Professional Windows 7 Development Guide

Chapter 9. Working with the Multi-Touch User Interface

WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER?

• Defining Multi-Touch Interface uses

• Understanding what the user needs to use the Multi-Touch Interface

• Working with the Multi-Touch Platform

Microsoft and other vendors have tried for years to get you to use something other than the mouse and keyboard to interact with your computer. Industry pundits constantly complain that these tools are antiquated at best (see John Dvorak's take on the topic at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2350895,00.asp). It's true, the keyboard has been around since the 1860s, but this only points out that the keyboard is a truly useful device that hasn't received its due as an important innovation.

To an extent, the vendors have been successful in moving you to other devices. Many people use their cell phones and other mobile devices with a combination of touch screens and keyboard substitutes. However, many mobile devices come with a keyboard simply because that's the way people are used to working. All these vendors have a vision of you interacting with your computer using a combination of voice and gestures at some point — the same vision that appears in many science fiction movies. Whether this vision materializes depends on how technology evolves. Products such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking (http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/products/) have made progress, but they don't work well for technical users, and at a 99 percent (maximum) comprehension rate, that means one in ...