NextWindow designs and manufactures optical touch screens to be used with computer displays, and large format screens. It works with Windows 7 touch screen technology. Multitouch is the ability to manipulate the display screen with one or more fingers. It is built directly into Microsoft’s the Windows7 operating system.
NextWindow has been instrumental in working with Microsoft to develop the Windows 7 Logo test. This means, that a company wishing to display the Windows 7 Logo for touch technology, must pass a series of technology tests.
NextWindows
Currently NextWindow have three series or products:
1900 Series: PC Touch
It should be used for: All-in-one PCs and Standard PCs. It comes in sizes from 15 to 32 inches.
1900 Series
2100 Series: Display Touch
It should be used for: Digital signage, Kiosks, Interactive education, and Gaming. It comes in sizes from 30 to 120 inches.
2700 Series: Overlay Touch
It should be used for Digital signage, Kiosks, Interactive education, Conferences. It comes in sizes from 30 to 82 inches.
Some of NextWindow’s products use low-profile optical sensors mounted on the surface of the glass (1900 series). Other products use different configurations. Nevertheless, in all models, the infrared light source and optical sensors are synchronized using a sophisticated algorithm that also eliminates the effect of ambient light, creating an extremely clear, accurate screen.
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What is Touch Technology?
There are two kinds, infra-red technology, or special reflective surfaces. Working together, two optical sensors track the movement of any object close to the surface by detecting the interruption of an infra-red light source. The light is emitted in a plane across the surface of the screen and can be either active (infra-red LED) or passive (special reflective surfaces).
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The system has a printed circuit controller board that receives signals from the optical sensors. Its software then compensates for optical distortions and triangulates the position of the touching object with extreme accuracy.
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What is Windows 7 Touch Technology?
Microsoft has been working on touch technology for a while. The big drawback was the hardware interface. But that is no longer the case. Here are some of the enhancements that Microsoft has done to improve the user interaction with the touch screen.
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Easier grasp on PC’s. Microsoft has enlarged icons in Windows 7 for the Start Menu, Taskbar and Windows Explorer. This makes it easier to grasp the PC. So in place of the mouse, you can open and shut programs by directly tapping or double-tapping with your fingers. You can also summon a virtual onscreen keyboard, too, though it’s nowhere near as natural as typing on a physical keyboard.
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Multi-touch operations. You can also zoom in on a picture by spreading two fingers apart, or zoom out by pinching them back together. You can “right-click” by holding down one finger while you tap the screen with a second finger.
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100 Point Support. Windows 7 can support up to 100 touch points, Microsoft says, though there are hardware constraints (screen size) and the genetic reality of having just so many fingers with which to perform gestures. The behavior on the screen changes depending on how many fingers you use.
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Where is NextWindow Located?
NextWindow has offices in New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore and the U.S. . It’s scope includes high-volume, cost-effective manufacturing for PCs as well as customized solutions for kiosks, digital signage, and interactive education. It has been around since 2001. The management team is varied as well, with different parties from New Zeeland, The US, Scotland, and the Great Britain.
Additional Information
Further information for NextWindow can be obtained here.
Windows 7 Touch Technology can be seen here:
To read more about Windows 7 and Touch technology look at these posts:
