I visualize the Disney Lion King, rather than a viscous predator. Although this one is a strong contender and very good theme for any marketing activities, but lion is overused. I don't think Apple is going to choose this as a codename.

Mac OS X 10.5 Lynx

lynx closeupLynx is closely related to Bobcat and Caracal and would be a nice project name. It's short and sounds geek. It contains the letter x, which resonates with OS X well, even though we know that X should pronounced as "ten".

But, it's way too close to Linux and Unix. There is a danger that customers may think Lynx is another flavor of Unix. Wait a minute. Mac OS X IS a flavor of Unix. Hmm, well not really but something like that. Besides there is a text only browser called Lynx. For this very reason of confusion, I don't think Apple wants to position Mac OS X as a geek Unix OS. This one is out too.

Mac OS X 10.5 Ocelot

ocelot babyIt's an endangered and beautiful small cat. Accoring to Wikipedia almost all of the prey that the ocelot hunts is far smaller than it is.

However, 10.5 is going to be big and it's about to hunt down a big competitor. This is not the right name from a marketing point of view either.

Too bad, I'd love to have an Ocelot on my desk.

Mac OS X 10.5 Cougar

puma closeupCougar sounds fast, nice and short. Cougar is also known as puma, catamount, mountain lion, painted cat and even panther.

Apple registered Cougar besides Lynx and Leopard for future use. However this might not necessarily mean it's for the purpose of actually using it, rather then making sure competitors would not do the same. Every animal is beutiful, but cougars are not as recognizable as the more patterned ones. Slim chance for puma or cougar.

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

One thing needs to be clarified here. Leopards are Panthers, as well as Tigers and Lions. So, it seems Apple is not really following a very strict naming structure. So far they have been mixing the genus Panther and the species like Tiger and Puma.

leopard big

So, theoretically even though a Leopard is a Panther, they can still use the name Leopard. Leopard is elegant and sexy. The word is a bit long, but certainly sounds better than Longhorn and Leopards can eat texas longhorn cattles for dinner in both literal and non literal meanings of the word. So, my guess is that the next operating system from Apple will be codenamed Leopard.

Unless of course Apple decides to work on OS XI 11. Or decide to change the naming to something completely different, which would be a shame.

Tigerstorm's picture

Great article Ivan!

How about White Tiger?

Jammo's picture

I wonder if they'll still use cats?

If i had to guess I would say Lion or Leopard, but Ive got a feeling that they might break free of big cats.

I doubt they'll use something less majestic like the big cats, I mean Apple wont go and have the name change to something like 'Cow' or 'bull' ... o wait... Longhorn :P Windows COW *has a nice ring to it :P.

I would love to see apple go for underwater majestic creatures, going with the aqua feel again, or maybe birds like OS X Eagle or OS X Hawk .

__
Goo

Dave Simon's picture

I like Bobcat...

But I am a fan of Montana State athletics. :)

Why not "LIGER" - you know, part lion, part tiger? ;)

mrbuhyah's picture

...and vote Pedro while your

...and vote Pedro while your at it!

Ron Gallagher
Citrus Studios

Jammo's picture

hhhhhh... idiots :P

Just watched it for the first time, that film is GREAT!

:)

__
Goo

Enigma's picture

Because...

Liger is version 10.8. Haven't you seen the press photo?

Charles's picture

The bigger issue

Bobcat and Lynx won't work, there's already a major Unix software app called Lynx (text web browser) and besides, bobcats and lynxes are little kitties compared to tigers etc. I personally like Cougar, I used to have a Mercury Cougar back in the days when American cars ruled the road, that name has good memories for me.

But there's a bigger issue. Apple has increased the interval between OS point releases. This is usually a sign that a major release is on the horizon, with radical new features. So the real question is, what's coming for MacOS XI (eleven)?

viktor's picture

mmm and this

How about:

10.5 Codename Sabletooth

Grwwwarrr!

dpc's picture

Cougar is my

dpc's picture

Cougar is my

Jammo's picture

Hey thats cheating ;)

You cant vote twice lol ;) j/k

__
Goo

chillcore's picture

Lynx

There's already LynxOS - a Real Time OS, so... I vote for Cougar. But maybe they'll name it OS XI Shark or something after all.

