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Topic: Software

The iOS-ification of the Web

Summary: Much has been written about the iOS-ification of Mac OS, but is the Web next?

Jason D. O'Grady

By for The Apple Core |

iCloud Notification banner on Safari - Jason O'Grady

Much has been written about the iOS-ification of Mac OS, but what about the iOS-ification of the Web?

It began with features from iOS slowly migrating into OS X on the desktop -- like LaunchPad, gestures, reverse scrolling and sandboxing (which arrived in  OS X 10.7 Lion) and it continues with Notifications, Messages, Reminders, and Notes which will arrive this summer in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

It appears that Apple might be taking its iOS features to a completely new frontier -- the Web browser.

MacRumors and 9to5Mac both reported sightings of what appear to be an iOS-like notification banner while browsing iCloud.com from a desktop Web browser.

The notification (pictured above) simply reads "Default Title for English- This is a test message description" and appears to be a test of a possible future iCloud status notification and most likely an extension of Notification Center which arrived in iOS 5 and is slated to arrive on the desktop in OS X 10.8 ("Mountain Lion") in late summer 2012.

9to5Mac notes that the icon in the notification banner is the icon Apple uses to signify troubleshooting, help, and system status.

While such a feature isn't unrealistic (in fact, it feels like a natural evolution of Notification Center) it shows how far Apple's iOS features have come.

Topics: Software, Apple, Browser, Hardware, Operating Systems

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25 comments
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  • Cool

    So exactly like what happens when I get an email in GMail.

    The wow starts now. Innovative. Magical. Revolutionary.
    toddbottom3
    Reply Vote

    • Re-read the article

      You missed the point.

      It is not the message appearing at the top, it is the context and the fact that it's being toyed with.

      This is about design shifting over, not saying a notification is new. It is the way teh notification center works possibly moving to iCloud on the web.

      Have you seen notification center on an iOS device?

      If not then it makes sense that you think any alert is what is being discussed.
      richardw66
      Reply Vote

      • Like I said

        This is a copy of GMail. Cupertino is getting great use from their photocopiers.

        [i]Have you seen notification center on an iOS device?[/i]

        Yes, on both my iPhone and my iPad. It is the notification center copied from Windows Mobile and Android.
        toddbottom3
        Reply Vote

  • You have the right term

    Ossification

    The process of becoming rigidly fixed in a conventional pattern of thought or behavior

    It encapsulates Apple fan persons, that terrible fixed grid of dead icons leading to siloed apps and the fact that they're stuck with a mod of 1990's FreeBSD Unix.

    iOSsification

    Well done Jason ;-)
    tonymcs@...
    Reply Vote

    • You can spin things however you wish . . .

      . . . in any way that makes you feel better. Apple sell more tablets in one weekend that Windows tablets sold in more than a decade. People like iPads. Just get over it.

      I feel for people like you who need to feel better by making other people feel bad (about their tech choices). Often, such people would be referred-to as trolls, but seeing as you are into words, I have a better one for your . . . sociopath!
      Restricted_access
      Reply Vote

      • Yep attack the messenger

        While I was hoping for humor, it only works coz it's true. Next time try and disagree with the facts.
        tonymcs@...
        Reply Vote

  • Revolutionary?

    It's really not that big of a stretch to make Apple's cloud services look like their Operating Systems. It creates unity in design and people like it when everything looks the same. Makes it easier to use.

    It's not revolutionary. It's just simple logic. Microsoft is Metrofying everything. Is that revolutionary? No.
    DreyerSmit
    Reply Vote

    • Metrofying - is interesting

      So far the Metro interface in Windows 8 just makes it totally infuriating.

      I am now using the Consumer Preview when I use windows (as little as necessary) and quite frankly it has some weird ways of getting around.

      I don't know about Windows phone but I can't imagine it can be quite as hard to use as Win 8.

      I tried to get out of the weather app and couldn't. Had to restart windows.

      Maybe they will improve it b4 launch?

