Next Version of Windows to Incorporate Advanced Touch Features

[Quillz]

Sure... cameras and barcode scanners are revolutionary... for the 80's that is. Vista is crap. Apple can actually deliver new OS updates in a reasonable amount of time. Microsoft had to return to the drawing board several times before Vista even saw the light of day. I didn't mind Leopard being delayed. At least Apple stated the reason and then delivered Leopard instead of stalling again. As far as crippling features, I haven't noticed any. I run high end apps in Leopard every day.

Stacks was crippled. Resolution independence didn't come to realization.

Microsoft stated the reason Vista was delayed, and then delivered it. Apple stated the reason Leopard was delayed, and then delivered it. Both Vista and Leopard were delayed more than once, with features dropped.

Vista being crap is your opinion, and has no bearing on actual comparisons between the two products. OS X was crap up until 10.3. (Ooh, controversial statement right there.)

 

[Peace]

they have been pushing the tablet and pen computing for quite some time. really, a pen is not a whole lot different than touch. anyway. i think they have the right idea. good idea, terrible implementation. but hey, they have to innovate somewhere.
A

That's right, Apple invented touch screens. How did I forget?

Neither Apple nor Microsoft came up with multi-touch. They both paid for it. What's important is how it's implemented.At this time Apple is ahead of the game.

 

[Consultant]

can't wait to see what they come up with. I'm sure it will blow me away with intuitive controls that make me more productive.

Windows has detected a touch, deny or allow?

Windows had detected a stab, deny or allow?

Windows has detected a middle finger, deny or allow?

Windows will now deactive due to detection of two middle fingers...

 

[Quillz]

Windows had detected a stab, deny or allow?

Windows has detected a touch, deny or allow?

Windows has detected a middle finger, deny or allow?

Windows will now deactive due to detection of two middle fingers...

Mac OS X has detected a touch. Please type your password to authenticate.

Mac OS X has detected a middle finger. Please type your password to authenticate.

Mac OS X will now shut down due to detection of two middle fingers.

 

[michelepri]

It must be quite difficult convincing hardware manufacturers to incorporate touch technology is Apple can't even convince itself to do it on their laptops. A little competition will be a good thing to make Apple move a little faster. The mouse is dead. It was dead even before the Iphone, but now it really looks inefficient and obsolete.

 

[Quillz]

It must be quite difficult convincing hardware manufacturers to incorporate touch technology is Apple can't even convince itself to do it on their laptops. A little competition will be a good thing to make Apple move a little faster. The mouse is dead. It was dead even before the Iphone, but now it really looks inefficient and obsolete.

The mouse is not dead. Touch technology is still in its infancy and has many, many flaws that need to be overcome. Touch technology will ultimately mature and replace the mouse, but it will still take a long while before this happens.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Vista's a very nice OS, when you look at the bits and pieces. The this and the that are all very nice, it's when you bring it all together that it fails, and that is where MS needs to take a look at Apple or KDE's HIG.

 

[rtcruz1]

stupid post

what a stupid post... 2010 is so far away.. what matters is what is out now... and who knows what Apple or the others who are using touch/multitouch screen technology, will have out by that time too... I don't think Apple is going to sit still with their innovations using this technology.. this blog means nothing to me.. it's useless information..

 

[dastly75]

It's amusing seeing the rational people argue with the apple fanboys.

 

[Quillz]

what a stupid post... 2010 is so far away.. what matters is what is out now... and who knows what Apple or the others who are using touch/multitouch screen technology, will have out by that time too... I don't think Apple is going to sit still with their innovations using this technology.. this blog means nothing to me.. it's useless information..

2010 is so far away (actually, it isn't) that in fact the technology we're using now will more than likely be completely obsolete. It's perfectly legitimate to be posting about future plans and prototypes.

 

[Arclite]

I doubt this. Longhorn was simply overly ambitious. They tried to pack too many features into too tight a deadline. As long as Windows 7 functions more as an evolutionary release than a revolutionary release, I see no reason for it be subjected to any major delays.

What about all the features they had to cut from Longhorn to ship Vista (WinFS, etc.)? Wouldn't those go into Windows 7?

