Do consumers really want touchscreen PCs? (Because I don't

I own an iPad, which I love dearly. I use it for lots of things -- games, email, browsing the web, social networking, writing, viewing photos and video, and remote accessing my PC. The iPad, like all tablets, is a true jack of all trades and a master of some too.
But, try as I might, I can’t use it for "real" tasks. While it’s fine for writing small-ish articles on, I could never write a novel on it -- and I’ve tried. For some reason, I just can’t connect with typing on a touchscreen in the same way I do when typing on a proper full-size keyboard. And I could never imagine attempting detailed Photoshop work on a touchscreen either (well, not without a fine stylus at least).

Maybe it’s just because I’ve been using a keyboard and mouse combo for so long that the old control method has become part of who I am when working. I sit down in front of my PC and the mouse and keyboard are there, in my hands without my ever really having to think about what I’m doing.

Do consumers really want touchscreen PCs? (Because I don't)

Personally I'm looking into getting a touch screen for my desktop PC. I have one of those two-foot deep glass computer desks with the glass slide-out keyboard draws. Since the desk is only two-foot deep and with the draw closed I can get close enough to my screen to use touch. I have no problems with my arms tiring since I've worked construction for many years.

Another factor is that I've always disliked the mouse and use mostly keyboard shortcuts. I'm thinking with touch along with a stylus I can throw my mouse away for good.

What are your thoughts on the article and/or any scenario of using touch at your desk?

 

[fourthofjuly]

Call me an OC, but I literally yell at people at home and at work who touches and smudges my screen. So, I guess it will be a lot of yelling for me, so, NO thank you.

The only company I know who really pushes all PCs to become touchscreen is the company that makes screen cleaners.

 

[mdmd]

I used an Acer All in One touchscreen at my office for a couple of weeks. For some things touch is ok, but for everyday use I won't be switching.

Smears on the monitor are terrible
I hate the shiny reflective nature.
Cutting and Pasting is cumbersome.
I hate shifting my hands between the horizontal surface of the keyboard and the vertical surface of the monitor.
Arm gets tired after a few hours or reaching for everything.

That sums it up for me. Thanks for sharing real life experience.

Why would someone use touch to cut and paste?
Who would use touch for hours?
How many touch users do their work on vertical monitors?
Does everyone have greasy fingers?
Can you clean your touch screen with Windex or something?

 

[HippsieGypsie]

If it's not popular now, how is it going to become popular in 2-3 years? It would have been so simple to have left the interface elements of Windows 7 in Windows 8, brought in the underlying improvements and left the MPI as a secondary option for the desktop. Windows 8 would have stormed the ramparts and been declared a resounding success. I can't believe how Microsoft completely misread its userbase and was blindsided by tablets and mobile phones.

OMG! Is this the way your going to go out of this world?! Kicking and screaming all the way?!!....I mean Geez?!!....Why don't they see things my way?!! You too, SIW(I don't know you)2. It is what it is!!!......PERIOD!!! I mean get a grip!!! TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.....Your desktop is OBSOLETE!!! Gone! Nil! Obsolete! Bye bye! Adiós! See ya! Will be gone forever! No return! No coming back!

 

[Coke Robot]

If someone can build a nice IPS 27 inch touch display that is nicely and well designed as well as well built that tilts down in a similar fashion as a Wacom touch display (or think drawing easel) along with a Wacom pressure sensitive stylus at 1080p resolution or higher with HDMI input along with a very decent viewing angle and has a matte screen finish, I will freaking buy it and demand them to take my money. Preferably, I'd have it be done by ASUS as I already have mostly an ASUS setup going.

Touch on a desktop if done correctly is a VERY ideal situation. The touch AIO PCs aren't that great as a proper touch example as they have very limited tilt range, which isn't what you'd want. Touch on a desktop CANNOT BE DONE in the same way as using a standard LCD monitor and a mouse. It just can't. It's not ergonomic, you have overview the content and not have so much arm movement involved. Having a screen vertically isn't the right way I believe, it has to be more horizontal. THAT is the way I find touch is done on the desktop quite literally.

Then there needs to be the UI enhancements with Windows to make that work. Copy and paste text? Fine tune the software to accurately detect what you're trying to highlight. Have a Radial menu for text editing options (you'd probably hit a little circle with an A or a clipboard which opens up a Radial menu with the copy, cut, paste, mush, eat options) and when copied to the clipboard and when the system finds that the user has hit a text field, that menu shows up again.

But then again, I'm just a paid-by-Microsoft luddite who just preaches things just to preach things.

 

[Ray8]

If it's not popular now, how is it going to become popular in 2-3 years? It would have been so simple to have left the interface elements of Windows 7 in Windows 8, brought in the underlying improvements and left the MPI as a secondary option for the desktop. Windows 8 would have stormed the ramparts and been declared a resounding success. I can't believe how Microsoft completely misread its userbase and was blindsided by tablets and mobile phones.

