HP says to expect multi-touch laptops "long before" Windows 7

Fresh from showing off its TouchSmart 2 all-in-one device, HP has now dropped word that we can expect to see some multi-touch laptops from the company as well. That none-too-surprising bit of news comes straight from HP's Kevin Frost, general manager of the consumer notebook division, who says that we can expect the laptops to show up "long before" the launch of multi-touch-friendly Windows 7 OS (supposedly on track for a 2010 release). Somewhat interestingly, HP technical marketing manager Kevin Wentzel adds that the one of the bigger obstacles at the moment is in developing suitable software, not hardware, for laptops.

[Via Electronista]

[Anton @ Jun 11th 2008 2:49PM]

Windows 7 is going to ROCK!

[Thi mam(kris120890) @ Jun 11th 2008 2:53PM]

seconded

[happy_penguin @ Jun 11th 2008 3:19PM]

Let's hope they don't strip all the cool features out of it before it his the shelves.

[Derek @ Jun 11th 2008 3:20PM]

Because it has multi-touch? I don't think that is going to make it "rock". Hopefully, they will start from scratch with it, instead of starting with Vista and adding multi-touch...

[happy_penguin @ Jun 11th 2008 3:20PM]

Or "HITS" the shelves even.

[ThePerfectCompanion @ Jun 11th 2008 4:01PM]

I hope it rocks too....

Although I'm loving Vista right now.

[Good_Bytes @ Jun 11th 2008 4:43PM]

Of course Windows 7 will rock! It is what I call a repackage Vista with SP2.
A bit like what XP was due to the extra rough start of Windows 2000.

[Good_Bytes @ Jun 11th 2008 4:45PM]

Forgot to mention:
I love Vista! Installed on all my family computers. It feels great specially that I find maintenance very easy and rare to do. Moreover, with a proper a nice help documentation my parents stop asking lame questions.

[buu700 @ Jun 11th 2008 7:09PM]

I don't think so. Sure, Microsoft could create a x86_64-only non-bloated lightweight OS based on the NT kernel, eliminate Win32, the Registry, and all that other legacy cruft, implement a POSIX subsystem, embrace open standards, get rid of DRM, not make unnecessary components like IE unremovable, open up where it won't hurt their business, ensure high-quality drivers by only allowing drivers to be integrated directly into the kernel or through unsupported kernel modules ("if you don't want to work with us to get your hardware working on our OS, then too bad"), implement some sort of package management, implement and/or create a decent filesystem (ZFS perhaps?), add some cool features, polish it up, and make it pleasant to use in general, but I just don't see that happening. We've been waiting for that for years; hasn't happened yet, probably won't happen now.

[Glen @ Jun 12th 2008 7:54AM]

@Derek - Microsoft cannot "start from fresh" with Windows 7. Thats an impossibility... because NONE of your games, applications, networking or ANY of your hardware would work with it!!

@buu700 - in a perfect world, what you have described would be great... but thats a completely new start - NO applications would be compatible with that OS. NOTHING would work with it at all.

[OneLove @ Jun 12th 2008 1:06PM]

just wait till you have to pay for multi-touch "ready" devices

[buu700 @ Jun 13th 2008 10:14AM]

@Glen

Wrong. .NET, Java, Python, C/C++ (at least after a recompilation), etc. apps would run fine. Only Win32 apps wouldn't work, and why should the whole OS suck just because of some legacy applications. Just as with Apple's move to OS X and later Apple's move to Intel, that's what compatibility layers (e.g. Wine) and virtual machines are for. If Microsoft just keeps letting devs make these buggy legacy applications, the OS is just going to keep getting worse.

[Ghen @ Jun 11th 2008 2:49PM]

Not a surprise to me. Multi-touch hardware is available on the market ready to be dissected and reverse engineered with little trouble. Software on the other hand is virtually non-existent for windows as well as being harder to crack open without a lawsuit.

[Motoken @ Jun 11th 2008 2:50PM]

and what about multi touch for desktop computers? rather replace a monitor then a whole laptop.

[Danakin @ Jun 11th 2008 2:51PM]

Excellent, I can't wait to enjoy seeing everyone else getting them, while I sit here without money...

[Splunge @ Jun 11th 2008 2:53PM]

So when are we going to see multi-touch do something BESIDES rotating and enlarging a pile of digital photos?

Call me crazy, but part of the benefit of photos on computer is not having a random pile of photos to sort....

[kal326 @ Jun 11th 2008 3:01PM]

We think about this. Has there every been a time when you really thought to yourself, it would be really nice to be able to use two or three mice at the same time? No....well that's probably a reason why there is not a lot of software out there that supports multi-touch.

[pgk @ Jun 11th 2008 5:26PM]

Try using a mouse for tweaking the 20 plus controls on a software synth UI.. I imagine it would feel pretty good using capacitive multi-touch for that. -pgk

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 7:16PM]

"software synth UI."

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 7:19PM]

"software synth UI."

OMG, I was totally just doing that. I was making an uber mix tape for DJ Mr. J down at the club and I thought to myself: "Self?" "Yes?" "Wouldn't it be totally awesome if I actually had a multi-touch screen with software to do this?" "Oh yeah! Totally!" Then I woke up.

How many people do you think actually mix music??

[pgk @ Jun 11th 2008 8:44PM]

Quite a few people mix music using Cubase, Protools, etc. A lot of people don't even use tape anymore, if you can believe it. There's a market for $1000 USB/midi control surfaces with buttons and sliders, just because it's so much more convenient than clicking on all the screen buttons. I think multi touch screens are going to cut into that market.

[madgamer @ Jun 11th 2008 2:54PM]

Did dell ever enable multi touch on its latitude XT laptop?

[404 @ Jun 11th 2008 3:09PM]

Don't think so no, which kinda defies the point of installing it in the first place.

[Good_Bytes @ Jun 11th 2008 4:47PM]

Yes they did, but the latitude XT doesn't have any software compatible nor any drivers to actually use it in Windows.

[Eric M. @ Jun 11th 2008 2:56PM]

"One of the bigger obstacles at the moment is in developing suitable software, not hardware, for laptops.."

Well this isn't much of a surprise because isn't Windows 7 suppose to have multi-touch support? So clearly Microsoft (Perhaps Apple as well) are putting development time into their next OSs so that hardware companies such as HP won't have to spend as much time and money on software.

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 11th 2008 2:56PM]

well...multi-touch screens will be useful...was using microsoft's worldwide telescope and thought it would be great to have multi-touch for that

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 7:20PM]

Why?

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 11th 2008 7:36PM]

its just like google earth but with images from all over the universe (and earth too)...on a laptop (as i use it) it would be great to have multi-touch screen so that it would be much easier to zoom and move around the "universe"

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 7:58PM]

Is the scroll wheel harder to zoom with?

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 11th 2008 8:01PM]

does a laptop have a scroll wheel my friend???

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 8:02PM]

I guess what I mean is... Wouldn't is be cheaper and more efficient to build a little wheel into the laptop that you can use to zoom with?

The only use I can see for multi-touch is spinning things easier. Everything else only requires one touch/click and a wheel.

[Vidit Bhargava @ Jun 11th 2008 8:31PM]

ok...so do you remember the days when laptops had track-balls
are you trying to say we should go back in technology rather than advancing...
we have a scroll bar on laptops...which we can use for zooming in/out but that isnt very feasible...
ya it would be great with scroll wheels...i agree
but this is technologically more advanced and hope it will be feasible too

[mike @ Jun 11th 2008 8:47PM]

christ Andir. Get a Mac.

you do NOT build a scroll wheel into the laptop LMFAO

you use two fingers to 'scroll' up and down, side to side. this is like..going back 4 years Apple's been doing this.

seriously, you guys, please stop offering your 'great' ideas...

you want multitouch (patented by cupertino btw) for a freakin Astronomy program? how about the LIFE program? Do you happen to have that lying around?

[buu700 @ Jun 11th 2008 9:42PM]

@mike

The cereal or the board game?

