This was originally posted on my old, defunct Tumblr

The part I always remember from Steve Jobs’ most famous keynote, when he introduced the iPhone, is the very end, when he announced Apple Computer Inc. would henceforth be known as Apple Inc. I found this quite shocking at the time, and looking back, it truly did speak volumes: Apple was moving away from computers as they were traditionally known, and to a new world where the Macintosh was but one part of the overall puzzle.

In that light, to me the most significant part of today’s keynote was another change of name, this time, of iPhone OS to just iOS. On one level, it makes sense (just like the Apple name change did given at the iPod’s success and the impending iPhone). iPhone OS is on the iPhone, but also on the iPod Touch and now the iPad. But to me, the long-term significance is greater still, again, just as it was with the Apple name-change. In this case, it is an explicit announcement of an i-platform, built around touch, mobility, and apps. Given this, the rumor about an iOS-based AppleTV makes perfect sense (and it’s interesting that if true it will be Apple that first truly realizes Microsoft’s “Three screens and the cloud” strategy. The difference? Apple’s won’t include a traditional PC, whereas that is all Microsoft knows). Apple is not only defining but making explicit moves to own an entirely new paradigm of not just computing, but entertainment.

Small wonder it’s the most valuable technology company in the world.