OMG! Is this the way your going to go out of this world?! Kicking and screaming all the way?!!....I mean Geez?!!....Why don't they see things my way?!! You too, SIW(I don't know you)2. It is what it is!!!......PERIOD!!! I mean get a grip!!! TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.....Your desktop is OBSOLETE!!! Gone! Nil! Obsolete! Bye bye! Adiós! See ya! Will be gone forever! No return! No coming back!

Your rant is quite hypocritical. But that's nothing unusual from you and others that keep calling those who don't like the MPI and support the view that there should be options, as Luddites and the like.

I, nor anyone else, is suggesting that things should be done my way, but merely voicing a view that options should be provided. Options that in no way affect Windows 8, but enhance the user experience of those who work on the desktop.

Your post is akin to a childish tantrum, emotional and full of shouting and ranting.

 

[labeeman]

But then again, I'm just a paid-by-Microsoft luddite who just preaches things just to preach things.

Now that I can believe. LOL

 

[whs]

If it's not popular now, how is it going to become popular in 2-3 years? It would have been so simple to have left the interface elements of Windows 7 in Windows 8, brought in the underlying improvements and left the MPI as a secondary option for the desktop. Windows 8 would have stormed the ramparts and been declared a resounding success. I can't believe how Microsoft completely misread its userbase and was blindsided by tablets and mobile phones.

OMG! Is this the way your going to go out of this world?! Kicking and screaming all the way?!!....I mean Geez?!!....Why don't they see things my way?!! You too, SIW(I don't know you)2. It is what it is!!!......PERIOD!!! I mean get a grip!!! TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.....Your desktop is OBSOLETE!!! Gone! Nil! Obsolete! Bye bye! Adiós! See ya! Will be gone forever! No return! No coming back!

You could make a career as a stand-up comedian.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

If it's not popular now, how is it going to become popular in 2-3 years? It would have been so simple to have left the interface elements of Windows 7 in Windows 8, brought in the underlying improvements and left the MPI as a secondary option for the desktop. Windows 8 would have stormed the ramparts and been declared a resounding success. I can't believe how Microsoft completely misread its userbase and was blindsided by tablets and mobile phones.

OMG! Is this the way your going to go out of this world?! Kicking and screaming all the way?!!....I mean Geez?!!....Why don't they see things my way?!! You too, SIW(I don't know you)2. It is what it is!!!......PERIOD!!! I mean get a grip!!! TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING.....Your desktop is OBSOLETE!!! Gone! Nil! Obsolete! Bye bye! Adiós! See ya! Will be gone forever! No return! No coming back!

You could make a career as a stand-up comedian.

Perhaps I did miss my calling in life, but 8 is what it is. No more. No less. Good night, gentlemen. See you on the morrow.

 

[Coke Robot]

Talking about tedious text manipulation....

 

[lehnerus2000]

It's not our fault that after 20 years, you still haven't mastered selecting things with a mouse.

 

[fourthofjuly]

With my mouse, I can zoom in and out, scroll up and down-left & right, , move between pages, mute/adjust volume up and down and stop, pause, play and skip music tracks using only one finger at a time WITHOUT moving my wrist. Touchscreens can't do that. And it's a 5 year old wireless mouse from logitech.

 

[Coke Robot]

It's not our fault that after 20 years, you still haven't mastered selecting things with a mouse.

I've mastered that already a LONG LONG time ago, but still, it is a piddle off when that does happen though on an internet page when you're selecting something and have to scroll pretty far down to get a piece of text. Then at the end, it highlights EVERYTHING the page...

With touch, I haven't really had that issue since there are pretty decent text selecting handles there to select text. When it's on a small touchscreen, that's where it can get tedious. On a larger screen with Word 2013 let's say, it's a lot more nicer to do.

 

[Coke Robot]

With my mouse, I can zoom in and out, scroll up and down-left & right, , move between pages, mute/adjust volume up and down and stop, pause, play and skip music tracks using only one finger at a time WITHOUT moving my wrist. Touchscreens can't do that. And it's a 5 year old wireless mouse from logitech.

View attachment 20498

The way technology is going, all of that probably might get done with hand gestures.

 

[fourthofjuly]

With my mouse, I can zoom in and out, scroll up and down-left & right, , move between pages, mute/adjust volume up and down and stop, pause, play and skip music tracks using only one finger at a time WITHOUT moving my wrist. Touchscreens can't do that. And it's a 5 year old wireless mouse from logitech.

View attachment 20498

The way technology is going, all of that probably might get done with hand gestures.

You probably missed the point.
I don't need to move my entire hand or bend my wrist with all the task I listed above using this mouse... just one finger at time. This is technology in it's purest and simplest form minus the fanciness. This is actually the extension of my hand controlling the screen without lifting a finger. It's like my eyes are doing the job for me.

 

[Ray8]

This is why touch is better for some, robot hands haven't quite reached the point of dexterity of human hands:

 

[Coke Robot]

With my mouse, I can zoom in and out, scroll up and down-left & right, , move between pages, mute/adjust volume up and down and stop, pause, play and skip music tracks using only one finger at a time WITHOUT moving my wrist. Touchscreens can't do that. And it's a 5 year old wireless mouse from logitech.