[Andir3.0 @ Jun 11th 2008 10:16PM]

And why wouldn't you build a scroll wheel into a laptop? it only takes one finger. It could sit just to the right of the keyboard allowing you to quickly zoom in on whatever you're looking at.

Scroll balls were never used like a scroll wheel was. I'm sure if they were, people might have used them more.

[bondsbw @ Jun 12th 2008 8:42AM]

Andir... you're talking about adding a mechanical device to a computer. More mechanical devices mean more points of failure, or at least more points of failure that cannot be fixed through a software or firmware update. For many flip-phones, the hinge is the most common point of failure.

Sure, you get tactile feedback, but I'm not sure that zooming needs tactile feedback... after all, you'll see the results of zooming immediately.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 11th 2008 3:00PM]

Multitouch will be useful as an addition to other input methods. I don't think it'll replace them.

[Minilap @ Jun 11th 2008 3:29PM]

You can't be sure about that.

[El Capitaine @ Jun 11th 2008 3:52PM]

"I don't think it'll replace them." Hmm...sounds like more of a 'my guess is' than a 'this is what's going to happen'

Anyway, I agree that multi-touch will likely be used as an additional input method, perhaps primary on SOME devices, but personally I prefer a mouse instead. That and...it is doubtful that this technology will be used on larger viewing surfaces such as projectors (which would be impossible) and HDTVs. Which I must say, is nice to plug a tower into.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 11th 2008 4:23PM]

Yes "I think" rather than "I know" is the bit of a giveaway in that statement.

[loki @ Jun 11th 2008 4:55PM]

I think if you had a multi touch screen as a keyboard, touch pad and such, sitting horizontal on the desktop in addition to you monitor it could well replace other input methods, also you wouldn't have to worry so much about your screen getting all smudged. It would be similar to the optimus keyboard but way more flexible and have more uses.

[Daniel @ Jun 11th 2008 3:06PM]

Why is Microsoft so deteriorating so tremendously?

Only 2 years ago XP was the excepted platform. What happenend?

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 11th 2008 3:14PM]

So... care to explain why MS are deteriorating rapidly? Really, I'm interested in hearing just how bad your argument is.

[Jason @ Jun 11th 2008 3:29PM]

Mark, I'm all for answering a question with a question. But it should be a different question. Your response sounds weird.

Example:
Q: Why is Microsoft deteriorating so rapidly?
- Um..well what makes you say that it is? OR
A: Oh yeah, well why do feel the need to ask a question that assumes a completely unsupported premise?

But your response inevitably invites the imagination to the following scenario:
- Why is Microsoft deteriorating so rapidly?
- Oh yeah! well why IS Microsoft deteriorating so rapidly? (and you're probably stupid for asking).
- I already asked that question.
- Yeah, well...it's a stupid question and you ARE stupid for asking it.
- Um, ok...but you asked it, too.

[Mark Anderson @ Jun 11th 2008 3:40PM]

@Jason

Shut up.

[Jason @ Jun 11th 2008 3:58PM]

Mark, you're right. My comment was overkill.

My point was just that I think he was really just asking the question and not trying to start an argument. Next time I'll just leave it at that.

[Keith @ Jun 11th 2008 3:09PM]

Who here will enjoy getting their display smudged and dirty? How do you feel about smudges and dirt on your TV? Your computer display?

It's different for a cellphone since getting dirty is an inescapable reality of its use. Personally, I doubt I will be using multi-touch on anything but my iPhone, but they are certainly welcome to try and introduce the technology. Somehow I think it'll end-up being like writing tablets: limited uptake and application.

[Starnerf @ Jun 11th 2008 3:37PM]

Maybe they'll include chopstyli.

[Deed @ Jun 11th 2008 3:47PM]

Matte touchscreens?

I can't really contest your point about limited application, although I imagine that there will be useful possibilities for multi-touch outside of image/map manipulation. Hell, I may end up thinking of something myself soon after writing this post.

[Deed @ Jun 11th 2008 3:48PM]

Lawl chopstyli.

XYLOPHONE APP