Yeah, that's what I had in mind.
In fact (I edited it), I wrote about how future Mac OS users might look at the current (OS X, Snow Leopard, etc.) file structure as something "serious and high-end, for certain types of user"...the way many of us currently using OS X think of those who use Terminal.
The new "default" might be that ultra-streamlined, iPad-inspired structure. With an option to turn that off and reveal the more "computer-y" version most of us know.
I just think about all those people out there who are (and will be) coming to the Mac via the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad in the years to come...would a simplified "shell", acting as sort of iTraining Wheels, be something that would slide them into the platform easier?
Or should they just man-up and do what we all did? What's with all these breaks and hand-holding?
Why, back in my day...
Off-topic (click to toggle):
I'm encouraged that both my parents, while not being particularly tech savvy, geeky or "into computers", have both taken so well to the Mac, and OS X. I never hear from either of them with "problems" or serious questions. I think that says a lot, and so maybe, while not perfect, the Mac OS seems a bit more approachable and "learnable" for the newbie/switcher?
I know the error/warning messages alone between Windows and the Mac OS are light years apart in tone, wording and levels of "oh shit...what does this mean, and what do I do?!?"
I've seen error/warning messages on XP and Vista that make you think you're about to die and fall into a crack in the earth. Indecipherable gibberish for the most part (you'd have to be an engineer at Microsoft to have any idea what it meant), and the parts that aren't this way just sound so damn bleak and dismal, with such a heavy "You're screwed." vibe.
On the Mac, it's more like "hey, buddy...you dropped your pencil. Need help picking it up? Okay, cool...". Very few things absolutely freak you out on a Mac, or are made to look worse than the average schmo can deal with. Something goes wrong on a PC, and most mortals immediately reach for the Geek Squad number...
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