Windows 7 To Incorporate Multitouch Elements

[b0rsuk]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Though I still don't see much use for multi-touch other than onscreen keyboards.

My thoughts exactly.
Touch screen in general might be good if using a mouse is too hard for you. Note that I consider mouse an overrated device. There are few things it does better than keyboard. I only use mouse where it actually IS better, such as graphics, some games, and - in general - aps requiring high precision. Coming from this point of view, touch screen seems to me like another effort at reducing initial learning curve at the cost of long-term experience. Touch screen may be easy at first, but later it seems like it's just obscuring what you're working on.

That being said, I really like the concept of XO-2 (OLPC). They plan to have dual touch screens connected like two pages of a book. You'd be able to turn one screen into a keyboard, but also re-use it as a normal screen later. With traditional approach (physical keyboard, like Kindle) the keyboard is permanently stuck in your device, no matter if you need it at the moment or not.
Of course, on-screen keyboard does have its disadvantages. Most importantly, you can't feel it. It means typing without looking at keyboard is going to be hard. (touch typing)

[mores]

the newest Macbook Pros have multitouch, like the iPhone. Use the trackpad to scroll, pan, zoom etc.

Okay, it's not on a touchscreen, but the OS supports it already.

(My MBP does not yet support it, I can only use 2 fingers to indicate scrolling, and this alone is a real timesaver when you don't have a mouse)

That multitouch desk is awesome, though.

[TallMomof2]

All I can think of is fingerprints all over the screen. I can see this working well for laptops and tablets but not on desktops.

Since I do 99% of my work on a desktop I'm not impressed. 90% of that uses the keyboard with the remaining work with the mouse. I can't see using a touchscreen for typing even with feedback (my phone vibrates when I use the touchscreen) because you can't feel the keys. Plus, I use an ergonomic keyboard and would have to retrain myself to use a completely flat keyboard and have to be concerned with worsening carpal tunnel (that's why I went with the split keyboard).

All I want is a speedier OS that supports all my devices and software (emulation software doesn't always work well) and allows me to customize the OS to my personal tastes.

[pilotbob]

I think multi-touch is not really good for single user desktop tasking.

They will be good for large screen presentation type stuff, interactive learning applications, etc.

Also, I think a Tablet PC (slate type) it could be usefull and replace the mouse/stylus for many gesture based commands.

Apple added multi-touch to its touch pads on the recent mac book pros. I think it is going to be similar to the Wii controller. You will really need people to come up with innovative ways to use it to improve the user experience. We will just have to wait and see.

BOb

[slayda]

Y'all give it 6 months to a year "after" it is successfully implemented and you will wonder how you got along without it. Remember those who predicted that we already had enough computers in the world back in the 50's (I think) & that there was just no need for more?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

With peeled eyes...

well there's your problem ; try watching it with just *normal* eyes, so you're not distracted by ocular discomfort.

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Groovy video, but I keep trying to visualize it in the workplace. It just seems sort of awkward to have the onscreen keyboard, unless there is a bendy elbow in it or something. The thought of typing straight ahead makes my carpal tunnels ache! Would it allow notebooks to be significantly lighter if they didn't have the physical keyboard? There would still have to be the CPU innards, and a cover of xome sort to protect it.

actually, i agree that it probably wouldn't make for very comfortable *typing*, however y'all seem to be forgetting that you can do a lot of things with a computer, and only some of them require a keyboard (or rather, some of them require a keyboard / mouse because those are the input peripherals we currently have available, but they are not actually the best adapted ones for those tasks).

for example, i am a graphic designer ; i work with images all the time, either photos (in photoshop) or images i draw myself (illustrator). i also create websites, for which i make maquettes in illustrator. also i make animations in flash, which usually requires drawing elements and then manipulating them to animate them.

for the moment, i use keyboard shortcuts to access / modify tools and tool behavior, and a mouse or drawing pad to interact with them. but i would *love* to be able to sort through a stack of photos by moving them around with my fingers, rather than dragging / minimizing / closing / opening windows ; i would *love* to be able to creat flash animations simply by moving my symbol where i want it and mimicking the animating with my fingers, while the interface tracked these mouvements and interpreted them into keyframes. it would be amazing to be able to manipulate a gui i was creating for a website manually, sliding different elements around, resizing them on the fly, changing a navigation element from vertical to horizontal just by sliding my finger in a different direction...

in my personal workplace, the keyboard is good for writing code, ok, but it's incredibly awkward for most of the things i do, and i only use it because it's the only thing available (for now...). so i suspect, when you say you don't see any practical applications (like in the workplace), it's because you just haven't imagined what kind of things you could do with them, or alternately because in your job you really do only need to be able to type, in which case you're right ; for *you*, it might not be a good practical solution. but that's just you.

(i could also mention things like music, research, and probably plenty of applications we haven't even invented yet, but will, once we have the peripherals to make them possible...)

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

for example, i am a graphic designer ; i work with images all the time, either photos (in photoshop) or images i draw myself (illustrator). i also create websites, for which i make maquettes in illustrator. also i make animations in flash, which usually requires drawing elements and then manipulating them to animate them.

Cool, I didn't know that. Do you do website design layouts like CSS style sheets and graphics? I'm gonna want a unique design for my web site eventually.

BOb

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Cool, I didn't know that. Do you do website design layouts like CSS style sheets and graphics? I'm gonna want a unique design for my web site eventually.

BOb

yep, that's exactly what i do ; deisgn the layout / graphical chart, then do the html / css code (w3c standars compliant, of course !). i don't do any prog though ; on sites requiring some dev i work with a colleague who does that part.

if you want to hire me, send me a pm