Here are the apps Sherlocked by Apple during WWDC 2024
Who was Dan Wood and what role did his app Watson play in the concept of Sherlocking?
Dan Wood was a developer who founded Karelia Software and created an app called Watson. Watson was designed to supplement Apple's Sherlock app by greatly expanding its internet search capabilities. It was a popular and successful app until Mac OS X 10.2, when Apple incorporated all of Watson's key features into Sherlock, rendering Watson redundant. This event led to the coining of the term "Sherlocking," which refers to any app that is rendered obsolete or less relevant by the introduction of a similar built-in feature in Apple's operating system.
Which specific features of Watson were incorporated into Apple's Sherlock, leading to the term Sherlocked?
The term "Sherlocked" originates from the situation where Apple's built-in search tool, Sherlock, incorporated features from a third-party app called Watson. Watson, developed by Karelia Software, was designed to supplement Sherlock by greatly expanding its internet search capabilities. It was a popular and successful app until Mac OS X 10.2, when Apple incorporated everything Watson did right into Sherlock. The specific features of Watson that were incorporated into Sherlock included its advanced internet search capabilities and various other functionalities, making Watson obsolete and leading to the term "Sherlocked" being used to describe similar situations in the future.
What is the origin of the term "Sherlocked" in relation to Apple's software updates?
The term "Sherlocked" originates from Apple's release of a search app named Sherlock for macOS 8 in the late 90s. Sherlock was aimed at searching the web and files on users' local systems. Meanwhile, a company called Karelia Software had a $29 search app named Watson with some better features like plug-ins for improved internet search16. In 2002, Apple released Sherlock 3 with features similar to Watson, making Karelia's app redundant and eventually forcing the company to close down6. Since then, the term "Sherlocked" has been used to describe any app rendered surplus to requirements by an Apple update.