re: #213 kirkspencer

Yes it is, and yes most of us don’t, today, on our desktops.

Thing is I don’t think desktops are going to be common choices for most users within a handful of years. And I think between kinect and leap motion, de facto touchscreens are going to be common for the desktops that are left.

I think that Microsoft had a window of opportunity where it could lead into that future, setting standards by its very size, or it could follow. For a change, it led.

[snip]

Due to ergonomics, I’m very confident that touchscreens will never be popular on desktop machines —at least until the displays change from vertical to horizontal, like a real desktop, as depicted in some sci-fi. And maybe not even then.

I speak from experience. Using a keyboard and mouse for several hours a day, day after day over many years, even with custom support for my elbows and right forearm, repetative stress syndrome kicks in.

If anyone doubts that, try extending one or both arms horizontally for just five minutes. Or try writing on a blackboard 1000 times, “The mouse is dead.”