Windows Goes Multi-Touch

[i.maverick]

or make the os a lot more audio command based. like translating audio inout to text and email it and stuff.
maybe something like the system he has in ironman but a lot more subdued. not pure AI. but somewhat.
hasn't that been done before?

 

[Digitalclips]

The Microsoft implementation running on a full-fledged computer doesn't seem as responsive as the Apple implementation on the resource-strapped iPhone.

Also, I would be shocked if Jobs lets Microsoft steal his* user-interface yet again.

*Yes, I'm aware Jobs stole the ideas from Xerox PARC.

While Gates did steal Mac OS I think Xerox PARK let Steve use their concept.

 

[dicklacara]

Great! So my big fat hands can get in the way of looking at whats on the screen. What is the big amazing draw to using your hands to manipulate what is on the screen? If it's a coffee table, well fine! But not my laptop screen. There is nothing worse that smudges on an LCD screen.

Thanks, but no thanks.

The MultiTouch surface is not required to be the same surface as the Display surface (e.g. screen). A laptop can easily contain a horizontal MT surface that allows manipulation of objects on the vertical screen.

The OS and "applications" would let you interface with MT, as appropriate-- thus you could get your hands "dirty", but not your screen.

 

[0098386]

I don't think anybody believed Sony would be in this position 2 years ago so in a sense the $6bn+ loss of the Xbox project can be seen to be an important strategic move so far - yet there is little sign of MS capitalising on it yet.

Speak for yourself. The PSP was the turning point where Sony wanted to have the graphical and power edge to their systems, only by doing so they added hefty price tags so the PSP and PS3 are now (globally) in last in their respective markets.

But anyways. I don't mind Windows trying this tech out. It likely won't be as well implimented as Apple, they've had this and similar tech out a long time so they're already one step ahead. Just that as a Windows user too I'd like proper touchscreen functionality.
As an RSI sufferer myself I find it good to swap between inputs, an extra, useable one would be nice.

 

[richard.mac]

While Gates did steal Mac OS I think Xerox PARK let Steve use their concept.

yes Xerox did allow Steve and the gang to use their concept but Apple did too allow Bill and his gang have a peak at the "crown jewels". the problem was that the Apple Macintosh didnt have much software and Microsoft had a lot or developers devloping applications for Windows on the "PC" with the GUI from Apple.

so monkey boy Ballmer is right… its all about the "DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS…"

 

[bigmc6000]

Actually...

MS doesn't sell PC's. It's amazing how even MS likes to compare themselves to Apple when Apple is in both the OS and hardware business. MS is going to sell 270 million licenses but, as others have pointed out, that includes all those XP boxes that have free upgrades to Vista if you want it (if being the key word on that one). Also, I think being successful would have to depend on who you talk to - there's millions of people who hold MS shares that aren't at all happy with it's stagnant performance over the past few years.

 

[macFanDave]

Yet another "me-too", buzzword-compliant product from Microsoft. This adds just another page to the dull, uninspired history to a dull, uninspired company.

You hear about this vaunted Microsoft Research, but what have they ever done? With the amount of money they supposedly spend, they must take the finest minds in computer science and eat their flesh!

 

[aaronsullivan]

Multi touch is the first significant interface paradigm shift since the mouse and it's pretty funny to see people react with all the naysaying just like people did for the mouse (and, lest we forget, all that naysaying is one reason the original Mac was forced into a niche market.)

Whether it's directly on screen, touching from the back of the screen or using a keyboard/touch-surface combination, this newish way to interface has merit in both intuitiveness (kids and grandmas can get it) and efficiency (give me a mouse equivalent to zooming, moving, and rotating a photo as easily as with multitouch if you disagree.)

The visual interface will need to transform in order for it to be utilized better in just the same way the interface transformed after the mouse replaced the keyboard as the primary input device. Also, the form factor of a computer could very well change. I can see the iMac leaning towards a sort of light table configuration for instance.

Personally, I hope the implementations begin to include optional pressure sensitive stylus input, as well. This would be like shown in a previous Apple patent. It recognizes the signature of the side of your hand pressing against the surface and ignores it while looking for the tiny stylus "blob".

Fight it if you want. I look forward to Apple's demonstrations which will, at the very least, have more flair. At least the photos will have young people in the outdoors and stuff.

(Oh, and all these naysayers on Microsoft R&D. The Surface is real, and excellently implemented with plenty of new ideas and will be widespread in a couple years. I'm no lover of Microsoft but at least have the decency/objectivity to recognize when they come up with some great stuff!)

