Apple seeks patent on MacBook trackpad power chords

Apple could be readying a notebook trackpad that lets you practice your Rock Band form while using your Mac.

A patent application unearthed by MacRumors.com seeks protection for multitouch technology similar to that introduced by Apple on the MacBook Air's trackpad. This time, however, MacBook users could use as many as four fingers positioned in "chords" to execute different tasks in Mac OS X, such as bringing all the application windows to the front or opening up the Dashboard.

This could even be extended to individual tasks within applications, such as cut and paste. Those were the examples provided in the patent application, but it wouldn't be hard to imagine extending this to things like a browser, such as opening a link in a new tab or performing different tasks within iTunes.

A word of warning, as always, about patent applications: there's no guarantee that this technology will make it into a shipping product, or if it does, whether that will be out anytime soon. Still, it's clear that Apple has made developing advanced multitouch input methods a priority, as it continues to evolve the way people interact with their Macs and iPhones.