Microsoft gets all touchy feely
Not bad for a gimmick product
Monday, 12 January 2009, 11:06
SOFTWARE GIANT Vole is spending shedloads to try and get its touch technology so popular that it replaces the mouse.
N-trig, an Israeli start-up which makes touch-sensing screen hardware, has announced that Vole has given it $24 million to develop its touch technology for Windows 7. Microsoft started fooling around with touch technology for its table-sized gimmick last year.
It garnered good reviews and Vole thinks there might be gold in getting users to stick their greasy prints on monitors. µ
L'Inq
WSJ
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Touch screen is overrated.
Moving your hand two feet isn't as easy as moving it two inches to get somewhere on the screen.
Touch-screen technology is only good for public ATM terminals.
At home it is worse than useless. I am already at war with my daughter and her irrepressible impulse to touch whatever it is she fancies on the screen at a given time. I will absolutely never give her such a golden excuse to put her prints all over the screen on purpose.
Touch screen tech is useful to an EXTENT. Sure it looks cool in media and pop cult (Quantum of Solace for example) but as a full feature? I have my doubts.
Only time will tell if it proves otherwise.
Touch screens are one of the most convenient way to use a computer... except that... to be able to compete with a mouse, you have to be able to touch any part of the screen without having to move your arms...
Which means (so far): use a Vaio UX (try firefox3 on it with 'grab an drag' module, and you will feel what "user interface" should mean) or an iphone. And it will mean (maybe someday): use a desktop... well... a table computer... or whatever form of design that should be used.
Given the fact that the cost involved will be ridiculous as always with this kind of new tech, waiting yrs for it to dribble down the pipe to be vaguely usable by the consumer - touch screens are rather pointless in that you "hog" screen realestate with your sausage fingers/club hand/Arnie arm... I mean we buy bigger and better screens to view more and experience more! Ahh don’t we?!
Why hamper that basic fundamental idea. That’s just Micro$oft with their overly fat wallets putting their finger in the proverbial pie, as they do with everything. Have a go Micro$oft tho I say.
The real idea for this and best put to use would be a mouse replacement touch surface, similar in effect to the ipod screen, with it’s gestural mechanics (would be fun to use more then one finger lol), nowhere near the screen which u so very want unblocked at all times when striving for that extra point in solitaire, waiting for your next download… the application for games alone oooh mamma!
Has this been done before perhaps or currently in the pipeline somewhere, now that’s interesting… I digress tho. Agreed. Lame. 8D