A Few Suggestions for the Next OS X Name (or, A Cheap Excuse to Post Cute Cat Pictures)
Really I should have made this joke back in February when Mountain Lion came out, but it just hit the app store yesterday, and it’s not like I can be arsed to actually go anywhere brick-and-mortar for my computer products anymore. So this is as topical as software humor gets around here.
But the big cat thing. We get a new OS X version what, every two years or so ? And already they’re repeating themselves: 10.1 was Puma and 10.8 is Mountain Lion, which are the same damn thing.
For that matter, “panther” is a folk name that gets applied to both cougars and leopards, so 10.3 was a repeat of either 10.1 or 10.2. Given that these started out as internal code-names, you have to wonder if things got a little confusing for the staff…
But for my part, I’m excited at the possibility that Apple will soon be branching out beyond Felidae. Short of even more obscure folk names for mountain lions (and I’m a particular fan of “catamount”), they’re down to just ocelots and lynxes now. Shall we hope for some of the charming smaller cats of Felinae soon? I think we shall — what better creature to grace your box than, say, the charming caracal:
Or if we prefer, the sand cat, whose entertaining Latin name is Felis margarita:
Or the fishing cat, the most consistently derpy-looking felid:
The possibilities go on. I hope Apple starts making use of them soon, because frankly, the unwitting repetitions in a company with such a massive marketing budget is a little embarrassing. Perhaps we should start sending them suggestion letters, with adorable pictures.
Or they could just go with “catamount.” I’d be all right with that, too.
What’s your favorite big/biggish cat for OS X’s next name? Bonus points for adorable pictures!
Nice! I love the photos. Maybe they could even go with the ever-exotic “house cat,” or if things don’t go well with a release, they could call it “road kill cat.” Personally, I’d prefer circus elephants. They each have their own names.
That Sand Cat got lots of bad ass! but how about foxes?
I vote for house cat. A nice snuggly one like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gato_enervado_pola_presencia_dun_can.jpg
Or Snagglepuss.