There are two kinds of Apple rumors--rumors that come with specs, illustrations and comments from "reliable inside sources," and rumors that can be traced to some fanboy's wild Mac fantasies. Unfortunately, this one seems more like the latter: Steven Johnson, author of the mostly-useless bestseller Everything Bad is Good For You, thinks that he knows what Apple's next big product will be: touch-sensitive displays and iPhone-like Multitouch functionality in OS X Leopard. I must say, Johnson does make a strong case: think about the oft-delayed new cinema displays, the "top-secret" features in Leopard, the lack of a new version of iLife or any new hardware at MacWorld and the rumors of a touch-sensitive ProTools killer. And I'm sure that Apple would love to use the Multitouch technology for something other than a phone--after all, they "patented the heck out of it," right? Johnson proclaims "with absolute scientific precision: Apple is going to roll out the multitouch interface across almost its entire product line this spring, integrated into Leopard, new displays, iPhone, iLife, and the successor to Logic." Insightful rumor or wishful thinking? You decide.

For more on the "rumor":
- read Steven Johnson's blog