Apple’s launch of a new display, iMacs and a much beefed up Mac Pro might have grabbed the headlines, but we must confess to being most intrigued by the company’s release of what it calls the Magic Trackpad. Quite simply, it looks just like the trackpad you see on a notebook, only it is a separate piece of hardware that connects to your computer using Bluetooth and well, then behaves exactly like a trackpad on one of Apple’s notebooks does (it’s even made of the same stuff - “same advanced touch-friendly and wear-resistant glass surface,” to quote them Cupertino fellas). You can swipe your way through pictures, scroll up and down using intertia scrolling, and of course, use the famed multi-touch pinch-to-zoom that the iPhone made so famous!
So you might say, what is so special? Nothing much if you use a notebook, but if you are using a desktop, we think this beats the pants off a conventional mouse. And heck, it is built of the same aluminum material that is used for Apple’s wireless keyboard and is of the same angle and height, making it a real sight for eyes that are sore and otherwise! Even if you do have a notebook, this would not be a bad idea, considering that it offer 80 per cent more area than the trackpads found on Mac notebooks. Well worth $69, say we! We are waiting for it to come to India already.
It is small and light enough to be carried one-handed, looks terrific and still manages to pack in enough computing muscle to embarrass a number of computers in the market today. We are talking of the latest version of the Mac mini, Apple’s incredibly compact computer, which was launched a few hours ago. It is little over half a foot in length and width (19.7 cm), stands a mere 3.6 cm tall, and tips the scales at an ultraportable 1.36 kg - all in a beautifully crafted aluminum frame. And within it lies a Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz processor, 2GB RAM, a 320 GB HDD, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor. All for a price in the vicinity of Rs 44,900. There is a new HDMI port, an SD card slot and considerably improved graphics, thanks to the 48-core processing power of the NVIDIA GeForce 320M (it is not still cutting-edge enough for high-end games but handy enough for most graphics tasks). One thing that is missing is the power adapter, thanks to a new integrated power supply.
How do you buy gadget for someone who not just brought you into the world but has also played a major role in ensuring that you turned out the way you have? Yes, is is Mother’s Day on May 9 and if you are thinking of buying your mum a tech toy to show how much she means to you, we would suggest a fair degree of caution and preparation. For, let’s face it, mums are not generally the most tech-savvy people on the planet (heck, they do not need technology, unlike us lesser humans), but they sure are going to try their best to use whatever their offspring gives them (after yelling at them that there was no need for anything, of course. Of course!). While there are stacks of gadgets out there that might appeal to mothers, we have shortlisted five that we think are surefire hits with most mums. 
Whether the Apple Tablet makes an appearance later today or not, the rumour market is rife with what it will and will not have. We have been keeping a cynical eye on all of them and with the divine hour not too far away, here we go with our seven fearless Apple Tablet predictions. They could be right, they could be wrong, but heck, we do have reasons for making them. 
All the hype around the Apple Tablet (if it comes) is just the latest chapter in the touchscreen romance that has enthralled the world ever since the launch of the iPhone. Be it cameras, cellphones, e-book readers or computers - just about every gadget manufacturer in town is trying to incorporate an element of touch in their products. But, hype apart, there are several practical reasons for opting for a touchscreen over a conventional physical button interface. Here are just five of them. 