 

[CaptainHaddock]

"Those who are serious about software make their own hardware."

Microsoft isn't serious about software. Good luck to them, when the success of Windows 7 Multitouch depends on Dell hardware.

 

[Stampyhead]

Vista isn't a colossal failure. It's actually selling better than XP.

Yes, I'm sure they're selling a lot of copies. But then people turn around and re-install XP after finding Vista mostly unusable. Most Windows users I know who have bought Vista have done this.
But anyway, back on topic. Re: the touch functionality that will 'blow away the iPhone,' I'll believe it when I see it. Enough rhetoric, bring it on.

 

[Quillz]

"Those who are serious about software make their own hardware."

Microsoft isn't serious about software. Good luck to them, when the success of Windows 7 Multitouch depends on Dell hardware.

A quote by Alan Kaye is just that... a quote. It's not any sort of rule or guideline, and hardly holds water in the software industry. Should Adobe start making computers now? They don't take Photoshop seriously?

Microsoft is absolutely serious about software. And actually, they do make hardware, like keyboards and mice, just not computers. Although they have posted some concept PCs that look quite nice.

 

[Quillz]

Yes, I'm sure they're selling a lot of copies. But then people turn around and re-install XP after finding Vista mostly unusable. Most Windows users I know who have bought Vista have done this.
But anyway, back on topic. Re: the touch functionality that will 'blow away the iPhone,' I'll believe it when I see it. Enough rhetoric, bring it on.

Do you think Microsoft cares that people are re-installing XP after buying Vista? The key thing is they are buying Vista. A sale is a sale, it doesn't matter what the end user does with the end product.

 

[Westside guy]

Vista isn't a colossal failure. It's actually selling better than XP. And corporations aren't supposed to be talking about their next products? And it's funny how Apple was talking about Leopard more than a year before its original release date of spring, only for it be delayed. And then delayed again, all while crippling some features and removing others.

And the Surface is quite revolutionary.

I agree (to a point) with your comments about Surface. It's scope is limited; but it's a great idea.

On the other hand, if you read the IT trade press it's pretty obvious that (at least right now) Vista is being considered "too little, too late" by the majority of IT managers out there. A large percentage are currently planning to sit out Vista, and just wait for the next Windows iteration. And why not? With XP doing everything they want and being reasonably secure, there's no good reason to upgrade. Since Microsoft is releasing XP SP3 in a few months, that means their support timeline extends by another 5 years from that point. You won't be able to buy XP as an individual, but corporations will still be able to put it on their boxes.

 

[heinzel]

Do you think Microsoft cares that people are re-installing XP after buying Vista? The key thing is they are buying Vista. A sale is a sale, it doesn't matter what the end user does with the end product.

And when everything was said and done, everything was said and done. Move along, nothing to see here.

 

[Quillz]

I agree (to a point) with your comments about Surface. It's scope is limited; but it's a great idea.

On the other hand, if you read the IT trade press it's pretty obvious that (at least right now) Vista is being considered "too little, too late" by the majority of IT managers out there. A large percentage are currently planning to sit out Vista, and just wait for the next Windows iteration. And why not? With XP doing everything they want and being reasonably secure, there's no good reason to upgrade. Since Microsoft is releasing XP SP3 in a few months, that means their support timeline extends by another 5 years from that point. You won't be able to buy XP as an individual, but corporations will still be able to put it on their boxes.

I don't think Microsoft is too concerned about this, as Microsoft still has corporations locked into Office, Exchange servers, and many other alternative revenue generators. I'm quite sure Microsoft actually makes more money off of Office than it does from Windows, but I don't have any data handy to back that up.

 

[rtcruz1]

2010 is so far away (actually, it isn't) that in fact the technology we're using now will more than likely be completely obsolete. It's perfectly legitimate to be posting about future plans and prototypes.

Posting information about future plans or prototypes is one thing.. but to make reference to a feature that is coming out 3 years from now, and saying it will blow away a feature that is in a product that's out today, is useless to me.. I'm assuming that any technology that is out 3 years from now will be more advanced than the same type of technology that came out 3 years before it... I still believe that it's a useless statement..

