The Age of Touch Computing

DigitalDame2 writes "In 2009, touch computing will go mainstream. More and more devices will be legitimately touch-enabled with gesture controls for browsing through photos, tossing objects around the screen, flicking to turn the page of a book, and even playing video games and watching movies. In fact, Gartner analyst Steve Prentice told the BBC recently that the mouse will be dead in three to five years. PCMag has a full look at touch computing — the past, the present, and the future — including an interview with Sabrina Boler, touch UI designer."

Didn't get past the first sentence

[patch0]

"Touch computing-which started with the iPhone"..... At this point I stopped reading...

Be Sure to Practice Safe Computing

[Bruce Perens]

With all of the new fads, some computer users may not be aware of the danger of touch screens with multiple partners. Diseases like Onchomyosis [wikipedia.org] can be spread from one finger to another by touching a screen that has multiple partners. Be frank and honest with your screen. Purchase finger cotts [all-spec.com], always have one on hand before you consider touching, and use them consciontiously!

No thought

[GottliebPins]

The age of no thought computing is here. Where people think that all they have to do is touch something and it magically works. They don't have to think or type or know anything to get whatever it is they want. But for those of us who live in the real world and actually have to create the content these no brainers will be using we will still be using keyboards and pointing devices. I for one don't want to spend 8-10 hours a day flapping my arms around writting an application nor do I want to spend all day arguing with my computer to get it to understand the context of the words I'm saying. Whenever these geniuses come out with some new keyboard that isn't standard that adds 52 extra keys to control every multimedia device on the planet it psses me off. How am I supposed to type on this? Where's the damn delete key? How am I supposed to do real work here? I don't need a pointing device that knows how I feel or what my favorite color is. I just need one that works.

Re:The mouse...

[Zironic]

The "Slow down data entry" thing about the QWERTY configuration is a myth.

The reason they went with QWERTY was that it prevented the typing machine from hanging up which was common with the first ABCDE model, it also allowed them to type TYPEWRITER with a single row which apparently was very nice for the sales representatives.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwerty [wikipedia.org]

The mouse...has two buttons

[MikeMo]

Actually, clicking with two fingers is equal to a right-click.

Re:The mouse...

[imamac]

Tapping with 2 fingers works like a right click for me. Do people really still think Macs don't use a "right click" to bring up contextual menus??

Re:The mouse...

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny thing, you can configure the lower left part of the pad as left click and lower right part as right click.

I do prefer tap to click though, 1 finger - left click, 2 fingers - right click.

(this on a new mac book)

Re:The mouse...

[knight24k]

I thought about that, and while it would be a nice idea the same problem keeps recurring. Tactile feedback is a must. You have to know when a keystroke is entered. Those who type for a living could not use such a device without some retraining. Also, as some have indicated, using the screen for input brings up a host of ergonomic issues. Input needs to remain at the desk level so workers do not incur stress injuries. Even using it at home would become tiring after even a short time using a screen based touch device. I doubt you could share it between the mouse and keyboard because there are many reasons to use both simultaneously and switching between the two would quickly become an issue.

Again, I can see where a touch environment would work in "specific" situations and jobs, but for the majority of home and business users, this will not work. I think the "mouse" device needs to remain at the desk level along with and separate from the keyboard. Whether that means a touch device or the conventional mouse remains to be seen.

Re:The mouse...

[_xeno_]

The MacBook isn't edge-scroll, though - two fingers on the pad is scrolling. Having used edge-scroll before, the MacBook's gesture is much more convenient. And given how you get to Page Up/Down on the MacBook, it's generally more convenient than using them, although that's not really a feature...

But you can easily flick up and down through pages on the MacBook in a way that you can't on a PC with edge scroll. (I've used both.) Part of that is, as I said earlier, thanks to the MacBook's Trackpad being much larger than the standard PC touch pad. The other part is that you can almost instantly go from moving the cursor to scrolling. It's very convenient in a way you really can't appreciate until you try it.