Microsoft shows off "snippet" of Windows 7 at D6, reveals multi-touch support

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer got on stage at D6 with Walt and Kara to talk... Microsoft, of course. While the company is still being rather coy about Windows 7 -- some have blamed loose lips early on in Vista development for saddling the OS with too high of expectations and making things difficult for developers -- they were nice enough to show off what Ballmer called "the smallest snippet" of Windows 7. The big reveal was multi-touch support, which utilizes technology developed by the Surface team. The taskbar seems to have been reworked a bit, and the demo was running live on a Dell Latitude XT tablet. Apparently Microsoft is reworking the whole user interface with a multitouch experience in mind. Steve reiterated the "three years after Vista" mantra for availability. Not exactly earth-shattering, but we'll take what we can get at this point.

Update: Video added after the break. Enjoy! [Thanks, Dan Z.]

Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7

[KEROLiUKAS @ May 27th 2008 10:37PM]

Why does this get a new story?

[computer.dude.28 @ May 27th 2008 10:41PM]

Because it's great news, a cool picture, and Paul Miller wanted to get in on the Windows 7 fun.

[Ruben @ May 27th 2008 10:45PM]

Because this is inside details about an OS that, within 6 months of release, will have a greater marketshare than all other non-microsoft OS's.

The idea that it will be moving to a multi-touch interface only gives wind to the possible devices that will be released that are going to be tailored for this OS (new consumer level LCDs that are built with multi-touch in mind, more hand-held devices that are "touch only", etc.). If the main interface of Win7 is touch based, then you can bet companies like HP and Dell are prepping up for this shift, or at least making their PC's ready for it.

So, this is news that warrants its own page.

[KEROLiUKAS @ May 27th 2008 10:48PM]

Ruben, you make no sense, i was reffering to why did they make a new post when this is already in the liveblog?

[Will H. @ May 27th 2008 10:51PM]

LOL@Ruben pay a little attention

[Ruben @ May 27th 2008 10:52PM]

So is the shit that Apple announces in Engadget's live blog of their events.

This isnt anything new for Engadget.

[KEROLiUKAS @ May 27th 2008 10:54PM]

Don't even get me started on the Apple crap that gets posted here...

[bondsbw @ May 27th 2008 11:40PM]

Ruben... do you have stock in Microsoft? Your arguments for them are about business merit. I want a Microsoft that is technologically responsible to its customers who, well, basically HAVE to buy their software. They said themselves that they have a 27-to-1 lead over their nearest competitor... how about they show 27-to-1 progress?

Microsoft has made several advances here; I'm glad they are bringing it to the platform. I hope they don't stop there. There's some good WinFS stuff they've been promising for years that needs to get out of the vaporware stage. I hope they've brought in some good designers... they have to compete with Apple, who is bringing it with every release of their software.

[kccboy2004 @ May 28th 2008 12:16AM]

I gotta say again.

Please stop being so nasty to Apple users. It is just not nice. They are mostly interested in surfing the web. Worse still, Mac users are mostly very young, a lot of them children. They don't have the same processing needs as the rest of us. An apple computer does what they need.

Moreover, they will not have used Vista, so there is again little point in making reference to it. For those of us that do use Vista, we know what it does. We do not need to convince these young people (and they are people, even if they are just kids), that Vista is this or that.

Stop it !!! Be nice.

[Seth @ May 28th 2008 12:26AM]

@KEROLiUKAS

Why do deserve to believe that you are the holy man of the hour because you know where the REFRESH button is. Geez, even dead people can post first as long as they push that refresh button.

[Bryant @ May 28th 2008 12:27AM]

By the way, this isn't new news. It's just neat to see it in video.

http://www.aeroxp.org/index.php?categoryid=23&p2_articleid=164

[Greg @ May 28th 2008 1:26AM]

Because it's MS, worship them, why not?
After all, who else could rehash old ideas and make billions off of them?

[Quikboy @ May 28th 2008 3:22AM]

Why is everyone thinking that Windows 7 is just Vista + Multi-touch? How do you know if this is the only new feature in Win7? The thing is, you don't.

This demo was only showing a "snippet" of Windows 7. Microsoft NEVER claimed that this is the only thing changing in Windows 7. Just one thing.