 

[johnsy]

microsoft will wait till Dell will advance their hardware and Dell will wait till Microsoft will advance their software... Hmmm.

Competition is good however.

 

[MacSimoPark]

That was exceptionally dull

Windows doesn't GO multi-touch, it just spatchcocks multi-touch features into a boring and unoriginal operating system to little or no effect.

 

[EagerDragon]

Imagination is key

I believe that multi-touch is just the beginning of how we will interact with computers in the future. Voice control will also need to be integrated. Most operations like writing, note taking, commands like open file, searches, can all be implemented via voice. Touch then is used to interact with the material being displayed.

The combination of voice and multi-touch is where we are going, however multi-touch is a misnomer, as there would be little need to actually touch the screen. The computer via a camera or via the screen integrated sensors (Apple patent where camera sensors were part of the screen) can view and react to our gestures (minority report like).

I think we are at the edge of a big shift on how we interact with computers. Yes voice recognition and multi-touch have a ways to go, but we are already at the beginning of the yellow brick road.

It is now time to open our minds and recognize it. Forget keyboards and mice they hold you back and keep from from the vision.

Both companies M$ and Apple should be commended for recognizing the need and for the research they are doing in user interaction with out the need to actually touch the computer.

Use your imagination, it is coming.

Forget the 12 hours at the keyboard, remove from your mind the tired limbs from holding your arms at odd angles. All that is holding you back, you are thinking of the mechanics and implementation. Those are issues to be solved by Apple and M$. Your job is to ignore all of that and instead dream how to write the applications that can be controlled via speech and gestures. Leave the mechanics to Apple and M$. Computers are very powerful and will be even more powerful in the future. 12 cores, 64 cores, 1024 cores will be possible. Your tone and voice will be recognized with 99.99997% accuracy and the computer will correct it at the end of the sentence when it can then see if the word it selected fit within the sentence or not.

 

[goosnarrggh]

MS is going to sell 270 million licenses but, as others have pointed out, that includes all those XP boxes that have free upgrades to Vista if you want it (if being the key word on that one).

There was a transition period where OEM copies of XP pre-installed on certain models manufactured by MS's approved partners list, included a "free" Vista upgrade. That is no longer available on any machines sold today (unless some specific manufacturers are internally purchasing OEM Vista licenses and exercising their downgrade rights - see below - in that case, MS is still getting paid).

Conversely, what's happening now is that all OEM copies of Vista Business and Vista Ulimate come with a free license to switch back to XP if the end-user chooses. That is proving to be a very popular option.

 

[Rot'nApple]

They have a coating material now that helps with that. You can touch with PB&J and it comes right off.

It's called 'Glass'...

 

[Kwill]

Nothing we haven't already seen. Although that piano thing was kind of cool.

Piano was REAL cool. Touch screen opens up additional opportunities for Kiosks and custom retail applications such as cash registers in restaurants.

 

[diegofcam]

Useless

At the tech conference All things D, Microsoft gave a small preview of Windows 7 with... multi-touch support.

I can tell you one thing... if Microsoft beats Apple to the punch on this one, Jobs sure wont be happy!

Click for Link

I dont see the use of this. I rather use the mouse than extend mi arm into the screen. This is a complete waste of time for desktops and laptops. It will be a nice feature on tablet computers, but since tablet computers have a tiny portion of the martket, this is completely irrelevant.

Microsoft is completely clueless.

 

[miyazakifan]

Originally Posted by Steve Balmer
There's a lot in Windows 7, and our goal's got to be, with our hardware partners, to produce fantastic PCs. ... We'll sell 270m PCs a year, and Apple will sell 10m. Apple is fantastically successful, and so are we.

Um . . . since when does MS sell PCs? Ballmer really is such an idiot.

And as for all those wonderful new features in Windows 7, well . . . .

Anybody remember that great long list of "new" features for Longhorn? And inevitably it will be delayed at least 2 years.

 

[aaronsullivan]

Hmm... so this thread seems to divide people into just a few categories.

Those who read rumor sites in eager anticipation of the tech they have already imagined becoming real.

Those who read rumor sites in order to naysay anything new until they begin to use and appreciate it and compare all other new things negatively to it.

Those who are bored and just like saying stupid stuff on forums to see how people react.

Of course, there's all the in-betweens I guess.

 

[L3X]

All that stuff is easier with a mouse.

