In Depth: iOS 6: 16 things we want to see

iOS 6: what we'd like to see

iOS 5 is a lovely thing, but we'd hardly finished installing the upgrade before we started thinking about what else Apple could add.

We don't mean pointless doo-hickeys or unnecessary eye candy for our iPad, iPhone and iPod touch though: we mean solid, sensible improvements that would make our iOS devices better and our smiles wider.

We've come up with sixteen iOS 6 features we want. Any that we've missed?

1. Siri

There's no obvious reason why Siri can't work on the iPhone 4, iPad 2 or iPod touch. For now it's iPhone 4S-only, which we suspect is partly because it's a beta and partly because Apple wants to sell its latest iPhone. For Siri to come to all recent iOS devices, Apple would have to decide that Siri's world domination is more important than selling a few more 4Ses.

2. Voice choice

Siri's gender changes as she crosses the Atlantic: in the US she's female, but in the UK she's male. Apparently Brits prefer bossy bloke voices to lovely lady ones. They obviously didn't ask us. Could we have a choice, please?

3. Smart Actions

Apple doesn't have a lock on bright ideas, and we really like the Smart Actions that Motorola's added to its new Razr. Smart Actions are essentially smart rules, so for example you might get your phone to turn its ringer off in areas you've said are "Quiet Locations". iOS does this to an extent with its location-aware reminders, but it could do much more.

4. NFC

If the mobile wallet's going to take off - and for now it's still firmly in the coming-soon category - then we'd like to be part of the mobile money party too. It'd be interesting to see which route Apple took: would it team up with existing payment providers, or would it use iTunes accounts instead? Our money's on the latter.

5. iMessaging to OS X

iMessage is really clever and genuinely useful, but for now you can iMessage people on iOS but not on Macs. And while we're on the subject of communication...

6. Facetime 3G

Facetime on 3G could well be rubbish when the signal isn't up to much, but in some cases a good quality 3G signal offers a better connection than a coffee shop's crappy, congested WiFi access point.

7. More elegant app switching

On iOS 5, iPad 2 owners can swipe between running apps. It's great, and while making it work on smaller devices might involve a rethink - four-fingered swipes aren't ideal on a phone screen - it'd be worth doing. App switching on the iPhone is a bit of a pain.

8. A new Maps app

iOS's Maps app is fine, but it's really just Google Maps given a pretty face. Rivals offer satnav-style systems with turn-by-turn navigation, and we suspect that the lack of any really exciting new features in Maps is because Apple's working hard on its own, Google-free version. It's certainly been busy snapping up map-related tech firms.

9. A hide button for native apps

For us it's Stocks; for you, it might be Game Center or Newsstand. It's the Apple app you don't want, will never use and cannot kill. If we can't take the native apps off altogether, at least let us hide the damn things.

10. Apps that aren't from World of Leather

We're all for making apps look like real-world things, but we'd rather those things weren't sofas. We're looking at you, Find My Friends. And you, Pages.

11. User accounts

We've been banging on about this for ages, and we're going to keep on doing it: iPads are family devices, and multiple accounts - or at least, a Guest mode - would stop our little darlings emailing Princess Party invitations to all our work contacts. We'd love to have an iPad each, but we're as likely to buy a pet unicorn.

12. Bigger folders

Especially on the iPad.

13. Panorama Mode

We know it's in there - Conrad Kramer found it on Monday - and we know from our Sony cameras that panoramas are fun.

14. Quicker access to Airplane Mode

Maybe it's just us, but getting to the Airplane Mode toggle seems awfully clunky. Couldn't we just have it in the notification area instead?

15. Multitasking App Store

The current iOS App Store quits whenever you download anything, which is an enormous pain in the backside when you're considering multiple updates. Background downloading would be much more elegant.

16. App data backups

The combination of finite storage space and near-infinite numbers of apps means we often have to temporarily uninstall things to make room for newcomers. That means we lose their data, which can be a pain in apps such as games. A per-app data backup option for iCloud would make us very happy.

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In Depth: 10 things we want Siri to do in six months

10 things we want Siri to do in six months

It's time for Apple to start improving Siri before it's too late.

