David Schulz from New York writes:
Do I need a new monitor on my desktop PC to use the touchscreen capabilities of Windows 8, or does the software enable any monitor to be a touchscreen? P.S. I am currently run XP – not Vista or Windows 7.
Windows 8 is the first version of windows to fully support touchscreens with built in gestures and a touch-friendly interface. The benefits of using a touch screen include a more natural way to interact with the computer, the precision of hand movements to move items and low learning curve associated with touch input.
So will upgrading to Windows 8 enable touch on a traditional monitor? Unfortunately the answer is no. Touchscreen technology requires both a monitor that supports touch input and software to make full use of that input. Windows 8 provides the software that will take advantage of a touchscreen, but you still need to purchase a PC with a touchscreen or buy a new monitor which is “touch enabled”.
On the plus side, there are a wide assortment of touchscreen enabled monitors available today from popular monitor companies such as Planar, 3M, Wacom, Viewsonic (and more), which can be added to your existing computer. You can even use your non-touchscreen monitor as a second monitor if your computer has 2 video outputs.
~Tim
I own a HP All-In-One like the picture above, EXCEPT that the screen is not the touch-screen type (Model 120la).
So you are saying that Windows 8 is USELESS for those computers and the situation being that I cannot simply change my screen monitor because it also has computer innards already built-in.
So, you say if I want Windows 8, I’d have to BUY a new All-In-One with touch screen and I already bought mine a few month ago and am on a limited budget…
Have you people ever walked into a public place that has touch screen monitors, like a library ? No one washes their hands ever, and those screens are covered in filth…why would anyone want touch screens except that it is new technology…Yuuck ! I can’t stand one fingerprint on my old monitor…so what would I do with thousands of fingerprints? No thanks! All this fascination with new stuff is just making the manufacturers rich .
-Bill
Couldn’t agree more; I wouldn’t have one even if it was free for the asking.
No, Windows 8 is NOT “useless” for non touch computers. I’ve been using Windows 8 on a 6 year old laptop for 6 months now. The “start screen” is obviously designed for touch, but it works ok (not great) with a keyboard and mouse. The rest of Windows 8 works just fine with keyboard and mouse.
As well as touch monitors, you now can buy a touch enabled mouse / mice / mouses or a “touchpad” (originally designed for pen input by graphic artists, but new ones have been enhanced to work with fingers too). Both types of devices typically cost less than US$100 for entry level, but you can pay more too.
Why can’t Windows (MS) be like a Mac? Mac does not need to change its system. Newer models are made available but the older models are not left out.