If There's One Thing I Can't Stand...

Posted by: Arik Hesseldahl on May 28, 2008

… It’s touching my computer screen. Worse than that? Someone else touching my computer screen.

Microsoft has been touting Windows 7 at the AllThingsD conference. Steve Wildstrom was there. The main feature? A multi-touch interface, similar to that of the iPhone, and also Microsoft’s own Surface technology. (See the video below, courtesy YouTube.)

So its Windows, but Windows that lets you manipulate files and objects directly on the screen by touching them as alternative to the mouse. I can see this making sense in the world of tablet computing, where Microsoft has made some inroads.

But I’m not certain I want to touch my screen as a matter of routine. I really really hate the sight of fingerprints and smudges. I would drive myself batty if I had an iPhone, and as it is, I drive myself somewhat batty already constantly wiping off the screen of my Blackberry Pearl after talking on it. The last thing I want in a PC - be it a Mac or a Windows box — is a feature that by definition essentially invites and even encourages a smudgy screen.

I can imagine worse, much worse. Assuming Windows remains as buggy and unreliable as experience has shown it to be, imagine the guy from tech support who’s just finished his lunch, including a bag of greasy potato chips, sitting down and touching the screen. YUCK! I would get a reputation as the guy who says “go wash your hands” before allowing a tech guy to work on my machine.

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