New glass trackpad

Also new to this revision is the buttonless glass trackpad. Yes, glass -- the trackpad is covered by a thin layer of glass (which isn't immediately obvious just by looking at the computer). The glass layer offers almost no resistance to multitouch finger motions, which can be used to manipulate images and windows and navigate through Web browser pages.

The clicker button is now built into the trackpad itself. To click as you normally would, just press down the trackpad near the front of the computer. The trackpad actually depresses as if it were a button and you can hear a definitive click; melding the trackpad and button accentuates the clean lines of the MacBook Pro.

Apple notes that the multitouch technology was pioneered on the iPhone, and it has introduced even more finger gestures to show off the trackpad. A four-finger swipe, for instance, can be used to move application windows on and off the screen a la Expos?.

So how does the new trackpad work? Generally, just fine. Since I have tendency to click with my thumb, I often hold it above the trackpad button. Doing so with this trackpad can be problematic if your thumb hits the trackpad while you're using your index finger. I found myself occasionally moving windows on-screen that I hadn't planned on moving, or selecting items by accident. More than once, I accidentally changed the font size in my browser. And a colleague who tried out the machine expressed frustration that the trackpad operated differently than others had in the past.