It’s been revealed: Apple’s next operating system, version 10.7, will be named “Lion.”

OSX came out in 2001, code-named Cheetah. While 9/11 doesn’t seem like all that long ago, it seems like I’ve been using OSX forever. Was I really still using OS9 back in 2001? Hard to believe.

I was wondering which cat would be next. Since OSX (version 10) arrived, they’ve gone through these names:

10.0 Cheetah (March 2001)
10.1 Puma (Sept 2001)
10.2 Jaguar (Aug 2002)
10.3 Panther (Oct 2003)
10.4 Tiger (April 2005)
10.5 Leopard (Oct 2007)
10.6 Snow Leopard (Aug 2009)
10.7 Lion (???)

My personal prediction for 10.7 was Lynx or Bobcat. Other possibilities are Ocelot and Cougar. That’s pretty much all of the choices left in the cat family. We’ve only got two more cats coming, with versions 10.8 and 10.9.

I’m guessing Bobcat and Cougar, though technically, the puma and cougar–and mountain lion–are the same animal. However, Microsoft used the Bobcat and Cougar names with its small business server in 2003 and 2008, perhaps playing some kind of dirty trick on Apple. Or, more likely, following Apple’s lead in a futile attempt to be hip.

Maybe Apple will do the Leopard/Snow Leopard thing with Lion, and make 10.8 “Mountain Lion” an incremental upgrade Then conclude with Ocelot or Lynx.

I wonder what code names Apple will use when they reach version 11. Switch to dogs? Famous painters? Or maybe something inanimate, like planets? Whatever they decide, it’ll be better than Vista.