Headlines - Microsoft to focus on new interaction with Windows 7

[HEXUS]

Details on Microsoft's forthcoming operating system are beginning to trickle through, beginning with multi-touch support.

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[DR]

Can anyone say Minority Report?

[s_kinton]

Looks expensive...

[Guppy]

why the hell would i sit at my computer not using a mouse and keyboard but instead leaning forward and touching my monitor?

next they'll tell me that i dont need to use a mouse in FPS games but i just need to touch the enemies on screen to shoot at them!

[MadduckUK]

oh goody, more fluff

[dangel]

Touch works really well for some things - and we're being a little shortsighted if we're writing it off entirely. Examples? How about i'm in a factory with a lot of dust/crap floating about? In kiosk mode for public access?
I don't think MS are cotemplating this for far cry or typing documents all day. If it's there to augment the mouse and keyboard why's it a bad thing? I rather like the touchscreen on my phone for some things (sat nav, google maps) but hate it for texting (but it's got a keypad).

Let's face it - Apple are a whisper away from doing this too.

[SupersonicBoyUK]

More like entering a new world of possible windows errors...

That monitor/screen looked pretty big in depth, sony are developing all these nice new OLED thin screens...will beable to use them for this touch screen technology which is basically just an ipod touch just bigger and with msn maps not google

People will always use keyboad and mouse its why its been around since personal computers began, will will just get better ones, more floaty like the logitech air mouse.

Touchscreen is going to be good and I'm looking forward to windows 7 but tbh vista should have been touchscreen to wow people! MS are a bit too late. I'm waiting for the days like in Minority Report where we can wave our arms around trying to look serious trying to open a picture and enlarge it!

[this_is_gav]

Touchscreen is going to be good and I'm looking forward to windows 7 but tbh vista should have been touchscreen to wow people! MS are a bit too late.

In a basic sense, it is touchscreen capable. As far as I'm aware, it (not sure which other editions, but Ultimate) has all the Tablet PC features of XP Tablet Edition, so there's nothing stopping someone making a touchscreen, well, screen for Vista if the demand and technology was ready for it.

I'm not sure about touchscreen for a home PC. I can't think of many advantages it would bring, short of the obvious things like a kiddies painting program (technology would have to improve a hell of a lot to make it viable for things like Photoshop I suspect), but I can see it being phased in to compliment an existing display. Kind of like a graphics tablet to compliment other peripherals. I can't see myself being comfortable using it as my primary monitor.

If Microsoft are still pushing their uniform home control thingy, then that's where it could have advantages in the home.

Other than that, I suspect this is still something that's nice for businesses to promote products. To have in a travel shop for customers to use. Things like that.

It's going to be a long time before everyday PCs can use this in any great way.