The future of touch-screen computing

Despite touch technology being around for many years, the most common way to interact with a computer remains the rather archaic combination of a keyboard and mouse. But you only need to look at the mobile phone industry to see that touch technology is starting to become very popular.

Apple’s iPhone stands out as the device that got the ball rolling. Thanks to its multi-touch capabilities (this means it can recognise more than one finger on the screen), functions such as zooming, scrolling and image rotating can all be performed using your fingers.

It’s not all about Apple, though, and perhaps the biggest indicator that touch technology is about to hit the big time is the fact that Microsoft has added it to its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system.

In this article we’ll take a look at what touch technology offers, its limitations and how it might shape the way we use computers in future.

Take control with touch
In order to control a device by touch, there are two main prerequisites: a touch-sensitive display and software that recognise touch commands. The technology used varies. Some touchscreens use capacitive displays that will only react to objects that conduct electricity (such as a human finger).

Others require the use of a specific pen, while there are those that will respond to any form of pressure. If you have a touch-sensitive display, Windows 7 allows you to control a variety of applications using your fingers.

Better still, applications don’t have to be specifically written to take advantage of basic touch features ­ Windows 7 recognises common program controls and connects them to a touchscreen.

For example, any application with scroll bars can be controlled by dragging your finger up and down the screen.

The language of touch
Windows 7 comes with a selection of touch controls that will work with most programs, regardless of whether or not they were designed with touch in mind.

Basic navigation can be performed by tapping on icons to open files or folders, while holding one finger on the screen will bring up the right-click menu. Tapping once on an empty part of the desktop enables the mouse function, which lets you drag the pointer around with your finger.

Depending on the program, more advanced touch controls can be used. For example, it’s possible to rotate images in Windows Photo Viewer by holding one finger on the screen and making a circular motion with another finger.