Windows 7 Picture gets Clearer
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Bill Gates and Microsoft were going to go ahead with Multitouch technology in a way that they had not contemplated before. In essence, they were going to combine Multitouch technology with their flagship Windows operating system software, allowing people to experience both in a way that would hopefully make up for the fiasco that was Windows Vista.
Now, as the All Things Digital Conference has come and gone, the picture is starting to get clearer regarding exactly what Microsoft intends to do. Depending on who you are, the news is either very good or somewhat disappointing.
As far as the best estimates go, Multitouch technology on Windows 7 is not going to be all-encompassing. Rather, it will include elements that made Multitouch technology great in the first place. These elements include things like the resizing of different photographs, the tracing of routes on maps to get directions and the painting of different pictures through direct touch with the screen. In essence, specific elements that are obvious places for Multitouch to be introduced will see the functionality installed, while the main part of the system will still be maintained by traditional mouse control.
Depending on how that is interpreted, Multitouch could potentially be seen as a basic alternative to the mouse or it could be seen as an augmentation to the mouse for people that would like to slowly move over. The only sure thing at the moment is that conventional mouse and keyboard interfaces will still be around for a long time to come. This appears to be the message that Microsoft has sent with their latest demonstration of the Windows 7 Multitouch technology.
Microsoft MultiTouch Multitouch technology Touch technology windows 7Microsoft to take over MobiComp
MobiComp may or may not be a company that you have heard of before, but this company operating out of the country of Portugal might be the next step forward for the Microsoft Multitouch revolution.
MobiComp is a company that is not very originally named, since the company focuses primarily on mobile applications. At the current moment in time, the company has been around for less than a decade but has been able to develop three mobile applications that allow for enhanced functionality on the mobile level. The Portuguese company seems to have a talent for coming up with good mobile applications, which is perhaps the main reason as to why Microsoft went out of their way to acquire MobiComp.
While Microsoft will not say as much out loud, they are desperate when it comes to the mobile market. Their operating system was not worth anything to mobile users in terms of increased efficiency and with Apple’s release of products like the iPhone, it is quite clear that the mobile market was Apple’s re-entry into the computer game. Microsoft, through its own ineptitude, allowed the practically dead Apple Company back into the market and now they are reeling as Apple goes on the offensive and starts cutting into their sales.
Microsoft appears to be serious in their rhetoric about regaining some of the market. The acquisition of MobiComp appears to be a means to that end. The combination of Microsoft’s mobile Multitouch technology and the mobile applications of MobiComp suggest products in the future that might be in a position to challenge Apple for the mobile market.
Business Microsoft microsoft mobicomp Mobile mobile applications mobile marketWindows Multitouch Proves to be More than a Rumour
One of the most interesting things about the technology industry is that no matter what the news story is, there will be people either claiming it to be nothing but a speculative rumour or else a devious conspiracy theory of some kind. When the Windows 7 concept first hit the news channels, there were many people that came into the camp of the rumour, believing that it was too soon for Microsoft to have done anything in the realm of Multitouch functional software.
A recent All Things Digital conference held in late May has proved that to be completely false.
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, the two names that have been most associated with Microsoft over the course of the company’s history, banned together as they have done throughout the whole Multitouch adventure and demoed the aspects of Windows 7 that had already been figured out. Based on that demo, we can now conclusively say that the Windows 7 software system will have Multitouch technology when it actually hits the store.
What does this prove? Well, for starters, it proves that Microsoft is starting to understand how the Multitouch market works and is starting to adapt their products and services to cater to that market. Windows 7 represents a mainstream push on the part of Microsoft and Multitouch, something that the Surface never came close to achieving even at the best of times.
Surface NewsWindows 7 to Include Multitouch Features
Multitouch as an overall technology has really taken the world by storm, although that really has a lot more to do with Apple than it does with Microsoft. When people consider the Apple accomplishments in the field of Multitouch, the immediate conclusion that is reached has to do with the idea of Multitouch technology on the iPhone, one of the most successful computer hardware mobile products ever created.
Multitouch has almost single-handedly allowed Apple back into the game and that is exactly why Microsoft has decided to get very serious with it, dedicating the biggest change introduced in Windows 7 as being one that has a lot to do with Multitouch technology.