      Yes, I agree though Consistancy saves humans having to learn more than is necessary. It is like having different languages when you talk on the phone from when you talk in person otherwise.
      richardw66
      Reply Vote

    • No, it's not.

      So we have a company-produced and -branded website, using icons the company developed from one of their other products, and where the content is dynamically updated.

      Funny, sounds like the "dynamic" websites we've been seeing for years now. Ooh, and icons associated with a particular brand -- in particular icons used on the company website -- have been around as long as Internet sites have used image files & icons.

      But because Apple is simply expanding on a practice [b]already in use for years[/b], it's labelled "revolutionary"?

      If you truly believe that, I bet you're interested in a couple of bridges I have available for sale...
      spdragoo@...
      Reply Vote

      • Reading is fundamental

        No one said it was revolutionary. The comment you are replying to says "no it's not" and the term doesn't appear anywhere in the original blog.

        You have accomplished nothing here other than to expand on the comment from DreyerSmit which basically says that this is nothing more than logical expansion of site design.
        use_what_works_4_U
        Reply Vote

      • Ah, so now we have a writing critic.

        I take you've never heard someone use the phrase, "No, it's not" when they're replying to someone [b]and indicating they're in agreement with the speaker[/b]?

        And by your logic, your complaint that my opinion isn't important because I'm [b]only[/b] agreeing with the prior speakers was also unnecessary, and a waste of space on the page.
        spdragoo@...
        Reply Vote

      • Actually ...

        My issue is your statement <i>'But because Apple is simply expanding on a practice already in use for years, it's labelled "revolutionary"?'</i>

        No one, not any one, is claiming it's "revolutionary". You are criticizing statements not in evidence. I just get tired of the trolls (anti-Apple and anti-Microsoft) trying to pick fights by putting words into people's mouths. Had anyone implied that this was "revolutionary" then I would agree with your comment 100%. As it stands, you come off like an opportunistic troll.
        use_what_works_4_U
        Reply Vote

  • iCloud is not "the web"

    Okay, cute. iCloud looks and acts a bit like iOS.

    But I'd love to know what you're smoking if you think iCloud is "the web" - icloud.com is a single website barely anybody uses. I didn't even know it existed before researching this story.
    CobraA1
    Reply Vote

    • iCloud is the replacement for MobileMe

      MobileMe ends on 30 June, at which point most users will change to iCloud. As far as I am aware, it only works with OS X Lion (not earlier versions) and iDevices with iOS 5 or later. Apparently, it also works with Windows 7. In the short term, it can reasonably be expected that most Apple users will become iCloud users.
      Restricted_access
      Reply Vote

      • Which just means he doesn't own any Apple products.

        Personally, I've barely heard anything about iCloud either -- as I don't own any Apple products at this time, let alone any with iOS installed -- and had no knowledge of MobileMe, either.

        But that's more because I have no need or use for cloud-type services in my personal or professional life, as opposed to any anti-Apple bias.
        spdragoo@...
        Reply Vote

      • Actually, I own an iPhone, thanks.

        "Which just means he doesn't own any Apple products."

        I actually own an iPhone. I've been aware of the iCloud as a service on my PC, and how it integrates with my phone - but the website itself is actually new to me.
        CobraA1
        Reply Vote

    • Really?

      You troll Apple blogs on ZDNet all the time, and yet you never heard of iCloud? So you're telling us that you just post anti-Apple screeds without actually reading the stories.

      Umm, you're not supposed to admit to being a troll. That's part of the charm.
      msalzberg
      Reply Vote

      • He's right, though.

        "One website does not the Internet make". Unless you're claiming that the [b]only[/b] website you've ever used in your life is icloud.com...
        spdragoo@...
        Reply Vote

      • As a service? Yes. As a website? No.

        As a service? Yes. I've been aware of it. As a website? No. I didn't know it had a companion web page.
        CobraA1
        Reply Vote

  • don't be silly

    you apple fans are so full of yourselves . . .
    photomstr@...
    Reply Vote
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