| Touch screen software was initially used in kiosk | | | | Many modern operating systems include touch |
| systems, POS terminals, ATM's and on PDA's. | | | | screen software, supporting multi-touch as well: |
| With raising popularity of smart phones, modern | | | | - Windows 7, Vista and XP Tablet PC Edition, |
| PDA's, GPS's and portable game consoles (most | | | | - Ubuntu, |
| notably Nintendo's DS), the demand for | | | | - Google's Android, |
| touch-screen technologies slowly increased. Early | | | | - Palm's webOS and Xandros |
| touch-screen displays could only sense a single | | | | With a combination of Windows 7 and a touch |
| point of input at a time and only a few of them | | | | screen LCD monitor or laptop, you can just |
| were capable of detecting the strength of the | | | | shuffle your files and folders, browse the web or |
| pressure. | | | | flick through your album, just with your fingers. |
| This was changed with Apples ongoing | | | | Limited one-finger touch-screen capability has |
| commercialization of the multi-touch technology | | | | been available before, but Windows 7 is the first |
| with iPhone and iPod touch. Multi-touch allows the | | | | to deliver multi-touch. You can zoom in by placing |
| user to interact with the screen with fingers, | | | | your fingers on the screen and spread them |
| instead of a stylus. The movement of fingers | | | | apart. You can right "click" the file, by placing any |
| creates gestures, which are then sent to the | | | | finger on the screen and tapping the screen with |
| touch screen software. Popularity of iPhone, has | | | | the other. Start menu and the taskbar now have |
| brought touch-screen technology to many smart | | | | bigger, finger-friendly icons. All the programs |
| phones and hand-held devices. | | | | included with Windows are also touch ready. You |
| Many companies have upgraded their products, | | | | can even finger paint in Paint, with no additional |
| either by adding a multi/touch support to the | | | | touch screen software. |
| track-pad or by making their Tablet PC's | | | | Many companies produce specialized touch screen |
| interact-able without the stylus. Some companies | | | | software, either for specific devices or for |
| specialize in production of large wall-mounted or | | | | general computers. You can expect, from any |
| table surfaces. Most notable are Microsoft's | | | | decent touch screen software, to support |
| Surface and Perceptive Pixel's Multi-Touch | | | | multi-touch and gestures. However even more |
| Collaboration Wall. | | | | intuitive approaches are being invented all the |
| Both wall mounted and table mounted displays | | | | time. BumpTop desktop, for example, a desktop |
| have had a few ergonomic problems. "Gorilla arm" | | | | replacement for Windows and Mac, goes beyond |
| was a side effect, that destroyed wall mounted | | | | standard gestures such as pan and zoom. |
| touch-screen as a mainstream. Developers of | | | | A recent survey performed by Canalys (26. |
| touch-screen systems, failed to notice, that | | | | January 2010) shows, there is a significant rise in |
| humans are not built to hold their arms high for a | | | | demand for touch-screen computers, for both, |
| long period of time, making small and precise | | | | users of laptops as well as home desktops. New |
| motions at the same time. Table mounted | | | | hand-held devices are being created all the time |
| displays do not share this problem, however, | | | | and new technologies are emerging. Touch screen |
| users can develop neck pain after using it for a | | | | technology has had it's share of troubles, but it is |
| period of time and their view is obstructed by | | | | here to stay. |
| their arms. | | | | |