Web Developers

Getting In Touch With Your Windows Side

Posted by on May 26, 2009 | 18 Comments

There should be an image here!The idea of touch screens for using a computer, is hardly anything new. Problem is, it’s just not that common or functional. Microsoft is hoping to increase the chances of this being more mainstream through their release of the Microsoft Touch Pack.

And while Microsoft provides some pretty cool examples, I am really interested in how well this will translate into the web browsing experience with various web browsers? And considering the fact that not everyone out there is rolling with a brand new HP Touchsmart series computer at the moment, I am interested in seeing how excited people are about this kind of technology during a really tight recession.

Don’t misunderstand, I think that progressing forward with touch screen technology is pretty cool, but I also believe that it is a ways off before most people are going t obat an eye at the idea of using this over a keyboard & mouse, either.

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  • Gavin

    a while ago, Microsoft announced that it would go to the touch screen, and voice operated machines. i think this is great, but what about games? i don’t want to be playing, shouting “W…W…W…A…D…S”(etc) and trying to use my fingers to move the gun.

  • http://billkracke.com Bill Kracke

    I think touch screens are closer than we think, and that Apple is laying the ground work. The massive popularity of the iPhone and iPod Touch is putting touch screens into lots and lots of hands. What is vital: 1. It needs to be a slick and intuitive interface, a la iPhone 2. It shouldn’t look like a laptop, or I will start missing my mouse and keyboard.

  • Mike

    Just two points I want to make.

    1. Multi-Touch will allow people to use computers in new ways. However, when most people hear that Windows will have multi-touch they immediately start to imagine how it will replace the keyboard and mouse… Multi-touch won’t make ‘browsing the web’ easier. It won’t help you to create a word document faster. It will allow new possibilities… new things that people haven’t thought of yet, things that can really only be imagined after using the technology for a while and saying… “This would be really cool if I could use multi-touch for reasons, X, Y, and Z.”

    2. Early reports on ZDNet and WinSupersite.com have very positive reviews on Multi-touch and come to the conclusion that you have to ‘touch it’ to really appreciate it.

  • Chinookman

    I don’t want a nasty touch screen with gooey fingerprints and then the high care….are you guys nuts…???

    How about a touch keyboard instead with a touch pad OUT of the way where the thumbs do not interfere like in the laptops….???….just an idea…….

  • gypkap

    I tried an HP Touch screen PC for a few minutes at Costco a few months ago. The most obvious immediate problem was the fingerprints that are left on the touch screen when you try to do anything. I suspect that there might be repetitive stress injury issues over time, but someone else will have to check that out.

  • system001

    i would love to own a touch screen lcd. i can think of a lot of apps this would be good for.

  • Ron S

    I just bought a new HP computer last December and, while it does have the touch screen capability, I didn’t get an HP monitor. What I was able to find out about the touch screen feature, however, is that it uses a lot of memory. Consequently, I had it disabled. Besides, I don’t want a bunch of finger pints all over my monitor

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  • Kevin

    touch screens would get really annoying i think until it is really refined and compact. I definately think it will never completely take over computing because of gaming. shooters would not be possible without a mouse or at least a gamepad.

  • http://www.brickmation.net/ fib12345

    Wow, this is gonna be pretty cool. It would be a major jump in technology. A step closer to those holographic computer screens we all see in Sci-Fi movies.

    But, it might not be very good for gaming.
    And you can’t play and eat (boo!).

  • Anonymous

    I find it hilarious that I found this on Google+ about 2 hours after I installed my upgrade. :)

    • http://facebook.com/yajtyler Jay Tyler

      same here!!

  • D Babbra

    I’ve just done 4Gb to 8Gb (2x4Gb) on my Core 2 Duo which only had 2 memory slots. Also upgraded to Snow Leopard – can’t say the overall change is blistering ! I’ll wait for a service pack before moving to Lion. My future concern is will Core 2 Duo still be supported at 10.7 (Hot Lion?).

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000369278419 Chris Licata

      Well there are no more service packs for Snow Leopard in fact there never were. Thats only a windows thing. And second Lion runs great on Core 2 Duos just make sure in about my mac that it is a core 2 before you buy lion

      • Diljit Babbra

        Thanks Chris. I am definitely C2D. I will move to Lion before long but I do wonder if C2D will be a casualty post-Lion. Would you know if Lion at £20 is a multii-mac pack?

  • http://twitter.com/RobinKanters Robin Kanters

    I personally think Microsoft is generating a lot of false expectations. For as far as I have seen, the ‘new’ features Windows 8 is going to have feel more like an application than an Operating System…

  • D Lowrey

    Head back and find out all the promises MS has made throughout the years for every product they have had a hand in. Time and again…promised features turn out to be vaporware. With their history to back them up…we will see MS do the same exact thing again and again.