Ah! Yes, I see what you mean. My solution has been to use my fingernail (i.e., I curl my finger so that the fingernail surface touches instead of the flesh of the finger) to firmly press and slide as this works even on icons and links. If you use the fingertip, or you "hesitate" (a light touch, for example), it can activate the item instead of sliding the screen. Using the stylus (with a similar firm motion) works, too.