Gianni's picture

Cougar and Puma are the same

Cougar and Puma are the same animal. They're Mountain Lions.

First thing I thought of was Liger from ND too! 10.5 will have large talons.

Wurx's picture

How about.......

How about Mac OS Pastore.....oh, no wait, that's just a big pussy, not a large feline. (Sapranos anyone?)

Kevinn's picture

MAC OS X 10.5 SIMBA :p

MAC OS X 10.5 SIMBA :p

Jammo's picture

or how about ,,,,

OS X Pumbaa !!!! (gotta love that warthog!)

or what if they went for monkeys/apes ? OS X Silverback!

__
Goo

Mississauga's picture

OS 10.5 Kittens?

10.5 - Siegfried
10.6 - Roy

;-)

Alec

Jammo's picture

10.7 ?

10.7 Lisa ?

lol, maybe not :p

__
Goo

Anonymous's picture

10.5 Swift

10.5 Swift

I'm only saying this as an educated guess, on the following that Apple will discard the "Big Cats" theme and go into three birds, ... Maybe this is all I can say for now.

Will Parker's picture

I vote for Caracal.

Et voila!

Lovely PLOOmage, eh, squire?

Anonymous's picture

Ever thought of them

Ever thought of them skipping 10.5 and going strait to OS11 in 2007 or 2008?

Viridian's picture

Ragdoll? (on the left) -- or Tabby? (on the right)

Ragdoll? (on the left) -- or Tabby? (on the right)

:)

suzy

Olly's picture

Nice. OS-X.5 "Kitten".

Nice. OS-X.5 "Kitten".

gosselin0707's picture

Wildcat is'nt cool?

Wildcat is'nt cool?

Anonymous's picture

If it's large feline's...

...then 10.5 should be called Garfield!

Jammo's picture

couldnt agree more lol

YEA!!! Garfield, you can imagine the desktop pics already :D

or following the cartoon theme

10.5 Catbert :-D

__
Goo

Anonymous's picture

i know! i know! i know!

it's gonna be Mac OS X 10.5 Margay

Ivan's picture

Oh man! That's s cute! :D

Oh man! That's s cute! :D

Anonymous's picture

Not sure why you would

Not sure why you would consider OSX to be a "competitor" to Windows... they're for two completely different systems. Linux, however, is a competitor to Windows. As far as I'm concerned, Mac users can keep their insular little "one-OS-choice" world.

Anonymous's picture

How about

morris

crimson's picture

Pengurangacat!

How about Pengurangacat? This guy is fierce!

Xander's picture

haha for sure

thats the one... no doubt

Ivan's picture

Thanks god this anisomething

Thanks god this anisomething deosn't exist! Literally. :)

cutlassciera's picture

cougar is my vote for the

cougar is my vote for the new os

Anonymous's picture

the next cat

longhorn is the name of a beer hall in Whistler that Redmondians like to frequent after posing on the skihill, not a fourlegged creature.

Pjotr's picture

If de Next OS is to operate

If de Next OS is to operate on Intel processors, the codename will be changed too. Since NextOS=MacOSX the transition won't be too difficult. Apple wants IBM processors with mutiple cores and wants it to be faster than gameconsoles. If that is nog going to happen, Apple will absolutely go to Intel or AMD. Imagine Apple selling "MacOS ORCA" for 50 euro. Compatibel with Intel. Also Apple hardware, everyting compatible, no hardware conflicts, best design! Whow !!!

My votes are for Orca.

snipper's picture

Names of OS X releases

I understood that new names are always of faster animals than used before. Maybe that's a clue..

Anonymous's picture

in that case it should be

in that case it should be Leopard?

Jeroen's picture

Birds!

Nice Article!
Cougar sounds the best, but I wonder: wat will they use after that?
If they come up with a new theme, I think birds would do best.
Mac OSX Hawk of Mac OSX Eagle both sound very cool imho :)

Greg's picture

You were right! Good

You were right! Good guess!

my blog: http://blog.one-waymedia.com
my work: http://www.one-waymedia.com

Ivan's picture

tx

I have to admit I'm proud in my geek marketeer kinda way. :)

ddm1976's picture

So Funny !

This photo has been modify with PhotoShop -___-!

Who can did this here!?

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