The computer for the rest of us...

John Siracusa opines at the end of his well-written review of Mac OS Mountain Lion:

The fact is, we are not the center of the market, and haven't been for a long time. Three decades ago, the personal computer industry was built on the backs of technology enthusiasts. Every product, every ad was created to please us. No longer. Technology must now work for everyone, not just "computing enthusiasts."

But let's not forget that this is actually a victory condition: the computer for the rest of us, now realized on a much larger scale. This new thing that the Mac is becoming, its outlines slowly coming into focus in Mountain Lion, is meant to allow people who were previously intimidated by the Mac to use it to accomplish more than they could with a touch-based platform like iOS, but with similar ease.

Every HN and Slashdot reader needs to understand this. The reason iOS is so successful is the same reason that Android Jelly Bean is going to be successful - the platform is designed to be used by *everyone*. It is not aimed at the technology geek that wants to tweak everything and install patched software on it for giggles. It is designed for your mom, my mom, and their ilk.

"The hardest thing to do is say NO."