…Not!

In spring 2007, Apple will release the newest version of its Mac OS X operating system, codenamed “Leopard,” which will let users build widgets from scratch and share them with others, even if they’ve never written a line of code.

How long will the consumer computing demigods put dixie cups of this kool-aid on the table and ask us to drink up? My prediction: the number of popular Leopard widgets (10,000+ downloads) created by non-coders in 2007? Nil. Nada. Zilch. Zero. The Big Goose Egg. etc…

Alex Papadimoulis has a nice summary of why this marketingspeak will never be much more than a press release or two. There’s a reason stonemasons, carpenters and ironworkers are still finding work, even though Home Depot and a metric ton or two of DIY books let anyone who can read build a house from the ground up. Complicated tasks with a high risk of total failure for the uninitiated will always require specialists to generate meaningful returns over time.

Seen first at Splashcast.