I might as well put a post out there, and say that there is going to be a laptop coming out in 2010 that will be way more advanced than any laptop out today... DUHHHHHH..

 

[koobcamuk]

That is illogical.

They can say they are going to beat another implementation of an idea but that doesn't mean that they copied the idea from them or indeed the original company invented the concept.

Agreed. I hate Ballmer, but if you think about it, competition from Windows will just make Apple strive to be more innovative.

Apple don't really invent that much. They are like Japan in many respects - they didn't invent the train, but they have the best in the world. They take currently technology/ideas and build on them whilst implementing them to a whole new level.

 

[bobjob186]

let's be real

Microsoft is so freaking gnarly, If you know anything about real computing and how an advanced user can take control of Windows more than OS X then you wouldn't even compare the to two OS's to begin with. The only reason there are so many fanboys for Mac OS is because they know a few tricks that OS X has and they can do some pretty complicated things that OS X makes really easy to do for the average user. You throw them into the Windows world and they can't even set up a LAN. Let's be real, I love OS X, it's literally my favorite, but I can't stand reading posts by people who don't know anything about the actual computing. I'll put it this way. Try understanding a company that makes an OS that allows you to use software that was made 10 years ago (Microsoft = super balling in this aspect) and a company that updates it's OS and screws all the previous users over (Apple = survives because of the fanboys).

 

[Quillz]

Microsoft is so freaking gnarly, If you know anything about real computing and how an advanced user can take control of Windows more than OS X then you wouldn't even compare the to two OS's to begin with. The only reason there are so many fanboys for Mac OS is because they know a few tricks that OS X has and they can do some pretty complicated things that OS X makes really easy to do for the average user. You throw them into the Windows world and they can't even set up a LAN. Let's be real, I love OS X, it's literally my favorite, but I can't stand reading posts by people who don't know anything about the actual computing. I'll put it this way. Try understanding a company that makes an OS that allows you to use software that was made 10 years ago (Microsoft = super balling in this aspect) and a company that updates it's OS and screws all the previous users over (Apple = survives because of the fanboys).

I hope you are prepared for an onslaught by the fanboys. A post that I more or less agree with, too bad something like this on a board like this one gets your burned alive. Good luck to you.

 

[robbyx]

Yawn

This is so typical of the Windows world. They so desperately want to be FIRST, just once!!! Please let us be the cool ones!!! Who the h*ll cares if Windows 7 touch features will blow away the iPhone? I can't buy it. It doesn't exist yet.

So promise me everything you want, but it doesn't change the fact that what you offer today is, um, lame. And something tells me in the three to five years it takes to ship the next version of Windows, we'll have seen some really cool technology from Apple and others.

Yawn.

 

[robbyx]

Apple don't really invent that much. They are like Japan in many respects - they didn't invent the train, but they have the best in the world. They take currently technology/ideas and build on them whilst implementing them to a whole new level.

But that's usually what it takes. Really visionary thinking rarely happens inside a big structured organization. The proverbial inventor in his garage. It takes a player with vision to implement it on a mass scale. Microsoft has never been such a player and their products reflect that. Apple, on the other hand, does a great job of finding the innovators out there and bringing them onboard.

 

[robbyx]

Microsoft is so freaking gnarly, If you know anything about real computing and how an advanced user can take control of Windows more than OS X then you wouldn't even compare the to two OS's to begin with. The only reason there are so many fanboys for Mac OS is because they know a few tricks that OS X has and they can do some pretty complicated things that OS X makes really easy to do for the average user. You throw them into the Windows world and they can't even set up a LAN. Let's be real, I love OS X, it's literally my favorite, but I can't stand reading posts by people who don't know anything about the actual computing. I'll put it this way. Try understanding a company that makes an OS that allows you to use software that was made 10 years ago (Microsoft = super balling in this aspect) and a company that updates it's OS and screws all the previous users over (Apple = survives because of the fanboys).

You're saying that 10 year old Microsoft software runs fine on Vista, but OS X somehow breaks software with new releases? I have to ask, because it seems so ludicrous.