Filed under: Rumors, Snow Leopard
Snow Leopard to include location and multi-touch SDK tools?
AppleInsider claims that Snow Leopard will include developer hooks that will determine a Mac's geographical location and provide additional multi-touch support for Mac laptops with glass trackpads.
While Macs don't typically come with GPS built-in, the location determination feature will work similarly to the original iPhone and iPod touch: Using triangulation between several known WiFi locations, a technique introduced by a company called Skyhook. There are tools you can purchase to take advantage of Skyhook positioning today, but Snow Leopard will give developers the option of including them in any application.
Similarly, Cory mentioned some time ago that betas of Firefox 3 already take advantage of multi-touch gestures. AppleInsider's source claims the framework has been planned for inclusion since June.
The two sets of developer hooks will bring Mac OS X closer to its sibling platform, the iPhone. MacDailyNews claims it's a union that will produce a "MacBook touch," for which prototypes they claim exist today.
[Via MacDailyNews.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
David Chartier said 1:06PM on 2-05-2009
Looks like AppleInsider is the one who actually broke this, not MacDailyNews:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/02/05/apples_snow_leopard_to_include_location_multi_touch_tools.html
All MDN does is quote entire stories (literally), then offer a single "check out the rest [here]" link at the bottom. They are the bane of decent journalism's existence.
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Robert Palmer said 1:18PM on 2-05-2009
It's a good thing the link in the first paragraph and the source link go there then, I bet. ;)
David Chartier said 2:57PM on 2-05-2009
Yea it is, but why even give MDN a link at all? They're literally copying and pasting entire posts, or at least the majority of them, and getting traffic for it. That's exactly the kind of theft that I know WIN and every other legitimate publication is trying to fight.
MDN doesn't deserve a link or even to be in people's RSS readers. It's a theft machine, like any other blog that regurgitates TUAW's feed on its own domain.
Robert Palmer said 3:57PM on 2-05-2009
Because, in all fairness, I saw the story at MDN first before I saw it at AI. I don't feel it's my responsibility to play the arbiter of which site is good and which is bad -- and in fact, I've had my knuckles rapped before for not doing my due diligence (by accident) and linking to the wrong place. I'm not going to lie (implicitly or explicitly) and claim I found the story at AI when I didn't.
The story about the MacBook touch thing, I think, is worth linking to them about, since it's original content and reporting. Yes, much of what they post is regurgitated from elsewhere, but I do that too. If I said that MDN is no good because they re-post popular stories, it would be the pot calling the kettle black.
mabhatter said 6:41PM on 2-05-2009
Like TUAW does much better with news days later than Engadget. Engadget scoops tuaw all the time... and they're in the same building.. owned by the same company!!!
atuck said 1:16PM on 2-05-2009
About damn time. The current non customization for multitouch control is absurd. 4 fingers for expose??? Really? And I can't change it?????
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Gazoobee said 1:42PM on 2-05-2009
@ atuck:
Isn't one of the main purposes of introducing touch computing to standardise the gestures? What's the point of multi-touch if every application and computer uses three fingers or four fingers for different things each time? That would require everyone to have a little paper manual with them while they compute so they know what gestures to perform in what situations.
atuck said 2:17PM on 2-05-2009
ah, no way! Look, I see what you are saying. For expose I'd want it system wide, but I'd love it to just be a 'hot corner' of the trackpad. Then there are 'three finger' gestures (non-configurable) that apple has programmed as going back or forward in web browers. Great, that's fine, but why can't that be programmed by me into undo/redo in illustrator? I'm not crazy, I dont want there to be 300 context sensitive options, but a LITTLE customization would be appreciated.
Matt Hoult said 1:45PM on 2-05-2009
Since GPS chips are so cheap and low powered now it's hard to think of a reason not to add the hardware, and either way it's well worth the API for all manner of things... like Twitter!
Skyhook isn't great with locations if you want to be specific, but it's a good general purpose mechanism for things like Twitter.
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KarlW said 1:38PM on 2-05-2009
It seems almost certain that Mac portables will soon come with built-in GPS modules. Apple doesn't do half-measures, and while using WiFi to locate yourself is fun, it's in no way the clean approach Apple likes to use or we expect from them.
It's just a shame they didn't roll this in to the unibody MacBooks. No doubt we'll be able to buy 3rd party GPS modules once Snow Leopard ships, though.
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Marc Mitchell said 1:39PM on 2-05-2009
does anyone know, if historically apple have ever released a new operating system / update with out it being accompanied by a new pro tower for developer heavy weights ?
soo ready to buy a new tower, if & when we see a bump / refresh
MM
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EMoShunz said 2:03PM on 2-05-2009
macbook touch... with the right umph behind it, that could be a sexy beast.
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Ed said 2:10PM on 2-05-2009
I wonder if Apple is trying to merge the 2 version of OS X with Snow Leopard.
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John said 6:28PM on 2-05-2009
These featurs are already present in the iPhone version of the operating system. It makes sense to implement them in the desktop version also, it simplifies the development because there are less differences and also adds some useful functionality. The same thing happened with CoreAnimation; it was originally developed for the iPhone and also implemented in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard because it was also useful on the desktop.
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mrtotes said 10:41AM on 2-06-2009
I just don't see a GPS receiver in MacBooks/Pros. Without a relatively large aerial it's not going to get a fix indoors (if at all).
Location services in Snow Leopard is a great idea and having got so used to them on iPod touch it feels like a real omission in Leopard.
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