July 10, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I noticed something earlier in the week, and thought I would take the time to post my thoughts here.
Apple is in the process of multiple large deployments, the two main ones being the iPhone 3G and Mobile Me. What's interesting is the number of dependencies that exist in this deployment. Both projects have a dependency on iPhone OS 2.0: the iPhone 3G needs it just to run, and Mobile Me needs it to deliver push messages to mobile devices. The iPhone OS 2.0, in turn, needs Mobile Me for its consumer push data system. The iPhone OS 2.0 also has a dependency on iTunes 7.7 for downloaded application management. Mobile Me has a dependency on an OS X update for any push functionality that they may be adding to Mail, Address Book, and iCal, as well as to change all references to .Mac to Mobile Me. Mobile Me also has a dependency on an Apple TV update to change its .Mac gallery reference under photos to a Mobile Me gallery reference. Finally, iPhone OS 2.0 has an application that can remotely control the Apple TV, and it requires an Apple TV update to expose that functionality.
Overall, this is one of the more complicated and all-encompasing deployments I've ever seen, and it's remarkable that most of those components (the Apple TV update, the iTunes update, and the OS X update) have gone over without a hitch. Now, Mobile Me's individual deployment has fallen to a state that could nearly be described as apocalyptically catastrophic, but I nonetheless marvel at the higher level orchestrating talent at Apple necessary to accomplish such a feat.