Multi-touch is nice, but an OS should not be built around multi-touch unless it's something like the Surface computer which could be used in coffee shops and such.

 

[CaptainScarlet]

These touch-screen computer don't look very comfortable at all. How long can you keep up your arms out to move pictures around. Looks like your bending over too much in your chair and kissing the screen to do these motions. I see this as a gimmick for consumers...."Look what I can do!!!"...

 

[eXan]

What's funny is if Apple had demoed the EXACT SAME THING, the majority of you would say this is the coolest thing ever, all positive ratings, etc. You know there is still jealousy, hatred towards Microsoft whenever they do something and it gets bad pub here. Doesn't make much sense to me. Fanboys, you all seem like

I suggest you read the thread before posting...

 

[dicklacara]

My thoughts exactly. If this was about Steve Jobs demoing a new multi-touch Mac, everyone would be ooing and ahhing over it, but since it's Microsoft, everyone comes out in true fanboi form. I have no doubt that Apple has something up their sleeve that will top this by a landslide, but to sit around and act like all of a sudden none of us are interested in having multi-touch display & operating system built into our desktop/laptop computers is just naive. Heck, I remember when there was a thread going on here not to long ago with everyone posting mockups of what a multi-touch iMac might look like.

Well said!

Whether we like it or not, MultiTouch and MultiTouch Screens are facts of life.

We can argue who's innovating, who's copying... to what purpose.

We can [try to] justify the status quo by saying MT can't do WP, spreadsheets, CAD... whatever, as well as a mouse/kb/graphics tablet... barcode reader (whatever).

That may well be true... but, MT allows you to do things you just can't do (or do as easily) with other UIs.

With MT, every computer display can be: a light table; a multi-key equalizer; a piano keyboard; a guitar fretboard; an interactive business planner*; a security monitor/control center; a 3D blank slate for artists & musicians.

*Something like interactively manipulating business charts & presos to change the desired "results" and then generating the "numbers" required to achieve these "results".

Just look at what MT has already spawned, for example: HP's media computer ads, CNN & Fox Election Walls, and yes, the iPhone with its simple, elegant hyper-focused UI.

To deny that MT is here, has/will change what we do, and that there is so much more to come is just Pissin' in the wind!

 

[johnnyjibbs]

It's all a blatant rip-off of what we've seen on the iphone/multi-touch. I admit that the Surface looks good, but you can trust Microsoft to balls it up. So far there looks like nothing new over what Apple has shown. Just wait until Lynx* comes to town and blows Microsoft's measly implementation of Windows 7 out of the water.

Or maybe Microsoft wants to add a further version of windows to its future line-up - "Vista 2 Multi-Touch Home Premium"?



* or whatever Mac OS X 10.6 ends up being called.

 

[OllyW]

I think this is the direction all things will eventually go, but not by making the screen multi-touch. It makes it too messy, and looking down isnt that natural.

I'd like to see multi-touch on the keyboard. Get rid of the keys, and replace it with an actual screen. This display can change depending on what you are doing. For typing, touch keyboard. For photo manipulation, a grid?? Not thought about it any great depth

This is exactly as I see it working out.

I can't even reach the screen on my 24" iMac from where I am sitting. A multi-touch screen / keypad to replace the keyboard and mouse would work, at least with desktop computers.

 

[dwsolberg]

Microsoft is confused.

I think the essential confusion here is that Microsoft sells PCs. It doesn't.

To make multi-touch work, you need two parts: software and hardware. At least for PCs, Microsoft only makes software. That means implementation will depend on PC makers adding multi-touch components, which until at least 2010 is unlikely to happen. That means everyone has to buy hardware to support multi-touch (which MS partners love). Because there is no incremental build-up or testing against known hardware, multi-touch on PCs will be unlikely to work well at first. Over time, the truly useful elements of multi-touch will be discovered, then MS will promise another operating system to build those in, and there will be another round of buying to get the originally promised features. This plan works well enough for a monopoly power like MS because customers continue to buy. Unfortunately, the customer will have to wait quite a while to get an implementation that works. In the meantime, customers get more bloated, incompatible crap with promises for a brighter future.

My opinion is that the future is now: XP (SP2) is probably as close to working well as MS is likely to get. Pretty much all the software works, the drivers work, and it's speedy and relatively stable. (Of course, it's also old technology with memory and processor limitations.) In five years, Vista will probably be pretty good but similarly behind the times.

 

[Phillyzero]

In the future will there be fingerprint/oil/smudge proof screens