Specifically, Microsoft is going to be introducing Multitouch functionality into the Windows 7 system, a sure sign that Microsoft has a number of things planned for Multitouch at some point in the near future. This is not surprising news in the least, but it is definitely news that goes a long way towards showing intent on the part of the highest echelon of power at Microsoft.
By incorporating Multitouch technology into their main flagship product, Microsoft has stated a desire to move beyond specialty products like the Surface and towards mainstream products that everyone can afford to buy. One can expect these mainstream products to start including Multitouch functionality at some point in the near future, since the operating system that will be running on those products will most certainly be able to support it.
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When the Multitouch concept initially came to fruition, one of the major points of speculation for all in the industry was just how far Multitouch was going to go. The computer had been controlled by the keyboard and mouse for as long as it had been available in normal consumer form and for that reason creating a revolution in input design was going to be harder than many people were thinking.
While the revolution of Multitouch technology has not come to pass, there are a number of different people that see it coming at some point in the near future. With Microsoft releasing details about making Multitouch compatible with the next version of Windows and Apple racing ahead to create more products that use the technology, people seem to be continuing along the path to Multitouch dominance.
While that is certainly something for the average computer geek to be proud of, at the same time it is also important for that average geek to realize that there are still alternatives in the market that could demolish Multitouch before it gets anywhere near the top of the input method world. Multitouch will be facing stiff competition from keyboard and mouse input methods along the whole way and of course there will be alternatives such as voice recognition software and virtual reality input methods to contend with along the road.
The simple moral of the story is that while the Multitouch revolution is starting to look more likely with each passing day, it is also important to remember that at this stage it is by no means a sure thing.
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One of the most popular aspects of the Microsoft Multitouch technological revolution appears to be the do it yourself aspect to the technology that is starting to sweep across the nation. In a rather weird twist for the Microsoft Surface computer, rather than Surface sales numbers going up, it appears that a number of different people have started creating their own Multitouch interfaces and saving themselves a lot of money in the process.
You know that the DIY craze has gotten to ridiculous levels when Microsoft begins to get involved.
But that’s exactly what has happened. Perhaps taken aback at the backlash against their $10,000 Surface computer in the form of DIY Multitouch proliferation, Microsoft has introduced the Microsoft TouchWall. This handy piece of hardware will actually give you the chance to set up a Microsoft Multitouch display on one of your walls, putting the whole device together yourself. It is shipped in pieces and assembled by you, including the three infrared lasers that make the whole thing work. Microsoft’s DIY TouchWall product will give you a very significant discount over the Surface and it represents an effort by the technology giant to gain back some of the market share that the Surface has lost to DIY products.
The main problem with TouchWall is that most of the people that use computers are not DIY people. Putting together a desktop computer is enough for most consumers, but putting together an entire wall Multitouch display is not something that many will likely go for. This is why Multitouch has yet to penetrate into the market at large in desktop form (the only really successful Multitouch product was the iPhone and that is not a desktop device) and why the status quo is likely to remain in effect until someone creates a more affordable version of the Surface computer.
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There are a number of different reasons to love the Microsoft Surface computer. The innovative technological nature of the device comes to mind, as does the fact that it can do so many different things that your current desktop computer can not do. Of course, one reason that many companies say they love it is because they think that it will completely revolutionize the way that retail is done.
But stop for a moment; will it really do that?
There are certainly aspects to the Microsoft Surface computer that will completely change how retail is done. The ability to place a product on the computer and get instant information at your fingertips about that product is definitely something that is cool and it is a novelty that many customers will definitely find enriching.
But at the same time, what happens when the novelty wears off? Customers are likely to see higher prices because of the added cost of purchasing and maintaining the energy guzzling, extremely expensive Surface machine. Will those customers consider the added cost as palatable because of the excellent increase in service they get from the Surface? That seems to be the main question surrounding the debate as to whether or not the Microsoft Surface has the ability to change retail fundamentally.