People are really being hateful. If you're more concerned about reliability, under the hood stuff, and all the things that are NOT the user experience, than wait until the near launch of Windows 7 to find out.

There's no reason to assume Win7 is just this. MS is keeping hush-hush on Win7, and this detail should be breaking all of this at once.

[loosely_coupled @ May 28th 2008 4:45AM]

@KCCBOY

"They don't have the same processing needs as the rest of us. An apple computer does what they need."

Yes, like run Vista faster than any other laptop from any major brand (Macbook Pro). Or process DNA sequencing data on an 8-core dual Xeon machine with 16GB of RAM (Xserver/ Mac Pro)

[Hawkman @ May 28th 2008 5:18AM]

@kccboy2004: Hahaha. (It's funny 'cos it makes you look like a moronic troll....)

Cool as it is, I'm yet to be convinced of the benefits of touch on a laptop/desktop, or even a large tablet. It'd just be too tiring to move my whole arm rather than just my fingers... Is this the iPhone Effect, like we have the Wii Effect where everything suddenly needs to use accelerometer input whether it's appropriate or not? I'd be more excited if it looked like they were fixing some of the major problems with Vista, not just adding eye candy - although I guess that doesn't make a great demo.

[Scott Miller @ May 28th 2008 5:59AM]

I agree, why is this news, now. Everyone who reads Engadget knows, Apple didn't invent multi touch. But, they made it known. No company has made multi touch as known to the general public, that don't read Engadget, as Apple has done. People that see my iPhone, are still amazed at how "cool" multi touch is, no matter how many times they have seen it before.

This is another fine example of M$, taking something Apple brought out to the general public, and act like they created it. If M$ is so friggen good at innovating, you would of thought they would of included this functionality in the Tablet "BEFORE" Apple released the iPhone. That would of been innovative. That would make me believe M$ knows how to innovate.

Don't get me wrong, M$ is very smart at making money, but thats it. They don't innovate, they steal from, and buy other companies.

[Haikibutsu @ May 28th 2008 8:39AM]

Orange Vista = Sexy

[Ruben @ May 28th 2008 8:48AM]

@bondsbw:

Understand my reasoning in the first comment i made. It is no doubt apparent that any Microsoft OS will sell in mass quantities, and will be included in nearly every PC that exists at stores and on web stores. Now take into account the possibility that Win 7 will use touch as its prominent feature and selling point. What that would mean is the need for hardware makers to make their hardware compatible with such a feature, so as to have the full experience of Win 7. Thats all i was trying to say.

For me personally, i really dont care. It would be interesting to play an RTS game with touch screen controls, and this would be awesome for a CarPC, but beyond that, i see very little use of this.

But my argument still stands. Vista forced hardware makers to upgrade their hardware (now PC's with 4GB of ram are common and some are under the $1000 mark). Win 7 might do the same, in terms of making touch screen LCD panels and touch screen laptops available to the masses, at an affordable price, and on every unit made, even those that dont have a touchscreen form factor. Thats all i was trying to say.

I read the initial comment incorrectly, as i insinuated that KEROLiUKAS was stating that this was not important enough to be its own post, but i felt it was, due to the arguments above.

[OneLove @ May 28th 2008 11:06AM]

I feel sorry for Microsoft developers, developers, developers. I hope they (ms) put more effort into creating a better, usable OS, than trying to impress us with more WOW crap. (like aero and flip).

[rpflo @ May 28th 2008 11:33AM]

@kcc

Most people who use macs use windows at work. That's why we get so zealous. We live in both worlds, Hell, and OSX.

As for processing needs, I'm lost. Most windows users aren't doing graphics, video, big science analysis--they're endlessly playing solitare or using Office. When they need processing power it's because of games--which is a childish endeavor, so who is the child now?

As pointed out before, The MacBook Pro runs Vista faster than any other manufacturer's machine. So, tell me again, what was that about processing needs?

[Typhin @ May 28th 2008 11:38AM]

Is it just me, or does the iPhone also support multi-touch...?

Also, remember the gorilla arm! ( http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/gorilla-arm.html ) I'd be leery of any interface that requires a touch-screen, considering the sheer volume of hours I spend on a computer each day.