The fledgling voice recognition service – the butt of late night talk-show jokes and featured prominently in Apple TV ads – works well for setting up a meeting and reminding you to pick up milk when you leave work. But there are some other things that it just doesn't do as well. Or at all.

And we keep craving more functionality beyond meetings, spoken text messages, and snarky quips.

Read on for our 10 things to improve Siri below, but first why not watch our Siri accent challenge video.

brightcove : 12513095610011. Read email messages

Siri can read incoming text messages but not incoming email messages. We want her to read both; Siri's inability to deal with longer message is a glaring oversight. Android users can download the free Vlingo app and have your email messages read aloud to you.

2. Read us a book

Are you an intelligent avatar or just a cheap Apple trick? Siri can tell you a random story – one actually goes on for several paragraphs – but Siri cannot read an iBook. (Even the Amazon Kindle has an option to read books in an awkward robotic voice.) Bonus points here for reading entire Web pages.

3. Answer complex questions

As well as talking about the weather and other basic stuff, Siri can answer basic math and science questions. This feature is a bit clunky, though: when you ask a question like "how far is the sun from the earth?" you will see a Wolfram Alpha page with the answer. We want her to act like a pocket researcher, minus the retainer fee. Complex questions like "what was the chief export of China in 1988" should be easy for her to answer. And, no Google search suggestions!

4. Work with Facebook

What? Siri does not work with Facebook? That's another glaring omission. The virtual assistant should be able to post your spoken status update as text to any social network you choose. And, while Siri is handling that task, Siri should be able to alert you to wall postings and messages as well.

5. Full dictation

Siri can dictate an entire text message for you, and 99% of what you say is typed perfectly. She even understands the "ways" and "weighs" of what you say by analysing the context. Yet, Siri is not exactly ready for full dictation. You can't have her type up a 10-page Word document, by why not? The service is not well-integrated with document management apps like Docs-to-Go either.

6. Photo editing

Here's another way to improve Siri: make her do photo editing. Some of these tasks are tough enough on the small screen of an iPhone 4S. Using nothing but voice commands, we'd like to be able to re-size a batch of photos to the same resolution, apply a grayscale effect, or just save them to the cloud.

7. Open apps – and close them nicely

Siri is not able to open apps, but Apple is remiss in leaving this feature out. We should be able to say "Angry Birds" and start playing the game in seconds. And, when we're done, we should be able to say "close app" or "go home" to move on to the next task.

8. Take a video

We also want Siri to respond better to commands, especially those that involve the camera app. For example, why can't we say "shoot a video" and have Siri start recording? If Apple added this feature, we can imagine all new office gags recording the guy from accounting sleeping at his desk. Or, at a family picnic, what about asking Siri to count to ten before snapping a few photos?

9. Manage the battery

Siri lacks any ability to help you squeeze more life out of your phone. A smart virtual assistant would let us know when the battery is getting low, or would offer to dim the screen, turn off GPS, or remind us that we left Bluetooth on and disable those services automatically.

10. Have more fun

Siri does tell one or two jokes, and Siri responds well to obscure sci-fi references. Yet, Apple has a goldmine here in terms of entertaining us on a long bus ride. We want Siri to be even more intelligent. She could offer reviews of movies when we ask about showtimes, or let us know about major news events, or even play a favorite (aka, most played) song at bedtime.

Now, why not check out our iPhone 4S video review?

brightcove : 1224629147001

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In Depth: Android Jelly Bean: 10 things we want to see

Android Jelly Bean: 10 things we want to see

So we've had a few days to digest Google's enormous update to Android, with the release of its "Ice Cream Sandwich" Android 4.0 software adding a huge amount of new functionality and visual polish to the mobile OS.

But what about the Android 4.5 or Android 5? Google pumps out Android updates faster than we can scoff double-choc Magnums, and it's already been reported that work on the next version of Android is under way, with the so-called "Android Jelly Bean " update next on the radar.

So what would we like to see in Andoid Jelly Bean? Can Android 4.0 be topped, or would we all be better off with HTC Sense, TouchWiz, or surrendering to the weight of public opinion and buying an iPhone 4S?

