Surely this slate of aluminum is really pretty to look at. I don’t think anyone would deny that this gargantuan trackpad of love isn’t just so inviting to your fingers – looking at the gallery, I could dip my fingers right through the screen to touch it. But despite the invitation, is a giant touch surface like this actually practical? Without any hands-on experience yet with the Magic Trackpad, I will say yes.

I notice when I work on my MacBook, slouched over my kitchen table with perhaps a slight attempt at improving my posture, that my fingers never reach for the mouse. Almost instinctively I’m drawn to gliding my fingers across the surface of the glass trackpad, feeling along until I hit an edge, reminding me to readjust when needed. The trackpad is a very natural input for computing, and I’m looking at the this Magic Trackpad thinking: finally.

Not because it’s different. Not because it’s cool or that I’m drawn to the most shiny thing that eats up another 800 pixels of space on my monitor. But because it’s practical; it’s a good idea inspired from our mobile workstations. It’s more natural to move from typing on the keyboard to simply stroking your fingers along a flat surface. Suddenly there isn’t this mouse that you clasp and click and slide everywhere. Everything on your desktop can now be done seamlessly with little resistance. It’s an improvement over the age old habit of pointing and clicking with a mouse.

And too, Apple still gives you the option of using the best mouse on the planet (I love mine).