At the D6 Conference yesterday, Microsoft’s chairman and founder took the stage to present the world with a glimpse of Windows’ future. A brief demonstration of the forthcoming Windows 7 showed a multitouch interface that is, according to Julie Larson-Green, VP of Windows Experience, built in throughout the OS. During the demo, there were hints that the Windows Dev has seriously considered how the Widows UI needs to adapt to support multitouch. This begs the question: Is multitouch Windows a true interface revolution, or is it merely another niche add-on to the system, much like it’s less-than-stellar cousin the tablet pc?
No discussion of multitouch interfaces is complete without a nod to the current leader: the iphone. Indeed, more than one blogger has deadpanned that the Widows 7 demo was a bit heavy on déjà vu. Aside from the Windows Paint portion of the demo, all the uses for multitouch already exist on the iPhone (although some, like the piano, require hacking to install third party apps). Apple’s main innovation in the iPhone interface is the complete rethinking of the user interaction with the OS, a point that is often overlooked by users responding to the slickness and design. The iPhone does away with standard dialog boxes, and it spares the user trying to hit a target on a ribbon of tiny buttons to accomplish tasks (here’s looking at you, Word Toolbars). New interface metaphors, including sliding switches, pop-up keyboards, and accelerometer positioning sensors were required, rather than simply touch-enabling the standard Mac OS X interface.
The Windows 7 demo showed that Microsoft has put some thought into this need to rethink user interaction. Rather than fixing the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, a finger combination is used to summon a circular taskbar at your current screen location. Taskbar aside, Microsoft has a propensity for overly complicated interfaces (again, think Word with all the toolbars displayed), which require a mouse and keyboard? Pen computing, long touted by Microsoft as the last interface revolution, has failed to gain broad traction for this very reason: current Windows, Mac OS, and Linux UIs are products of decades of mouse-and-keyboard user interaction. Physical considerations aside - who wants to hold their arms out all day at work to use their laptop? - how radical a redesign can Microsoft deliver to position multitouch as a truly practical alternative? Users cried foul when the Office Ribbon made its debut - what kind of revolt would be raised if Microsoft redesigns to support multitouch throughout? And without such a radical UI facelift, is multitouch really a viable interface alternative? Or is this merely an attempt to build more excitement about Windows 7 in light of the not-so-warm reception Vista faces (and steal the more-than-warm spotlight away from Apple)?
Read [D6 Highlights]
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