Here's what we'd like Google to include in Android Jelly Bean. Hit the comments to share your own Jelly Bean wishlist.

1. Full Chrome browser

The changes made to Android 4.0's web browser are welcome, bringing in the fancy Android 3.0 tabbed browsing system and support for Chrome's bookmark sync system. But with phone screens continually ballooning in size, a proper mobile version of Chrome in Android Jelly Bean, complete with bookmarks bar and constantly on-screen tabs, would make sense. Just to make phones and tablets feel more like home.

POLISHED CHROME: The browser's nice. But Chrome is nicer. On a 4.65" screen it'd work just fine, too

2. Landscape Home screen on mobile

Seeing as the Galaxy Nexus has such an enormous screen that's bordering on tablet size anyway, it'd be nice to be able to flip it into landscape mode and use it like a tablet - especially as Android 4.0 is designed to unify phones and tablets.

Traditionally, Android only lets the Home screen switch into landscape mode when using a QWERTY device, with non-QWERTYs only using landscape for apps, games and web. It's an odd decision. Give us a sideways option in Android Jelly Bean, with a locking toggle so we can go sideways for life.

3. Give us a File Manager

It's a bit of a nerdy thing to demand a simple file manager, but it's something we all need every once in a while, to find something randomly placed on the SD card. Several of the hardware makers put on their own custom managers, and there are third-party apps on the Android Market, but it shouldn't be something we have to track down or look for.

4. Update the text input options

We understand that Google perhaps doesn't want to step on the toes of the third-party keyboard developers like SwiftKey and Swype, but surely the standard Android keyboard could be updated just a little? The Android 4.0 keyboard doesn't even include long-pressing to access alternate characters and numbers, which is a simple, obvious, time saving solution that numerous other keyboard apps manage.

BETTER KEYBOARD: Come on. Alternate characters are easy and make typing less of a pain. Let's have them

5. A clear upgrade path

Google has already tried to act on clearing up the OS upgrade mess, stating back in May that it wanted most key future devices to be guaranteed the "latest platform updates" if the hardware was capable. But that's already been made a mockery by Android 4.0, with the likes of HTC saying it's "reviewing" Android 4.0 to see if it fancies the task of rolling it out. That shouldn't happen. Everyone should get it. On the same day. It's embarrassing for Android when iOS updates launch globally at the same minute of the day.

6. Android Jelly Bean Lite

We're all for the rapid power surge Android has seen. There's nothing better than an OS that works like a charm on a dual-core, £500 superphone. But what about the cheaper models with limited CPUs and memory?

A simpler, toned down version of Android Jelly Bean designed to run well on less powerful hardware would be great. Sort of like Windows XP on a netbook. Most of the features, but light enough so that even £80 emergency spare Android phones are fit for purpose.

7. User interface on/off toggles

It's good that HTC, Sony Ericsson and most of the other big Android makers add their own customisations to Android, helping phones stand out from each other and giving buyers a bit of extra choice. But it's also good to experience the core Android interface as well.

At the moment, we have to choose, with only a tiny handful of smaller phone makers letting us deactivate their user interfaces and revert to standard Android. We'd like that to become a mandatory feature, so we can all play with the basic Android that sits beneath HTC Sense and the rest of the interfaces. Android 4.0 is beautiful. Let's see it.

8. Focus on power efficiency and management

We're all totally over using task killers, but it would be good to see some official recognition of the immense power-drain we suffer that has us nursing phones to make them last an entire day. A simple set of power options at boot up, or in the menu, would help.

Being able to manually select a slower, clunkier, low-power mode for keeping essential calling features alive for longer would be useful. We'd sacrifice web browser scrolling speed for an extra 20 minutes of texting time.

Some of the handset makers already do this - HTC packs in quite a few power management tools as part of its Sense UI - but there's not much support in Google's own interface. A bit more control than just dimming the brightness and praying would be nice.

9. A lighter theme option

Android 4.0 is pretty and everything, but isn't white text on a black background all a bit "Geocities" in this day and age? When blown up to tablet resolution, it may just look a little bit empty and dark. Sure, we can add in pretty background images, but it's not the same.

