One of the new features that have been added to Windows 7 is “Windows Touch”, which allows users to use their fingers to perform tasks instead of the keyboard and mouse.
According to Microsoft, multi-touch technology will make tasks such as resizing windows, rotating images and scrolling easier. Microsoft has also introduced a “Touch Pack” for Windows 7, which contains various applications and games that relay only on touch. Also, some claim that this feature might affect the future of PC gaming.
So it’s not strange to see that already some companies have released laptops with touch screens such as Dell Latitude E6400 XFR and HP TouchSmart tx2z. I believe that very soon this might become a standard in new laptops after Windows 7 hits the market.
However, not everyone agrees. For instance James Kendrick, an avid Tablet PC user who was recognized in 2005 with the Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award in Tablet PCs, mentions in his blog:
I have used laptops with touchscreens for a good while and while it’s cool to be able to touch the screen to make stuff happen it’s pure fluff. I find that after an initial “gee-whiz” period of tapping the screen I stop touching the screen at all and go back to using the keyboard and pointers like I do on notebooks without touch.
Why? Because it’s not natural to be touching the screen on a laptop. It’s uncomfortable to do and more importantly it forces the user to remove their hand(s) from where they rest normally. This breaks up the natural flow of things and like I said it’s actually uncomfortable to do. That’s why I find myself not touching the screen after a short bit and so having the touch interface soon addsnothing to me.
Would you dig deeper in your pockets to buy a touch screen just to zoom in/out and rotate images using your fingers??