View attachment 20498

The way technology is going, all of that probably might get done with hand gestures.

You probably missed the point.
I don't need to move my entire hand or bend my wrist with all the task I listed above using this mouse... just one finger at time. This is technology in it's purest and simplest form minus the fanciness. This is actually the extension of my hand controlling the screen without lifting a finger. It's like my eyes are doing the job for me.

Meh, hand gestures are cooler.

 

[pparks1]

If someone can build a nice IPS 27 inch touch display that is nicely and well designed as well as well built that tilts down in a similar fashion as a Wacom touch display (or think drawing easel) along with a Wacom pressure sensitive stylus at 1080p resolution or higher with HDMI input along with a very decent viewing angle and has a matte screen finish, I will freaking buy it and demand them to take my money. Preferably, I'd have it be done by ASUS as I already have mostly an ASUS setup going.

this coming from the guy who I don't think has bought 8, or a surface, or a Nokia 920. Lots of talk.

 

[Coke Robot]

If someone can build a nice IPS 27 inch touch display that is nicely and well designed as well as well built that tilts down in a similar fashion as a Wacom touch display (or think drawing easel) along with a Wacom pressure sensitive stylus at 1080p resolution or higher with HDMI input along with a very decent viewing angle and has a matte screen finish, I will freaking buy it and demand them to take my money. Preferably, I'd have it be done by ASUS as I already have mostly an ASUS setup going.

this coming from the guy who I don't think has bought 8, or a surface, or a Nokia 920. Lots of talk.

I already have 8, don't need a Surface Pro right now, and waiting for the Nokia Lumia EOS that is expected to be released this summer.

 

[goodintentions]

I own an iPad, which I love dearly. I use it for lots of things -- games, email, browsing the web, social networking, writing, viewing photos and video, and remote accessing my PC. The iPad, like all tablets, is a true jack of all trades and a master of some too.
But, try as I might, I can’t use it for "real" tasks. While it’s fine for writing small-ish articles on, I could never write a novel on it -- and I’ve tried. For some reason, I just can’t connect with typing on a touchscreen in the same way I do when typing on a proper full-size keyboard. And I could never imagine attempting detailed Photoshop work on a touchscreen either (well, not without a fine stylus at least).

Maybe it’s just because I’ve been using a keyboard and mouse combo for so long that the old control method has become part of who I am when working. I sit down in front of my PC and the mouse and keyboard are there, in my hands without my ever really having to think about what I’m doing.

Do consumers really want touchscreen PCs? (Because I don't)

Personally I'm looking into getting a touch screen for my desktop PC. I have one of those two-foot deep glass computer desks with the glass slide-out keyboard draws. Since the desk is only two-foot deep and with the draw closed I can get close enough to my screen to use touch. I have no problems with my arms tiring since I've worked construction for many years.

Another factor is that I've always disliked the mouse and use mostly keyboard shortcuts. I'm thinking with touch along with a stylus I can throw my mouse away for good.

What are your thoughts on the article and/or any scenario of using touch at your desk?

I don't understand why people have such a hard time understanding the word "option" combined with "touchscreen". Look, just because there's a touchscreen doesn't mean you have to throw away your mouse and use the touchscreen for photoshop.

Look, when the mouse came out, did you have to give up your keyboard to only use the mouse? No, of course not. The keyboard was still very helpful. It still is. Now that we have touchscreen, it sure beats the mouse or the keyboard in certain tasks. But we still type a lot faster with a keyboard, and we still copy and paste blocks of texts and work with autocad and photoshop a lot better with a mouse.

I don't understand this false dilemma that people are coming up with. Why do we have to give up the mouse or the keyboard because we have touchscreen now? I don't get that. Can someone smarter than me please explain to me why you think just because we have the touchscreen that we have to abandon the mouse?

Is this the same mentality that because I can marry my long time partner that your marriage will be somehow magically ruined?

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
This debate is already verging on the ridiculous

I think the Brits have the word for this -- "Horses for Courses". Nothing wrong if you want to have a touch screen -- could make sense on a laptop -- but if you've got two or three say even not so huge LCD screens -- say 30 inch ones -- you still would (or definitely SHOULD) need to sit too far away from these monitors to make touch of no use at all (to say nothing of having horrible finger marks all over the screens).

On a smallish laptop screen it could be of use if you are using the laptop rather more like a tablet -- just surfing the net / pinching etc to re-size text etc. However Touch does not mean that traditional mouse and keyboard won't be available -- it's just an EXTRA feature that I'm sure isn't of major significance for people who work primarily with a classical desktop and standard windows applications.

So I can't really see the point of this discussion -- It's not an EITHER OR choice at all. For Large screens if you had something like a laser pencil then that type of "touch" might be of some use but I can only really see touch being of use on laptops / tablets / mobile phones in normal circumstances.

Cheers
jimbo