LIGHTEN UP: Available in colours other than black next time, please

10. Lock screen widgets

It's lovely what Google has done to the Android 4.0 lock screen (taking ideas from Samsung and HTC...) but it could do so much more. It'd be a massive security risk to have every widget available on the lock screen, but then again, Android is supposed to be about choice.

If we want our missed calls widget on perma-display, it's our fault if the data's stolen. The popularity of the many third-party lock screen apps surely indicates there's a demand to see this in Android Jelly Bean?

IMPROVABLE: Nice lock screen. But could do better. B-

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Updated: BBX: 10 things you need to know

BBX: 10 things you need to know

The future of BlackBerry is HTML5 plus the same QNX operating system that's in the PlayBook - and also in many cars, set-top boxes and even nuclear power stations.

The next version of the BlackBerry OS will be called BBX, it will run on phones as well as tablets and it's a big change from the current BlackBerry OS (based on a mobile version of Java).

It also means rewriting all the BlackBerry apps out there, including RIM's own apps like email and calendar, which we still haven't seen on the PlayBook.

We don't know the BBX release date, although we're expecting to see it next year - but here's what we do know.

1. BBX isn't the next version of the PlayBook OS

There's an update coming for the PlayBook, called PlayBook OS 2.0, which adds key missing apps like email and BBM, but that's not BBX and it won't have all the BlackBerry features that BBX will include like voice search and push notification for apps.

RIM VP Chris Smith tools TechRadar: "The vision is that all the native services in BlackBerry - whether that's enterprise integration or push or payments, the vision is those services will still be available for developers to plug in to. They will come across onto BBX in the future but it's incorrect to say they'll be there on PlayBook 2 out of the gate."

NOT BBX: The beta of the PlayBook OS 2.0 update looks just like the PlayBook

2. The beta isn't BBX and you don't want it

If you want to upgrade your PlayBook you can get a beta version today, but this is strictly a developer preview (and the instructions for signing up for the preview are suitably arcane.

It doesn't include any of the applications that will be in the PlayBook 2.0 operating system like email, calendar, contacts and BBM, although all the apps that came with the original PlayBook still work just as well.

What it does have is Air 3 and Flash Player 11, the latest version of the Bolt HTML5 browser and the runtime for using Android apps that have been repackaged by developers for BlackBerry - but unless you have your own Android source code to work with, you won't see Android running.

3. BBX won't run BlackBerry apps

When the PlayBook first came out, RIM talked about building a BlackBerry emulator so you could keep your existing apps. That's not going to happen.

"I don't want to tell you it was an easy decision," the new head of developer evangelism at RIM Alec Saunders told TechRadar; "we spent a lot of energy on getting the BlackBerry Java platform to run in BBX."

But when they looked at how the apps would compare to what you could build on BBX with QNX, HTML5 and AIR, "it would look like a diminished experience".

4. But BBX will run Android apps

BBX and PlayBook OS 2.0 will run Android apps, but you can't just download them from Android Marketplace - they have to be repackaged for BBX. That doesn't mean changing the code but the developer has to take the .APK source code and use the RIM tools to turn it into an app.

And not every Android app can be repackaged, Saunders explained to us. "As an Android OEM you get to licence Google Maps. We're not an Android OEM, so we don't. If you have an app that relies on Google Maps it won't run but there are about 70% of apps that will come across unchanged."

SOME ANDROID: Not all Android apps can be packaged for BBX but the Pulse social media client looks good on the PlayBook

5. HTML5 and Flash are the future

The Bolt browser for the BlackBerry is based on WebKit and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis says RIM will be "investing in making sure we have the best HTML5 implementation in the world".

It's not just about web pages. RIM VP Alan Brenner told us he expects "the vast majority" of apps to be HTML5 within a few years. Developers can start work now; HTML5 and Air apps that work with BlackBerry 7 will also run on BBX.

The PlayBook is getting Flash Player 11 and Air 3 (the runtime that Photoshop Touch for Android is built in) in the next update. That puts RIM in head-to-head competition with Android tablets and it might come down to who can do the best job of connecting phone features like push notification to Web apps; RIM is promising to let Web apps integrate deeply with BBX features like the inbox and BBM.

