Apple bringing iOS 'Back to the Mac' on Oct 20?

Apple has sent invitations to select media outlets, inviting them to “see what’s new for the Mac on October 20, including a sneak peek of the next major version of Mac OS X.”

As opposed to Apple's recent raft of iOS-based announcements, this one will mostly be about Mac OS 10.7. The new version of OS X will apparently be referred to as "Lion" if the not-so-subtle image on the invitation is any indication.

And what's with the use of "Back to the Mac" anyway? Is Apple just being cute or is it a not-so-subtle hint that MobileMe's "Back to my Mac" remote-access technology could be getting an upgrade?

CrunchGear's got a good rundown of the current Apple hardware rumors, including touch-based iMacs and MacBooks, a revved MacBook Air and CPU/GPU bumps including the Nvidia Optimus. While we probably won't see a new iPhone, iPod or iPad next Wednesday, that doesn't mean that we won't see iOS at the event.

I love Devin Coldeway's theory that iOS could find its way into Mac OS X in the form of an iOS dashboard replacing the current (and disastrously unusable) Dashboard. It would be a great way for Apple to capitalize on the success of the App Store and begin to converge the two platforms.

While the announcement of an updated version of Mac OS X might not seem exciting initially, the prospect of touch-based Macs iOS integration should pique the interest of developers and users alike.

You're the CEO: how would you converge OS X and iOS?