Flock is an interesting project that seeks to combine the best of a browser with social networking. Among the myriad of tools it has is a pretty good blog editor. However, it does have its limitations. I haven't been able to figure out how to upload photos without the need for a third party photo hosting account like Flickr.

So the "Back to the Mac" event ended up being a bit of a dud. The iLife update borders on laughable - iPhoto now comes with Full screen view! Really? I can't believe Apple has the gall to charge $49 for an upgrade. Pretty much the only memorable thing was the iMovie trailer templates, and even then that's pretty much a novelty feature.

Only a few choice details of Lion, the next OSX version, were revealed, but the direction was clearly spelled out: Apple intends to merge the iOS and OSX platforms. The inevitable conclusion of this would presumably be a multi-touch screen iMac, as previously discussed. If you accept that, then the choice to release the Mac App Store early is a little strange. By releasing early, the Mac App Store will initially be populated with Apps that would not be multi-touch capable. Most existing Mac software won't fit well into the new full-screen Launch Pad paradigm:i.e. this only makes sense for games and little else.

The idea that a multi-touch trackpad is like a multi-touch screen is absurd. The UI paradigms are completely different: A mouse cursor vs. direct manipulation. The focus on "multi-touch" vs. "direct-manipulation" is a clever smokescreen. The problem is that Apps that target one or the other must be constructed completely differently: For starters, UI element sizes and placements have to be different, but it extends even to the whole structure of an App.

My guess of what's really going on is that Lion will be multi-touch direct-manipulation capable, and the next iMacs will have capacitive multi-touch displays. Apple did not reveal this simply because they don't want to cannibalize existing Mac sales. The timing of Lion's release next Summer coincides with the next iMac hardware refresh cycle.

In many ways, doing multi-touch on the desktops (vs. laptops) first makes sense: Apple already has the tablet market cornered, and a multi-touch laptop will only serve to confuse. Multi-touch desktops, though, represent another brand new untapped market. If Apples does indeed go for that next year, they will catch all their competitors gunning for the tablet market by surprise, yet again.

Like many other bloggers, I have finally had enough battling spam and upgraded to BlogEngine 1.6 which comes with much better comment moderation. So long spammers!

Apple has recently announced a “Back to the Mac” event for this Wednesday. The teaser invitation shows the Apple logo slightly pivoted with a lion peeking out from behind it.

We are almost certain to see at this event:

1. The next version of iLife

2. The launch of a new MacBook Air

3. A preview of the next version of OSX

But let’s indulge in some wild speculation. The invitation shows the Apple logo pivoting, like a convertible tablet would. There’s also an interesting choice of wordplay in the invitation, reminiscent of the MacBook Air’s original launch:

The MacBook Air is also the most likely candidate for an initial laptop-tablet hybrid model. It is the lightest MacBook, and also commands a premium price. If Apple enters this market, it would make the most sense to enter at the high-end, as the iPad is already entrenched at the low end ($500-$1000). Introducing a premium (say $1800) tablet hybrid model will allow new Apps to transition to the desktop space without cannibalizing the existing iPad market.

It’s also clear that OSX is coming to the end of its (almost 10-year) lifecycle. The time is perfect for Apple to introduce the next generation OS (OSXI?). It’s clear that multi-touch is going to be a big part it, and Apple will undoubtedly want to take advantage of the thousands of Apps written for iOS that could be easily ported over.

As I have written before, adding iOS emulation on top of OSX would be technically trivial to do. The real challenge is going to be in getting the physical form factors right. A problem with existing convertible tablets like the Lenovo X201 is the awkward hinge. It’s hard to imagine something similar on a MacBook Air. But if anyone can solve that problem, it’s Apple.