SPECIAL EFFECTS: The RIM browser team is working on HTML5 standards and tools, like the AliceJS library to make it easier to do animations in CSS

6. It might be the safest place to run WebGL

WebGL is a powerful, low-level standard for running 3D graphics in a web browser that has some notorious security concerns; running programs directly on the GPU could be a risk when most operating systems only expect the GPU to deal with images and textures and don't check for security issues.

On BBX, Chris Smith told us, "it's really no different from running OpenGL; we take it outside the browser and allow it to be packed up, secured and sandboxed in the same way as any app and code packed up as an app has been signed and authorised". And it's fully hardware accelerated.

7. Native is the future too

Thanks to QNX, BBX - and the PlayBook today - can run the same kind of C++ code as a PC, Mac or console and most of the major gaming engines like Unity, Marmalade and ShiVa3D are now available for building PlayBook games, so you'll see games using the same animation engine as on the PlayStation 3.

RIM is building a lot of open source projects right into the platform for developers to work with - including the Qt framework that was at the heart of Intel and Nokia's ill-fated Meego operating system. That gives developers who are used to other platforms a lot of tools to build apps with that other mobile devices don't have.

8. There's lots of 3D: meet Cascades

Forget the boring black and blue BlackBerry interface; BBX apps will have 3D effects and animations so pages flip on and off screen, lists fold up like a concertina when you filter them and photographs curl slightly at the side like a real print.

That's courtesy of user interface company The Amazing Tribe that RIM bought last year; they've written a user interface framework on top of Qt called Cascades that makes it easy to create those kinds of special effects.

The PlayBook picture viewer actually uses an early version of this but BBX will have far more effects and any app can use them.

3D LOOK: Cascades makes on-screen pictures look real and BBX apps look more elegant

9. Think PlayBook in the car

The current PlayBook OS is based on the version of QNX built for car makers and "the next generation of QNX for cars is going to be built from BBX," Alec Saunders told us; car makers are keen to use HTML5 for in-car information and entertainment.

That makes it easier to treat your car as another device, he suggested, and to share information. "Ultimately you will be able to transition from your smartphone to your tablet to your TV to your car. Sync will be important. I think you'll start to see devices do things like Bridge today, where it mirrors [on the PlayBook] what's on the BlackBerry handset.

"You'll use one device to access what's on another. QNX is made for these kind of scenarios, projecting information from one device to another. You won't have five devices and have all your content on everything; it's going to have to grow seamlessly across them."

10. BlackBerry 7 isn't dead yet

There will be BBX phones; "future unnamed devices" as Alec Saunders mysteriously puts it. But BlackBerry 7 phones will be on sale for quite a while, with new models launching next month and there will be new services coming out for BlackBerry 6 and 7 like the BBM Music social media sharing system that's currently in beta.

RIM's going to have to compete with Honeycomb tablets with the PlayBook 2.0 update; BBX will probably come out in time to compete with Windows 8.

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In Depth: Kindle Fire 2: 8 things we want Amazon to do

Kindle Fire 2: 8 things we want Amazon to do

For the last few months, the only device that could match the iPhone 5 for sheer volume of rumours was surely the fabled Amazon tablet.

When it finally arrived in the form of the Kindle Fire - alongside two new Kindle ereader models - it turned out to be a lot like what we expected, which is no bad thing.

The Kindle Fire has impressed a lot of people - including us - with its revamped Android interface and impossibly low price, but like any first release, there are more features we want to see.

Here's what we're hoping for in the Kindle 2.

1. 3G

Well, it's the obvious one for Kindle 2, isn't it? There's always been an option for 3G-capable regular Kindles, so it's a little disappointing not to see a Kindle Fire model capable of connecting to the mobile networks.

Granted, having the kind of unlimited free 3G you get with Amazon's ereaders isn't going to be a likely option, but it only makes sense to have it so that Whispersync can sync up your books and movies from the tablet anywhere.

And the Silk browser seems custom-made for 3G browsing, with all the heavy lifting being done on Amazon's end - much like Opera's Turbo feature, or the Opera Mini browser.

