The folks over at Apple Insider have reported some new details on the latest version of OS X… OS X 10.6 ‘Snow Leopard’. Apparently the new build will borrow tools from the iPhone that let developers determine geographical locations, plus, the ability to extend support for multi-touch into apps.
Folks that are privy to the latest pre-release versions of Snow Leopard have noted that the OS includes CoreLocation framework. This is the stuff that was previously only available via the iPhone SDK, and lets iPhones/Macs pinpoint current locations in latitude and longitude. Interesting for sure, since the Mac setup does not include GPS. The thinking is that CoreLocation will use the Mac’s networking hardware to triangulate a system’s location… Much like the way the original iPhone did it, sans GPS.
Developers will also be happy to know that a new set of Cocoa-based programming interfaces are/should be included as well. It will allow the use of multi-touch features on the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
I’m sensing there’s going to be a lot of great new and updated apps included in Snow Leopard… ones that make full use of ‘fake’ GPS and multi-touch… That, and I’m sure that developers are licking their chops to get on these new capabilities. Will be interesting to see where Snow Leopard takes us.
[ Source ]
“The thinking is that CoreLocation will use the Mac
’s networking hardware to triangulate a system’s location… Much like the way the original iPhone did it, sans GPS.”
…or it could tap into the GPS function on an iPhone that is plugged into a computer OR an iPhone that has been paired via Bluetooth (yeah, not implemented yet, but not unthinkable).
Strange that you would title a post about something looking mighty nice that apparently you have not seen or used.
One might expect to get some substantive content instead of just more from the rumor mill. Even things that are “in there” in a NDA pre-release aren’t guaranteed to see the light of day, so it’s all rumor until it’s out.