Multi-Touch gestures are one of the key features in Lion, but if you've got an older MacBook or MacBook Pro, some of the gestures may not be compatible with your hardware. Read on to find out how to determine if your Mac is on par with the latest

iBooks and PowerBooks

iBooks and PowerBooks built after mid-2005, including the iBook G4 (Mid-2005) model support native two-finger scrolling. Many Apple portables built before this time are capable of using two-finger scrolling, but the feature has to be activated using an application called iScroll2.

Earlier MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs

In 2008, Apple started producing non-glass Multi-Touch trackpads that still had the single mouse button. These trackpads were capable of two-finger secondary click, scroll & pan, pinch-to-zoom, rotate, and swipe.

The following Macs have this non-glass trackpad supporting the above features:

- MacBook Air (Original)

- MacBook Air (Late 2008)

- MacBook Air (Mid 2009)

- MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008)

- MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008)

Lion Only Likes Glass

Apple MacBooks produced with a glass Multi-Touch trackpad that do not contain a separate button (basically, only the Unibodies) are capable of the full range of available Lion Multi-Touch gestures. These trackpads feature a built-in button that provides the clicking-function.

The Magic Trackpad also falls under this category of being able to use all available Lion Multi-Touch gestures.

Use Your iOS Device, Instead

If you have an iOS device, you can get many of the Multi-Touch features found in Lion using available apps from the iTunes App Store that turns your device into a trackpad that interfaces with your Mac over Wi-Fi. For more information about turning your iOS device into a trackpad, check out this article.

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