Touch-able Anticipation

I'm writing this with my auto-refresh windows loaded up. Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference is about to kick off with a keynote speech from Steve Jobs. It's always weird following this stuff from the other side of the world. Back when I was working in California, I'd get in to work and load up the live feeds while opening up shop. Instead, it's 1 am and I'm trying not to fall asleep while waiting for these feeds to refresh.

My predictions?
The next iPhone? Already leaked.
Magic Trackpad? No big surprise.

I think we're about to really see that Touch is here to stay. If the Magic Mouse wasn't enough of an indicator, the Magic Trackpad is one of the last bridges between touch as a mobile feature and full integration of touch into the Mac product line.

The crown jewel? It's not ready for primetime, but it looks to me like the groundwork is being laid for a Macbook Pro Touch. A fully featured laptop with a touch interface, fully backwards compatible with the App Store, either as emulation or through a secondary chipset.

The iPad has had an overwhelmingly positive response once it made it out into the wild, but this is just the beginning. Steve Jobs has really embraced the Clarke-sian law that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," as their recent products and marketing campaigns have touted the new magical qualities of their products. Apple is hot right now, they've got this fierce momentum, and Steve is the Wizard. The common thread in their magic rhetoric? Multi-Touch. Magic mouse, Macbooks, iPad? Revolutionary interfaces where the layers between user and interaction are being ripped away.

Well, Steve's started up, so sit back and enjoy the show.

(insert awkward touch innuendo to conclude)