But the Macalope's had a tough week. He needs some low-hanging fruit. Like shank-level fruit.

Now, you have to realize that Thurrott's condescending tone in this piece is deliberately crafted. It starts in the title, for crying out loud, where he puts Lion in quotes. Pro tip, Paul: when in doubt you can always check . Unless you're just being a jerk. It couldn't be that, could it? (See "analysis" above for how that works.)

Thurrott helpfully goes so far as to rate both operating systems "three out of five stars". That's the jerktastic sweet spot, a positive review while still being dismissive.

Like Gruber, the Macalope has no quarrel with Thurrott's contention that iOS 5 borrows from the competition. It's true and it's a good thing.

What this means is that iOS is maturing, and for those using this platform, these are all welcome changes. For the rest of the world, however, it's been-there-done-that--not exactly the innovation message Apple likes to project.