Windows 7 is getting a good amount of press, and I mean good press. It seems that people are looking forward to the next Windows incarnation and the app demo’d above shows off just what the system will be able to do. The multi-touch comes via a 3rd-party app running pre-beta N-Trig drivers on a pre-beta Windows 7 build. Still, the demo is eye-catching once the guy gets it to work; not Apple multi-touch impressive, more of a Window’s novelty. Thoughts?
You know, this whole “lets get W7 out ASAP and try to make everybody forget about Vista” reminds me of the Windows ME to Windows XP era. Maybe the Windows OS is like Star Trek movies and you’d be better off skipping every other version.
I think multitouch on a screen is much more impressive than “Apple multi-touch” that only works on a touchpad.
The iPhone is multi-touch on a screen. Apple has said they could easily do it on a notebook or monitor but doesn’t think its the right move at this point.
@Nimijneb: I meant the (non-existent) native OSX screen multi-touch support. The iPhone is a different device completely. Even if they could support it in OSX, they don’t currently support it.
The Multi-Touch technology in the iPods, iPhone and on the notebooks run versions of OS X already. Very early days for a Microsoft OS that can use this in a consistent, accomplished manner that appeals to their mass market, if that demo was anything to go by. I’m sure they will get there. Apple has the distinct advantage of controlling hardware and software (as though a computer could only be one of those things!) and has achieved tremendous progress with their Multi-Touch technology, as evidenced in the iPhone and on the various trackpads used by their notebooks. I agree with Apple that touch technology on a desktop display does not make sense. Aside from the fingerprints, why damage productivity by making hands move away from the keyboard and mouse? Great for interactive displays and perhaps for teaching childish hands the fundamentals of computing, but I wonder how applicable this technology will be for most daily tasks? Touch will just be a toy or a marketing gimmick until we understand how it can aid us day to day. Microsoft needs to concentrate on the productivity, stability, and compatibility of their software rather than gimmicks or innovations that take their attention away from these core expectations. They could learn much from Apple’s OS X, which, though not perfect, is a sane operating system that is often a joy to use.
I think this is crazy.
I try to get people to NEVER TOUCH my screen.
Multi-touch gestures on a track pad make sense right now.
– You can perform the gesture at the same time you see the content!
– You don’t have to lift your arm in a way that will increase your RSI rate
Maybe on a tablet PC but not on screen in laptop mode. Feh.
As a gamer, I personally have little to no interest in multi-touch anything to do with my computer. I’m all about face-melting image quality! Why would I want fingerprints all over my screen? Unless Windows 7 brings a new DirectX offering that works on existing hardware, I see little reason to upgrade so far. (This message may be coming from one of the few users on the planet who has no problems and is happy with his 64 bit vista ultimate.)
Let’s call it by name: It doesn’t work. There’s still a lot to do there.
I guess the phrase “pre-beta” doesn’t mean much to you.
Well, I could have said “it does not yet work”. :)
Can we call this…Pre-Alpha?
Hey when does Windows 7 come out? 2020 :D
Nope, 2009. Close though…
Well, we can at least conclude the touch UI is still pretty primitive. After all, this is still pre-beta. But, I also think part of the reason why this demo made it look worse than it probably is might be due to the guy’s fingers being too dry. Just like with a touchpad, if your fingers are too dry then it does not work right, and it seemed that way in the vid. My friend has a HP tablet pc and I have never had a single problem using the touch screen with fingers, even while doing simple tasks like he was trying to do. What a n00b.
well that is something worth to have , asap microsoft
Looks like a good start. As was mentioned numerous times, this is pre-beta stuff, and obviously still needs a fair amount of work.
On the other hand, I believe this is the future. Multi-touch on a trackpad is a nice gimmick, but until you can accurately interact with on-screen objects, it’ll remain just that. Doing a lot of work with standard touchscreen interfaces on a regular basis, I really think this will help the average neophyte.
I can’t wait, and hope the final result is as slick as the Surface.
Sorry. It’s unusable. Yes, I know it’s pre-beta, but it’s so usable that isn’t worth doing a video review out of it.
One more thing: multitouch on regular laptops? I don’t mean tablet ones, regular ones. I really don’t see the point of having a multitouch on a regular notebook - fingers on screen, forcing hinges to support our fingers, RSI problems. It’s simply not usable!
Cheers.
On a small portable device, size is what matters, so a touch screen with multitouch is a real bonus it lets you skip keyboards and other input devices, the iPhone is perfect in this way.
But on a PC… please don’t touch my screen.
It is hard enough to keep my friends greasy fingers out of my screen showing me stuff onscreen…. Multitouch on a big screen is a recipe for a non readable screen is 10 minutes….
The only touchscreen I am willing to consider is one where my physical desk itself is turned into a giant screen, but even then it would have to be very resistant to grease and marks…
I’d end up with oil paint on the screen.
Touching my laptop screen is the last thing I want to do. And seeing this video makes me never wanna try it. I mean other people tried experimenting with this and it didn’t work out. Probably that’s the same reason why apple doesn’t want to have it on their computer. I mean it’s just not very useful. People can do the same stuff twice as fast with their mouses and/or touchpads without having to put grease and stuff on their shiny monitors.
I don’t understand what MS wants to do with this. There so much other things they need to make right.
>not Apple multi-touch impressive
Wow what a moronic comment. The only people apple’s multitouch impresses are those who are unfamiliar with multitouch at all and who are dumb enough, like biggs here, to think apple invented it. They are using, as this is, ancient multitouch gestures like pinching and flicking and so forth. The iphone is impressive because it is so small but that tech is Balda’s not apples.