AT&T tried out the Surface in five of their stores and so far it has been a smashing success, but a lot of that admittedly has to do with the novelty factor. While the use of Multitouch technology, when it becomes affordable universally in the future, will definitely change the way retail stores operate, it is difficult to say with certainty right now whether it will be the Surface that makes the breakthrough or else a later Multitouch machine.
microsoft surface at AT&T stores Microsoft Surface Technology microsoft surface computer Surface NewsIs Microsoft’s Multitouch Already Obsolete?
Multitouch technology has really inspired the modern world and ever since the implementation of Multitouch both on the iPhone by Apple and on the Surface by Microsoft, Multitouch technology has really been all that the world can talk about. Whether you look on blogs or within the electronic magazines of the day, Multitouch appears to be the technology of choice that is worth discussing across the electronic sphere of influence.
Oddly enough however, Multitouch technology, arguably developed first by Microsoft, appears to already be at a time when it is getting obsolete. While we love to joke about the computer that you buy being obsolete by the time you leave the store with it, strange things in computer labs appear to be giving a shred of truth to this notion as far as the Microsoft Surface computer is concerned.
And interestingly enough, these strange things are from a Microsoft computer lab!
A lab that Microsoft has in Cambridge has just reported that they have created a system that not only allows touch interaction like Multitouch technology, but it also happens to allow you to twist, bend, pull and squeeze different parts of the interface in order to make certain things happen. As one person put it, this is almost like Multitouch on steroids.
While this is something that should make many people excited, a word of caution is necessary because this is not even in the prototype stage yet. Eyes need to be kept on further developments to see if anything more comes from this Multitouch on steroids technology.
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The two biggest companies as far as Multitouch technology is concerned are Microsoft and Apple, both of which have products that are either already on the market or else are coming to the market that utilize Multitouch technology in order to create an overall electronic experience that is far beyond anything that the average user has presently in their computer setup.
However, what was once a big strength of Microsoft has become a hindrance according to many analysts, since the operating system code for Windows has become so large and bulky that changing it to adapt to any piece of hardware is something that takes a very long time to do. By contrast, Apple’s refined OS X is something that can be changed almost at will for mobile computing, desktop interfaces and everything that happens in between.
Why is this important? It’s important because Multitouch technology is as close as it is possible to come to a round two in terms of computer markets. Microsoft and their PC machines really smoked Apple in round one, reducing the Macintosh Corporation to something that was little more than a joke to the vast majority of computer users around.
However, with the advent of Multitouch technology, Apple has already proven that their refined operating system code allows them to target markets with Multitouch extremely quickly. They have already introduced phone and notebook products that work on Multitouch before Microsoft’s Surface Computer has even hit the market. The largest reason for that is the fact that Microsoft’s operating system is bulky and hard to control; Vista users saw that firsthand when they bought their new computers.
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When people have been thinking about Multitouch technology, it is really the Surface Computer that has challenged the boundaries of modern era technology. While the Apple iPhone has already been on the market for some time, it is the Surface that people have been talking about because of all of the extra features that Surface has over the iPhone. Well, while the Surface’s extra features have resulted in a price tag that is really the same thing practically as not even sending the Surface to the market, stores like AT&Tare starting to take advantage of things by reporting that they will be placing Surface computers in their stores.
AT&Thas stores all around the United States and on April 17th they will be conducting an experiment by placing twenty-two different Surface Computers in four of their stores in the country. These Surface Computers will operate as they were always envisioned to do. When people place products on the Surface, information regarding the product will come on the screen. The customer can then directly interact with the Surface in order to change the information that is being shown or to bring up additional information regarding the product on the screen. The customer can even put two products on screen at the same time in order to do an on the spot comparison between the two products before choosing which one they want to purchase.
All of these nifty things will make decisions easier for the customer from a shopping around point of view, although it might also make the lives of AT&Tsales agents a bit harder over the first week as people are expected to come into the store in order to get a chance to play with AT&T’s new Surface Computers.
AT&TStore Locations (Links lead to Maps.Live.com):
· New York: 381 Madison Ave. or 350 Park Ave.
· San Francisco area: 1206 El Camino Real, San Bruno
· San Antonio: 13127 San Pedro Ave.
· Atlanta: 3429 Lenox Road N.E.
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