Snow Leopards new Keyboard Viewer hints at tablet OS

Cult of Mac's Leander Khaney is all excited about a new discovery in Snow Leopard. The new Keyboard Viewer app appears to be tailor made for a touchscreen operating system and could be the basis for an iPhone-like virtual keyboard -- on the Mac. At least that's how the theory goes.

Here's how to invoke it:

• Go to System Preferences > Keyboard
• Click the box “Show Keyboard & Character Viewer in menu bar”
• Go to the menu bar at top right and click “Show Keyboard Viewer”

When I did it, I got the extended virtual keyboard (below) presumably because I had an Apple extended keyboard connected to my MacBook Pro at the time.

Good stuff. But then again, I love a good conspiracy.