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• How many of you purchased an iPhone only to replace your PC with a shiny new MacBook or iMac? I know I fell into that trap back in 2007...

Apple brings full-on multitouch to desktop with Magic Trackpad

Your fingers glide effortlessly along the expansive, glass-but-not-quite-glass-feeling surface. The cursor flies from edge to edge. You pause, press down, feel and hear a satisfying click, and then glide on. A double swipe sends the gallery hurtling down until it stops under the weight of its own virtualized momentum. A double twist rotates a photo. A click in the right corner brings up the contextual menu, a click in the left selects copy. A triple touch grabs the window and moves it aside, a quadruple swipe switches you to email and then another right click, another left, and the photo is pasted into the message. Your fingers pull clear of the Apple Magic Trackpad and you smile. Computing is fun again.

Apple went all-in on multitouch for the iOS-based iPhone, iPod touch, and now iPad, and they've been slowly extending that back to their Mac platform as well, first with MacBook trackpads, then the Magic Mouse, and now the Magic Pad.

"Wait, this is an iPhone and iPad blog, why are you talking about a Mac peripheral?" Because. That's why. iOS comes from Mac OS and if Apple has shown us anything over the years it's that they're the best in the business at leveraging advances back and forth between the two. With rumors of Apple TV going iOS and my persistent fantasy that Apple will replace DashBoard and Front Row with an iOS layer, what they do with multitouch for Mac is definitely something I want to keep an eye on. Two actually, as often as I can spare them. So if this isn't something you're personally interested in, no worries, hit up the next post. If it is, if you think like I do that nothing Apple releases exists in a vacuum, then hang on to your pinches and swipes; the review starts after the break.

Apple's lov today announced an update for Safari 5 that enables extensions (plugins), something Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome have had for a while now. We're happy for our big desktop brothers, of course. Really. Truly. But in our minds a lot of the stuff you'll read about after the break would be even better suited on mobile devices like iPhone and iPad. That's where convenient extensions like password managers would shine.

Maybe iOS 5?

Read on for the good bits from the presser.

[Apple PR]

The Apple Online Store is back up and with it comes the Magic Trackpad, bringing full on MacBook-style multitouch goodness to Apple's desktop line.

It's got click, scroll, swipe, and rotate, so if the Magic Mouse just wasn't enough for you, here's the escalation you've been waiting for.

And while it's not the iPhone or iPod touch "Magic Trackpad" app I've been waiting for -- can you please get on that Apple? -- it does show Apple is continuing to leverage their technologies across their various platforms, devices, and machines, creating a virtuous cycle iOS is sure to benefit from as well.

TiPb nation, rev up your ZOMGS and get ready for SQUEEE -- the Apple Online Store is down world wide.

Now before you get too excited, this is not for the White iPhone 4. That's been delayed until later this year. Unfortunately, this time it's probably not for any iOS devices. If the rumors are true, what we'll see today are 12-proc Mac Pro, updated iMac, 27" LED displays, and maybe -- just maybe -- the MagicPad multitouch trackpad for the Mac.

Give us your best guesses in the comments and we'll find out just as soon as the store comes back up.

Apple is launching a new version of the online MobileMe calendar web app, and much like they did with the new version of online mail, the design influence of the iPad app is unmistakable. Want in on the beta? Here's what you have to do:

To sign up, go to me.com/calendar and click "Request an invitation." You will receive an email notification when you have been added to the beta (we will add members in the order of their request over the coming weeks).

New features include:

• The aforementioned new, iPad-like UI.
• Shared calendars (for family and friends).
• Published calendars (for groups and teams).
• Event invitations with RSVPs (yes!).
• Based on CalDAV standard.

It's good to go on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Mac, with Outlook support for the PC coming soon.

So, how does it sound? Enough of an upgrade? Anything major still missing? Anyone get in on the beta yet?

Full feature descriptions after the break.

[MobileMe News]

I am always looking for tools to help me be more productive. I am very excited over discovering MindNode. MindNode is a suite of mind mapping products across multiple Apple platforms that allows you to brainstorm or mind map out thoughts and ideas. MindNode is available as a universal app for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad as well as a free and paid version for the Mac. Today I will be looking at the iPad version, but functionality is the same across apps.

You start off with a simple node. That node can be an idea or thought, perhaps an object. You can rename the node to what ever you like. From here, you can add another node by tapping the plus icon. You can really start to branch out quickly too. You can branch from the main node, any children nodes, or just make a new node from scratch. If you find your ideas are taking over on a particular node, you can detach it and make it a new node.

To help differentiate nodes and thoughts, you can change colors of the connector lines and the node itself. You can even setup the colors that will be used and what order they appear if you like. If you need to move around a node, simply drag the title to a new location, or you can cut, copy or paste by double-tapping on the node. To help keep your mind maps organized, MindNode gives you the ability to search within your document and look at a list of all of the existing nodes and their parent-child relationships in your document.

Sharing documents is a snap in MindNode. You have several options at your disposal:

• Mail to MindNode
• Freemind
• png
• Text Outline
• OPML Outline

Desktop:

• WiFi sharing with MindNode Pro only
• Websharing, provides URL, port and user name/password

For all that MindNode does it is an incredible value. The ease of exporting is a particular plus in such a specific type of product. If you enjoy visually brainstorming ideas, concepts and more, MindNode for iOS is a fantastic product that helps to make us more productive.

[$5.99- iTunes Link]

Twitter recently purchased Tweetie, the widely popular iPhone and Mac Twitter client, and the iPhone version was renamed Twitter for iPhone. The big question on everyone's minds has been if there will be a "Twitter for iPad" any time soon. The answer is Yes!

Loren Brichter, the designer of Tweetie and now employee of Twitter, has confirmed that Twitter for iPad is coming to the iPad, it's coming soon, and he's very excited about it. He claims that "the goal is to exceed the Twitter iPhone app in the iPad."

A little while ago TiPb asked if the Apple TV should be switched over to the iPhone OS, but what about the Mac? Coincidentally, a recent Apple job offering was discovered by ComputerWorld that hinted Apple was seriously considering pushing the iPhone OS from phone, MP3-player iPod touch, and tablet iPad to further devices:

If you own either an iPhone or iPod touch along with a Mac computer then Airlock may just be the security OS X application you've been looking for. For only $7.77 you can have a very effective lock for your Mac computer with just your iPhone or iPod touch.