2. An HD screen

The Kindle Fire's 1024 x 600 screen is 16:9, making it great for many movies or TV shows, but it's a lower resolution than 720p. What we really want in the Kindle 2 is a 1280 x 720 resolution, so HD streaming movies could play at their native size and look their best.

TIGHT FIT: Admittedly, squeezing that many pixels into a seven-inch screen is going to be something of a challenge. So perhaps the solution is…

3. A 10-inch model

We're not actually suggesting that the current seven-inch Kindle Fire should be replaced with a 10-inch model, but rather have a second higher-end model with a different name. Inferno, or something.

Having a second, higher-end option would be great for those who find seven-inch tablets to be a little small, and it would be far easier to get a 1280 x 720 panel into it. It would also be able to have a larger battery capacity, so you could get more use out of it on a charge.

That said, having this option would put the Kindle Fire well into iPad territory, which it's so far managed to avoid by being smaller, lighter and focussing on content. For this reason, we think this is one of the least likely Kindle 2 items on this list to happen, but we can dream.

4. A front-facing camera and microphone

Though rear-facing cameras on tablets have yet to prove themselves to be anything other than something that some people on the internet insisted was important, then realised wasn't important at all once they got them, front-facing cameras are a good fit.

Skype finally now has a native iPad app, so it seems inevitable that it and other VoIP apps, such as Tango, will want to be on the Amazon Appstore. The only problem is that Kindle Fire lacks both a camera and microphone.

Considering that even some TVs now feature Skype, it seems as though no device is complete unless your family can bug you on it. It would be nice to at least have option to chat to people on the Kindle Fire 2.

5. A bigger focus on games

Amazon's been really aggressive with its focus on content for the Kindle Fire, and that includes apps and games, but the games side has been a bit bland. Plants vs Zombies and Angry Birds are great, but they're not new and exciting.

Apple had a barnstorming moment when it showed off the Unreal Engine running on iOS, and we were hoping that Amazon would do something similar. Great moments like that are what encourages developers to a platform, and we wanted to see Amazon do something to get people as excited about gaming on the Kindle Fire as they are on iPhone and iPad.

Of course, the Amazon Appstore doesn't have to be the only way to get games on the device. Sticking with the cloud focus, having the OnLive game service pre-loaded, like it is on the HTC Flyer, would have been a great way to offer something for gamers without using up the meagre 8GB of storage on the Fire.

6. A colour e-ink/hybrid display

We're definitely in wishful-thinking territory here - good colour e-ink screens and hybrid LCD/e-ink screens have been eagerly anticipated for years but have failed to materialise in any meaningful way - but this would definitely be huge feature for the Kindle Fire 2 if it could be achieved.

A screen that gives you the same battery life and ability to read outdoors as the Kindle ereader models, but can also playback smooth, colourful video? To coin an Apple phrase, that would be magical.

7. Better international content

We're still waiting for news about an international Kindle Fire release date, which is presumably in no small part due to the fact that Amazon's content offering outside of America is somewhat leaner than in the States.

In particular, the fact that Amazon Prime in the US includes unlimited streaming video is something that it can't seem to replicated elsewhere - even in the UK, where Amazon owns LoveFilm.

The Kindle Fire is a content-first device, so until the rest of the world gets the same range of content as America, the tablet will always be hobbled internationally.

8. Better battery life

The battery life that Amazon gives for the Kindle Fire is about adequate for what is, essentially, a budget-priced tablet, but it's a little disappointing in comparison to other devices.

Where the iPad offers 10 hours of video playback, with Wi-Fi on, the Kindle Fire is rated for 7.5 hours with Wi-Fi off. Where the new Kindle ereader is rated for a month of use with the Wi-Fi off, the Kindle Fire will give you eight hours of continuous reading time before giving up.

We know that the differences between e-ink and LCD displays mean the Kindle Fire can never match the Kindle for battery life, but we would like to see it at least match the iPad in the Kindle 2.

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• Second-gen Eee Pad Transformer on the way
• Amazon Kindle Fire sales figures revealed
• India to launch 'world's cheapest' tablet
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In Depth: Mac OS X 10.8: 10 things Apple needs to fix

Mac OS X 10.8 wish list

We're not sure what the OS X 10.8 release date will be (if recent patterns continue, summer 2013 looks probable), nor even what OS X 10.8 will be called.

