According to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, Windows 7 will start the revolution that drastically changes the way we interact with our computers, employing a fingertip interface among other improvements. According to Gates, "Today almost all the interaction is keyboard-mouse. Over years to come, the role of speech, vision, ink - all of those things - will be huge." Windows 7 is scheduled to release in 2009, not a moment too soon for many users who have given Vista the cold shoulder, though Ballmer says Microsoft has shipped 150 million copies. Gates who was speaking at the All Things Digital conference in San Diego says "The way you interact with the system will change dramatically," While Windows product manager Chris Flores has recently written in a blog post that "Touch is quickly becoming a common way of interacting with software and devices," and that "Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere including laptop touch pads, cell phones, remote controls, GPS devices and more." Not sure what impact this will have on emerging products like the Surface PC, seems like that becomes a little obsolete if all new PCs will be touch enabled, but you can't deny the appeal of the touch interface. BBC story here.
