Billy,
1. I have a smartphone and I have grown used to touching that screen.
2. Probably because I am a tightwad, I didn't get a touchscreen when I
upgraded my notebook computer a couple of months ago. It came with Windows
8. I have to say, I almost instinctively reached out to touch the Windows 8
screen. This surprised me because I was adamant with the sales guy at
Office Depot that I didn't need a touch screen.
3. Next time I will probably have to get one because non-touch-screen units
that size probably won't be sold any more. And who knows, I might want a
touch screen unit by then. I will have to stock up on Windex.
Oh well, I thought there was no need for a mouse at one time.
Chris
------------------------------------------
Christopher P. Hahn, Ph.D.
Constructive Agreement, LLC
<mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]
P.O. Box 39, Bozeman, MT 59771
(406) 522-4143 (406) 556-7116 fax
------------------------------------------
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected]
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 12:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: [RC] Do People Really Want to Touch Their PC Screens?
The fallacy of trends reaching infinity does not seem to have registered at
Microsoft -and maybe not at Apple, either. Tends always:
(1) Level off, or
(2) Decline, or
(3) Reach a point where they fluctuate up and down, or
(4) Level off only to start growing again after months or years, or
(5) Reach a place where the subject of the trend differentiates
into separate products or services or demographics or ideas, etc
each of which creates a new trend, viz , a calving effect.
Apple has just gotten rich beyond anyone's dreams by discovering that
there is more money to make in selling Fords than in selling Cadillacs.
However, Microsoft does not seem to have learned that there still
is a helluva lot of money to make selling Cadillacs Instead it wants
to turn Cadillacs into Fords.
The desktop market is not the same thing as the portable device market.
Why in the hell would I want to touch my desktop screen? That would be
crazy;
do I really want to clean off finger smudges every day -or every hour ?
Why would anyone want to do that ?
And for an artist -almost any kind of artist- what you DO NOT WANT
is anything at all that causes friction on your fingertips; that can only
screw up sensations you need for painting or piano playing or sculpting
or anything else. But, hell, Big Computer Companies don't need to
consult artists when designing their products, screw 'em, they don't matter
even if about 5 million Americans are artists of one kind or another
and if you add musicians to the mix, the number is closer to 10 million.
My desktop screen is "soft" and compatible with touch. I don't like it at
all.
It serves no useful purpose and is more difficult to clean that a glass
screen.
O well, another disimprovement to learn to live with -for what?
Billy
---------------------------------------------
PC Magazine
Do People Really Want to Touch Their PC Screens?
Microsoft is learning quickly that just because touch works well for mobile
computing, doesn't mean it's ideal for desktop computing.
By Tim Bajarin <http://www.pcmag.com/author-bio/tim-bajarin>
* July 22, 2013
In my research leading up to the Windows 8 <http://www.pcmag.com/windows-8/>
announcement, I never heard people voice a desire for touch as a way to
navigate among apps. They were quite comfortable using a mouse and trackpad
as they had been doing for years. Even now our research shows that many feel
lifting their hands off of their keyboard or mouse to touch the screen is
unnatural.
So why did Microsoft rush a new UI to the PC market if folks were happy with
their existing one? The answer to this question probably lies in Microsoft's
desire to differentiate and, to an extent, leapfrog Apple and Samsung by
making touch central to future PCs. The company observed how people navigate
their mobile devices with their fingers and probably thought that if touch
was good for mobile, it would be even better for PCs.
At Microsoft Build, thousands of attendees awkwardly tried to navigate their
new Surface Pros <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2415089,00.asp> and
Windows 8 laptops. If they were sitting up in a chair, they had to lean
forward to touch the screen. Then they would then sit back and type and if
they had to touch the screen again, they had to what we jokingly call "bow
to it." In contrast, people with laptops fit with trackpads sat straight up
in their chairs and worked diligently with no interruption in body
movements.
This is issue is magnified if you want precise cursor placement. In fact,
many touch-based laptops, especially those going into IT, now come with mice
since using your finger to find the exact place to insert a number in a
spreadsheet or DTP document can be very difficult.
Interestingly, a new product will ship this month from Leap Motion that
embraces gestures but still allows a person to remain working in a natural
way. The small $80 Leap Motion Controller <https://www.leapmotion.com/>
plugs into your USB port and uses software to interpret your gesture
motions. It lets you manipulate 3D objects with your fingers, wave at the
screen to advance Windows 8 tile pages, and even draw with your fingers
while still sitting upright.
I've been hearing about this product ever since it won the Breakout Digital
Trend Award at SXSW <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2416416,00.asp>
last March. I finally got to see a demo in person and am highly intrigued.
It works very well and is a breath of fresh air on Windows 8 when it comes
to integrating gestures.
This presents a big question: if touch takes off, will Apple ever bring a
touch screen to MacBooks and iMacs? I really doubt it given its studies of
how people actually use laptops and PCs and the kinesiology behind the
motions used to navigate them. If Apple were to add a touch screen to any
laptop-like product, it would probably be in the form of a hybrid or
convertible. There have been rumors of such a device but as of now they are
just rumors.
Over time, as cheaper versions of Windows 8 touch laptops hit the market,
the touch UI will become an optional way for people to interact with their
PCs and desktops. However, the uptake in Windows 8 would have been better if
Microsoft had more gradually moved to touch first through smart trackpads on
low-end laptops and PCs without touch screens. But forcing Windows 8 on all
PC users, even ones without touch screens, cost the company and its partners
dearly by reducing demand for PCs during this past year-as if tablets
weren't already putting enough pressure on the market.
--
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