Snow Leopard to gain location, multi-touch support
updated 12:35 pm EST, Thu February 5, 2009
S. Leopard mimics iPhone
Mac OS X Snow Leopard should implement software support first produced for the iPhone, developers claim. The latest pre-release build of the operating system is said to include the CoreLocation framework, used to tell iPhone and iPod touch applications where a user is in relation to other people and places. While Macs are not expected to include GPS receivers anytime soon, software creators should still be able to tap into Internet triangulation to get a rough gauge of where a computer is sitting.
Apple is separately said to have implemented a new collection of Cocoa-based programming interfaces, more fully exploiting the multi-touch commands carried over from the iPhone to modern MacBooks. Developers should thus be able to take greater advantage of multi-touch, which has so far been confined to Apple software and a handful of third-party titles, such as Mozilla's Firefox.
Introduction of expanded multi-touch was first hinted at in June, but until now has not seen any tangible code.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
CoreLocation
Maybe they're including this so when people ask "So why exactly am I paying for wifi in my MacPro, when I have absolutely no need for it" people can claim "Well, its so you can know where your computer is all the time".