the article states about Microsoft' "the software giant usually overhauls its rival (Apple) in the end."

Really?...When? Overhauls how? With what? Technology? Innovation? Examples please to support this affirmation.

N.granby, Milan, Italy

as someone who deals with touch screens in their job, i'm an electrical and instrumentation engineer, i can tell you these screens are a "touch" fragile. and if you have long finger nails....

Phil Barnes, preston , england

sounds like a short route to a dirty screen to me- anyway i don't want to be that close and a mouse is fine


conclusion: i would not pay for it

peter c, devizes, wessex

touch screen is another way to interact with you comptuer, its not going to completely replace the keyboard or mouse, but it is much more intutive in some areas - just look at the examples in the video - brilliant for route planning and picture manipulation.. its evolution not revolution!

Atun, Nottingham, England

I can see this having good uses for shuffling rounds bits of virtual paper, e,g, photos, files, emails on screen etc, a good way of tidying up files. Needs to be on horizontal surface otherwise it will just give arm ache. No need to worry re fingerprints, just build in a windscreen wiper ;-)

Lyndsay Williams, Cambridge, UK

Will they be making it sensitive to a user punching the monitor in frustration? If so, that's highly compatible with any forthcoming versions of Windows!

Or design software around a keyboard and a tablet and pen for detailed graphics work. Innovate so users don't need mice in the first place.

Donna, Middlesex,

Memories…from 1992 when something similar was touted before win95 was released. I remember a survey that revealed users wanted a large desktop sized screen, upon which was projected a high resolution interface, with a foldout keyboard for typing. So, will win7 be equally off target?

James, Chelmsford,

I think the trouble would come in when you are word processing... and say right now, while typing this comment, I wanted to go back and fix up a mistake in the first line, my fingers are too big for it to be as accurate as a tiny cursor that moves at a different speed... know what I mean?

Ahron, Melbourne, Australia

A touch screen is not a useful replacement for a mouse in a desktop setting: people need to sit some distance from the screen for best ergonomics, and, at such a distance, reaching out to touch it would be uncomfortable. Also, constantly touching the screen would make it dirty.

James E. Petts, Burnham, England

I've used a touch screen tablet pc with Windows XP. I find the touch screen so awful that I only ever use it when I'm working in the open.

Luke, London, UK

So now the keyboard will be on the screen, or?

David Masu, Zürich,

This is not the great leap forward it is being touted as. Many PCs and many mobile phones do this now.

Ryan, Edinburgh,

if it performs as badly as Vista does, a smeary screen is the least of our worries

Clive, Lichfield, UK

Just looks like an expensive & somewhat messy way to reduce productivity to near zero.
90% of the people I know are amazed that I can Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V (or Cmd+c, Cmd+V Mac) to cut & paste in milliseconds as opposed to 10 sec with a mouse or 10 minutes with touch screen.

Ed, Harrogate, England

Wow, touting already available features for an OS available (maybe) in 3 years.

Colour me unimpressed!

James K, Wirral,

Why not use a variant on the Wii controller? I have both Vista and an Imac with Leopard OS - as recent migrant I can confirm the the mac is both quicker and easier.

Arnold Ward, Weybridge, Surrey, UK

I'd really like a touchscreen, or a pen screen, but I really want to project the screen onto my desktop, as Johnny Lee did using a Wii remote at CMU. Then I can adjust the size to suit my visual acuity, and not worry about getting the screen dirty. If only a low cost LED projector existed....

Roger, Rochester, NY, USA

The technology has been around for years.What unique this time is it's application.Thats the real innovation,its not intended to replace the PC or to perform the same function at least not yet. but to help casino, retailer to provide a better service and get rid of few employees &eventually cut cost

Abdul Osman, Essex, UK

If it's made by Microsoft expect it to be bloated 'bug ware' if it's like almost everything else they make - it won't work, will be full of security holes and need 1000 'patches'. - please get VISTA right before making anything else! (better still scap it and start again) .

billbo, Brisbane, Australia

“We’ll sell 290 million PCs, and Apple will sell 10 million PCs..." Someone tell Ballmer that Microsoft doesn't sell PCs. I don't believe the 140 million Vista copies sold either. The iPhone has only sold a few million and I know a LOT more people with those than with Vista. Where are they?

Steve W., Falls Church, USA

My cat would LOVE a 20" touch screen. So many things to play with... Seriously, though, Microsoft should test this idea in the real World first, before they start touting it. It's neat, technology-wise, but as a techie myself, I know that what I think is really neat, may not really be practical.

Douwe, Vila Real Santo Antonio, Portugal

This has got to be the wrong approach!! I find it hard enough to keep my screen clean anyway whilst using a mouse. Let's hope that we will be able to turn off the touchscreen, and revert to a mouse if preferred.

Richard, Sandy, UK

Umm - what's particularly revolutionary about this? Multiple-point touchscreen monitors have been around for over 20 years. Microsoft itself has been working on the idea for 7.

"PC manufacturers...will now focus on making machines that are capable of exploiting the new software". Surely vice versa?

James Percival, Oxford,

Has Bill Gates gone crazy? I'm not letting my kids put their fingers all over my computer screen.
Touch technology over a mouse on a pc? It is only usefull on a PLC screen for operating machinery or devices with static controls, not a pc that has an infinate amout of things to display or do.

Glen, woodville, canada

Fingerprint smudges on my laptop screen drive me crazy -- I'm not sure touch screens are really going to catch on unless someone solves that.

luke, Toronto, Canada

Hardly a revolution. Touch screen technology has been around for years.

Most users will stick with a mouse rather than getting greasy paw marks on the screen.

MS must be desperate for gimmicks after the flop of vista. People are tired of the never-ending and costly cycle of MS upgrades.

A Hariis, Kettering, UK

Behind the curve again

We were using touch screen devices selling point of sale systems back in 1998. Microsoft were touting the tablet pc back in 2002. Now touch screens are hip again thanks to the iPhone etc.. so this pops back out. Maybe it will catch on this time.

Rob Allen, Johannesburg, South Africa

The screen will become all smeary.

Frank Upton, Solihull,