Mac OS X Developer Says Goodbye to Apple

By

After working for 22 years with Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs, Mac operating system expert Bertrand Serlet is leaving the computer giant to pursue science. Apple made this announcement on Wednesday saying that the senior vice president of Mac Software Engineering will be leaving the company.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s vice president of Mac Software Engineering, will assume Serlet’s responsibilities and report to Jobs. Federighi is responsible for the development of Mac OS X and has been managing the Mac OS software engineering group for the past two years.

In a statement, said Serlet, “I’ve worked with Steve for 22 years and have had an incredible time developing products at both NeXT and Apple, but at this point, I want to focus less on products and more on science.”

Complimenting Federighi, Serlet added, “Craig has done a great job managing the Mac OS team for the past two years, Lion is a great release and the transition should be seamless.”

Lion is the next release of Mac OS X or version 10.7, and is expected to be launched around summer this year. On its website, Apple said that it is taking its best features from iPad and bringing it all to the Mac with Mac OS X Lion. In essence, it is a marriage of iOS and Mac OS X, as some in the media have called it.

Serlet joined Apple in 1997, and has been involved in the definition, development and creation of Mac OS X. However, before joining Apple, Serlet spent four years at Xerox PARC and then joined NeXT in 1989. Serlet holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Orsay, France.

NeXT was founded in 1985 by Apple co-founder Jobs after his forced resignation from Apple. It was involved in making computer workstations for higher education. Apple purchased NeXT on December 20, 1996 for $429 million and 1.5 million shares of Apple stock. Much of the current Mac OS X system is built on NeXT’s programming environment OpenStep.

Federighi worked at NeXT, followed by Apple, and then spent a decade at Ariba where he held several roles including vice president of Internet services and chief technology officer. He returned to Apple in 2009 to lead Mac OS X engineering. Federighi holds a Master of Science degree in computer science and a Bachelor of science in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.


Ashok Bindra is a veteran writer and editor with more than 25 years of editorial experience covering RF/wireless technologies, semiconductors and power electronics. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Janice McDuffee
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Enhancing Cybersecurity Measures for Modern Businesses

By: Contributing Writer    7/2/2025

Cyberattacks are rising, and businesses of all sizes feel the pressure. Small companies often think they're too small to be targets. They aren't. Hack…

Read More

Lessons Learned from Enterprise Oracle Cloud Migrations

By: Contributing Writer    7/1/2025

Switching to Oracle Cloud can feel daunting. Security risks, unexpected expenses, and performance troubles often turn what seems like an effortless up…

Read More

Protecting Business Assets with Smarter Security Frameworks

By: Contributing Writer    7/1/2025

Protecting your business is more challenging than ever. Cyber threats are increasing every day. Hackers target small and large businesses alike, searc…

Read More

Emerging Trends in Technology and Their Impact on Future Innovations

By: Contributing Writer    7/1/2025

Technology is changing faster than ever. Business owners often struggle to keep up. What's trending today might be outdated tomorrow. Falling behind c…

Read More

Tech Podcast Award Winners Bring Excitement and Enthusiasm to a Range of Important Tech Topics

By: TMCnet Staff    6/18/2025

Tech Podcast Award winners produce engaging, informative, and often entertaining content, bringing valuable insight from industry front lines to the e…

Read More