My vote is no.
Multitouch is cool on the iPhone, but it suffers from a few major drawbacks for both desktop and laptop form factors.
First and foremost is that it would force upon most users a costly hardware upgrade. Mac Pro users are the least likely to be disenchanted by this as they can most easily, if not inexpensively, replace their current monitors should they really need a multitouch display. Current iMac users are less likely to buy an additional monitor because it diminishes the appeal of the form factor. The same is true of laptop users.
And second, the current form factors for computers just doesn't complement a multitouch UI very well. Would computer users really skip over their mouses in order to touch the screen in order to perform the same function that the mouse is capable of doing? It's just not practical and would lead to a lot of very expensive computer screens being covered in fingerprints, something that may be acceptable for an iPhone and perhaps for a laptop, but probably not for desktops.
A more practical and appealing alternative to multitouch is motion tracking. The advantages of this are that all Mac's either have built in iSights or can have one added on at a fraction of the cost of what a multitouch display might go for. This makes such a feature accessible to virtually all Mac users today, not something that only the few who choose to upgrade will benefit from.
It's also more practical. Users don't have to reach across the desk over their mouses to use it. It would complement the mouse in a functional way. And it wouldn't lead to screens being covered with smudges, which will surely generate complaints and demands for new form factors.
This technology is becoming fairly mature and will be available to users shortly even if Apple chooses not to include it in their next OS. For instance, take CamSpace, which is currently in beta and will be available for free to Windows, OS X, and Linux users.
http://camspace.com/
This type of feature would leapfrog Windows again and bring a popular and compelling feature from the Wii to computer desktops.
Multitouch is cool on the iPhone, but it suffers from a few major drawbacks for both desktop and laptop form factors.
First and foremost is that it would force upon most users a costly hardware upgrade. Mac Pro users are the least likely to be disenchanted by this as they can most easily, if not inexpensively, replace their current monitors should they really need a multitouch display. Current iMac users are less likely to buy an additional monitor because it diminishes the appeal of the form factor. The same is true of laptop users.
And second, the current form factors for computers just doesn't complement a multitouch UI very well. Would computer users really skip over their mouses in order to touch the screen in order to perform the same function that the mouse is capable of doing? It's just not practical and would lead to a lot of very expensive computer screens being covered in fingerprints, something that may be acceptable for an iPhone and perhaps for a laptop, but probably not for desktops.
A more practical and appealing alternative to multitouch is motion tracking. The advantages of this are that all Mac's either have built in iSights or can have one added on at a fraction of the cost of what a multitouch display might go for. This makes such a feature accessible to virtually all Mac users today, not something that only the few who choose to upgrade will benefit from.
It's also more practical. Users don't have to reach across the desk over their mouses to use it. It would complement the mouse in a functional way. And it wouldn't lead to screens being covered with smudges, which will surely generate complaints and demands for new form factors.
This technology is becoming fairly mature and will be available to users shortly even if Apple chooses not to include it in their next OS. For instance, take CamSpace, which is currently in beta and will be available for free to Windows, OS X, and Linux users.
http://camspace.com/
This type of feature would leapfrog Windows again and bring a popular and compelling feature from the Wii to computer desktops.