[Andrew Campbell @ May 28th 2008 12:32PM]

@rpflo - Although I agree with your post, I'd like to clarify that the MacBook Pro's status as the fastest laptop to run Vista was defeated on October 25, 2007.

[Vince @ May 28th 2008 11:19PM]

@ kccboy2004

You obviously don't have the foggiest clue about what you're blabbing. My MacBook Pro has a 2.2 Ghz Core 2 Duo, and can run into the ground any other laptop I've come across (personally), and mine's out of date already!

You're a Windoze person and it shows. Maybe if you tried a Mac sometime you'd see why more PROFESSIONALS use Macs than anyone else. i.e. Steve's Keynote vs. Powerpoint?!? There's simply no comparison.

[Dan Z @ May 27th 2008 10:45PM]

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/05/27/microsoft-demonstrates-multi-touch.aspx

Here's a video of it

[Will H. @ May 27th 2008 10:49PM]

Wow, that video is scary, the kid with feces all over his face is nuts.

It looks slow, clunky, buggy and useless, so basically it's ready for release. I can't wait to get rid of my mouse, buy an expensive touch-screen and then spend hours trying to navigate simple menus. Thanks Windows 7!

[gabe @ May 28th 2008 12:09AM]

that kid in that video needs to shave his face

[nikster @ May 28th 2008 12:40AM]

Thanks for posting the video. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this technology to be so lame. I mean - really. This is a solution searching for a problem - none of the things that people do in this video is in any way better, faster, easier, or more fun than doing the same thing with the mouse.

Even zooming/panning, which is basically the one thing where touch is proven to be excellent, is lame in this video. It looks like the users have to be very, very careful when zooming or something will go horribly wrong. WTF?? This is a demo - I expect it to show the feature in the best light, and if this is the best they can do, it's going to be a yawner. Hardly worth getting a touchscreen for that.

I am using touch on the iPhone every day, and it works great. But not because it's touch - it works great because it's entirely appropriate for this device, and because the entire user interface was designed with "fingers on it" in mind.

If I had not lost faith in Microsoft a long time ago, I would now.

[johnny5 @ May 28th 2008 11:59AM]

Everyone seems to be hating the Microsoft multi-touch interface. Keep in mind MS is showing a prototype interface 2 years from launch of the overall product. When have other companies (Apple?) shown anything they were working on years before launch?

Also, MS didn't do this before not because they couldn't, but because the hardware wasn't in place for mulit-touch. Apple builds the hardware and software so they should be able to do the latest. MS has to wait for a hardware manufacturer to build a product that can do mulit-touch before their MT software can be shown.

Everyone is commenting that WIn7 is just Vista+. No one knows that and from what I've read its supposed to be a major departure from Vista.

I'm looking forward to what other developers will do once Win7 is released. One thing is certain, the developers outside of MS can do a lot with programs they build for a Win OS. A multi-touch Win OS has so many possibilities with all the PC based hardware that is out there. This OS and a MT display could transform a lot of hardware.

[Deed @ May 28th 2008 1:15PM]

Goddamn Nikster. Two-years-early prototype. Adjustable sensitivity. Do you know it?

Pretty sure once this rolls out, you will be able to adjust the sensitivity, meaning that people with poor precision will be able to use larger movements than what would be a very high sensitivity on the video.

[Will H. @ May 27th 2008 10:45PM]

So Windows 7 has Paint...

I'm yet to be impressed here M$.

[Fernando @ May 27th 2008 10:58PM]

Sorry for bringing this up, but...

So it's already better then Mac OS X, bring back MacPaint apple!!!

[ugg.tryptophan @ May 27th 2008 11:25PM]

doesnt apple have multitouch on a laptop screen? oh wait, they dont : (

[Haikibutsu @ May 27th 2008 11:40PM]

I wish I didn't have to bring up photoshop to do simple edits.

[bondsbw @ May 27th 2008 11:48PM]

I'd rather have a well thought-out touch OS than touch added to a mouse+keyboard OS. Microsoft says they are doing this for large screens; Apple has already done this with small screens. Right now, Apple is ahead in this area.

That's not to say things won't change, but Microsoft will need to prove themselves. I'll buy their next product if they can do this.

[Zorque @ May 28th 2008 12:14AM]

The dollar sign thing is really stupid and it's getting old. Hate them if you want, but stop acting like a Hot Topic patron.