For that matter, Apple might not release OS X 10.8 at all, instead jumping to OS X 11.0 or even merging its Mac and iOS device strategies into a big sticky digital goo ball called iOS 6 - 'the mergening'.

Regardless, now OS X Lion has been out for an entire month, it's time to start mulling over what we'd like to see in its successor. If we miss anything, let us know in the comments.

1. Some colour

Maybe Apple's designers were watching a lot of classic movies when working on OS X Lion, because it's very grey. Toolbar icons, sidebar icons, windows, scrollbars… all grey. Stylish? Perhaps. A step back in usability for anyone who uses colours as a helpful cue to navigate? Definitely.

2. Better speech

There's some speech recognition built into OS X Lion, but take it further. Make a Mac a bit like HAL, only less psychotic. If you could just jabber away at your Mac and have it do things, that'd be great from an accessibility and usability standpoint for all users.

3. Less skeuomorphic design

On an iPad, where the device becomes the app that's being run, skeuomorphic design (in this context, software emulating the visuals and sound of real-world items) is more forgivable, but on the Mac we're not enamoured to see a leather-bound iCal with torn paper nor the disaster that is Address Book. They look out of place; worse, they look dated compared to the sleek, beautifully reworked Mail.

4. Configurable Launchpad

We wonder if the Dock's on borrowed time now Apple's glued its iOS app launcher to OS X. What Apple should also have glued to OS X Lion is a System Preferences pane that anyone could use to manage Launchpad, to remove all the crud it adds automatically. Yes, there are third-party apps for doing this, but Apple should provide such controls itself. (Also, a quick warning: delete a Mac App Store app from Launchpad and it's trashed.)

5. Window snapping

Microsoft and Apple have nicked each-other's ideas since GUIs became popular, and we wish someone at Cupertino would be 'inspired by' Windows 7's Snap to. Again, there are lots of third-party tools that enable you to snap a window to half the screen's width, but it'd be great if this functionality was built-in.

6. Adaptive and tiled full-screen modes

Full-screen mode is fab on a MacBook Air, but it just doesn't work on an iMac. You end up with apps displaying ridiculously long lines of text or narrow view areas that have acres of space at each side. One solution: more adaptive design that makes better use of widescreen displays, such as Henrik Eneroth's Safari mock-ups. Additionally, let advanced users tile apps in full-screen, so you could, say, have Mail and iCal side-by-side but with no other distractions.

7. Retina-style display support

The iPhone 4 has spoiled us. After that, every other display looks like it's firing jagged pixels directly into our brains. So the next step for Apple must surely be higher-resolution displays, at which point OS X will need to happily deal, iOS-style, with 'standard' and 'Retina' images ('Retina', in this sense, probably meaning pixel-doubling).

8. System cloning

Ah, Time Machine. You're great when we want to get all 'Doctor Who' and find a file we stupidly trashed, but you're not so hot when our Mac's hard drive keels over and we need to carry on working. We should be able to start up from a Time Machine back-up and carry on working, like we can when using SuperDuper! and Carbon Copy Cloner.

9. Unified updates

So I download OS X Lion through the Mac App Store, but OS updates then arrive via Software Update? I understand that. My mum won't. Sort it out, Apple.

10. More iOS pilfering

Apple's got tasty treats in store for iOS users, and some of those would work nicely on the Mac. Notifications Center? Yes, please. iMessage, iBooks and Newsstand? That'd be very nice, thank you. (But we'll take a rain-check on Game Center, if that's OK with you.)

So that's our wish list, but what about the name?

And then there's the question of the name—what will the OS X 10.8 name be? Apple's almost out of big cats (and has already used the king), bar ones that would usher in extinction jokes (OS X Sabre Tooth!), trademark infringement lawsuits (OS X Nyan Cat! OS X Thundercat! OS X Battlecat!), or just sound a bit rubbish (OS X Tabbycat!).

So how about Mac OS X 11.0, based around an entirely new theme, such as space (OS X Comet! OS X Supernova!) or bears? We'd pay good money for OS X Grizzly, although Apple's marketing department might want to skip right past OS X Koala.

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