Well, seems like Microsoft is nevertheless unable to implement those ancient multitouch gestures…
Video doesn’t load on flash player 10?
I usually do everything I can to NOT touch my monitors. I hate smudges and fingerprints on them and it’s a pain in the a$$ cleaning them off. I’ll stick to my keyboard and mouse (and sometimes web cam and headset) to interface with my computer for now.
What is the point of giving a practically non-working demo? I’ve seen full screen 50″ prototypes at Wired NextFest last year that were more impressive and it actually worked. Not only did they build the displays, they wrote the drivers and the software too! Come on Microsoft!
Who wants this in a laptop or desktop anyway? Tablet maybe. Does it come with tear-off sheets to keep the screen clean?
To be honest I think this whole concept of having to lift your arm to touch the screen is total crap … a waste of time and energy by Microsoft
That was an embarrassingly unusable demo…
The real problem is imagination and common sense, or the lack of in this case. Common sense will quickly show that appling multitouch to a desktop or laptop screen is just dumb. As others have said, fingerprints, destroying your AR coating, having to lift your arm to the screen etc. make this unworkable.
Lack of imagination is the next problem, can’t any of these geeks just take there greasy fingers off the screen long enough to ask what if?
“It seems that people are looking forward to the next Windows incarnation”
Of course people are looking forward to a new Window OS. The first chance that I am able to upgrade and get away from Vista, I am going to. Which, after reading a couple different review on Windows 7, I’m not too sure if a whole lot is going to change with the new OS, we’ll see.
FAIL
why doesn’t the screen zoom smoothly? on my ipod touch i can zoom in on most sites more fluid then in this demo.
i know it’s pre-beta but at this point it’s crap… and i guess multi touch screens will never be faster then a mouse on laptops or desktops. and if you want those special gestures, make some kind of hotkey so you can use your mouse and turn a picture around very accurate.
After i tried vista i installed ubuntu 8.04 for everything except gaming, that’s for xp. And i’m happy i did because it looks like microsoft is just making another OS that’s not worth upgrading to. So far there are no real reasons to upgrade to vista imho, neither to W7
Did anyone else get grossed out by listening to that guy smack his lips in the video?
I think if improved, this may be usefull on those puplic computers where you only have the screen, like a map to find yourself in the shopping or some airport public computer to do fast searches.
DUDE, you CAN’T ROTATE AN IMAGE INSIDE IMAGE VIEWER!!! That would only work in a graphic program like Corel Painter! Get your facts right when you want to talk about tech!!!
LOL. Typical Microsoft. About 5 years late to the game and it still doesn’t work.
You r all idiots. Touch is not a desktop computing feature. Use your imaginations geeks. It’s a mobility feature. Moreover the mouse metaphor is limited. It is an X Y directional tool superimposed on a 3d windowing metaphor. The is an inherent dichotomy there. In a notebook or tablet pc device the ability to not require a mouse is a big win. Grabbing something is a basic instinct and will open up computing and ui development in myriad and wonderful ways.
No one is going to take your little mousie wowsie away kids. But touch enabled OS’s are the way of the future. They represent exceptional promise in application development. Clearly we are tapped out in word processing and email. Our usage models are set and feature development is providing diminishing returns.
The nay Sayers are old school stalwarts that will be superceeded by theirmore nimbleminded brethren.
Peace.
I am PC and I am njoying it.
http://vidsonly.blogspot.com
Promising. I’d probably like it on a tablet with a screen protector on it. I’m constantly cleaning off my iPod Touch, so I can’t imagine having to constantly clean a large desktop monitor.
If anyone is interested, perhaps we should start a company that sells a tiny monitor squeegee. It could attach to the side of your 54″ widescreen LCD behemoth. Maybe include a little bucket that you can refill with soapy water. Like at a gas station.
In the meantime, nobody is laying a finger on my desktop screen.
I’ve never seen so much crap… this is horrendous… I mean seriously, this is one of those implementations of an idea that kill the idea it came from. It’s like they’ve looked at what Apple do and then tried to force it onto the windows platform. I’m on an apple now, if I want to zoom in on what I see on my screen I hold control and swipe two fingers up over my trackpad. No problem. If I want to zoom in on an image I use the inverse pinch.. I mean, these guys should just copy apple and have done… there’s no point in reinventing the wheel, especially if the wheel you come up with doesn’t even turn…
Microsoft is doing a good job this time, even the feature of Windows 7 http://www.youtechno.info/2008/10/new-features-of-windows-7.html are great.
One thing microsoft ist brilliant at ist marketing. Good press means only one thing. They are just on the task and even better for them the product ist just showcasing.
I very much doubt the windows 7 press effect… they can still very much screw this up on the product…
Windows 7 is dead in the water. It will never catch on.
Bahaha…
I’m really excited over Windows7. The first Microsoft product in a long, long time that seems well worth a little hype.
For all those paranoid about their screens: “Think bigger!!” Damn it! forget for one moment that we have a single monitor, imagine having an input device that works like a touchscreen independent of a monitor. Or even imagine running exactly the same OS on all devices - mobile, notebook and desktop. While so many are jumping up and down saying how terrible an idea it is, look beyond the demo and think at where this could go.
Some of the greatest inventions ever only got there because someone else made a useless one.
Hmmm…Windows 7 on a mobile? I’d like my phone to work. Sure, Apple has a version of OS X on the iPhone but guess what, it works!
Well what a demonstration, the guy did not even know his way around the thing, and they are releasing this pile of junk next year, another failed pile of crap just like ME. When will microsoft ever leanr and stop ripping people off.