[Seth @ May 28th 2008 12:22AM]

In my opinion, Microsoft is in a great situation. Right now they have the opportunity of learning from there mistakes from Vista, and to grow with the success of there "Microsoft Surface" technology. I see Windows 7 as the OS of tomorrow, and I can't wait to have it.

P.S. For the crazy Mac-Lovers out there, go ahead and bash, but seriously, do you guys not have lives?

[Jesse S @ May 28th 2008 1:41AM]

₳₱₱£€

₥i₡ro$oƒ₮

[coffee @ May 28th 2008 11:40AM]

I like the "M$" usage, it lets me know who the fanboys are, easier to ignore their posts. See also: Microcrap, Crapplesoft, Microsuck, etc.

It's tougher with Apple haters, but not much. Usually something to do with expensive hardware, or a black mock turtleneck, or koolaid, or sheep, or hippies.

[James Stout @ May 28th 2008 4:03PM]

@seth - "do you guys not have lives?" Says the guy posting on Engadget. Posting here or on /. pretty much implies a lack in that area, if not totally void. Who's worse, the guy who boasts about X manufacturer's goodness or the guy who flames him?

I have an XP laptop, my wife has OSX. I program in VS and therefore have a legitimate need for Windows, but thanks to bootcamp and parallels, my next new computer will be a Mac hands down. No fanboy raving, just a statement of fact from one who must live in both worlds. Multitouch is cool, but seems gimmicky in this scenario. This is not what I would consider the proper application. Cool for impressing friends/clients/customers, but impractical in every-day use.

[Michael Kontaxis @ May 27th 2008 10:46PM]

I can tell you one thing: If Microsoft releases a multitouch computer before Apple, Steve Jobs will not be a happy man

[TMM @ May 27th 2008 10:56PM]

Apple already has a MultiTouch Computer out.
What many people seem to forget, because you can make it phone calls with it. And it makes very much sense in it's form factor.

Actually: MultiTouch barelly makes sense on normal computers. Especially on desktop computers.
Why do you think did they do the MS Surface stuff? Because you cannot use it on horizontal monitor.
MultTouch will not replace classic input in the short run. And I can't imagine to switch to a vertical display for my graphical work, or switch to fingers: because it will get innacurate.

I think it's a great technology and usefull in many areas. And great that MS is again late to the game ... wait - that's not great.

But MS should finally make Windows more user friendly and clean it up. It drags a tail of old crap, is slow and overly complicated for people that don't care about playing around with their OS.

[ethana2 @ May 27th 2008 11:01PM]

Multi-pointer X merged to master! Let the war begin!

[Haikibutsu @ May 27th 2008 11:35PM]

Don't be a smart ass.

By technicality, a pocket calculator is a computer.

But what he meant was a laptop or desktop or such.

Deedeedee

[Jeff @ May 27th 2008 11:53PM]

@Haikibutsu

I automatically have absolutely no respect for you knowing that you're a fan of that mencia hack.

...also, i think the definition of a computer is going to become a little more flexible in the not-too-distant future.

[bondsbw @ May 28th 2008 12:01AM]

It seems Apple has a few years before worrying about Microsoft. Apple has:

- A touch-based portable OS
- A full trackpad-based multi-touch OS
- Experience and user feedback

It would be a shame if somehow Apple couldn't merge these within a few months, let alone years.

[Abuzar @ May 28th 2008 1:24AM]

Yeah but Microsoft had a touch based Mobile OS years before.

[Jon Doe. @ May 28th 2008 1:40AM]

TMM a multitouch touchpad is a fucking joke. THIS is the real deal

[Vidit Bhargava @ May 28th 2008 2:29AM]

if talking of "computer" in general...microsoft already has "Surface" in production which is the same technology being used at certain AT&T stores.

[Phyx @ May 28th 2008 1:32PM]

@TMM, late to the game? they beat apple by a long shot, surface was in developement before the iphone

[directive0 @ May 28th 2008 10:07AM]

Microsoft probably won't release a multi-touch computer mostly because Microsoft isn't in the business of producing computers. Multi-touch software? It's anyone's guess who will be first to market to put real onscreen multi-touch into consumer portables or desktops. Personally, I am waiting to see what open source brings.