Touching Windows 7

In addition to getting to spend a few minutes playing around with Windows 7's new desktop, I had a chance to play around with its multitouch gestures.
The brief look came on a machine running a later build than the one Microsoft handed out to developers last week. More similar to the version that was shown onstage Tuesday, the machine I used had the new desktop featuring the Aero Peek and other features.



Along with the gestures themselves, Microsoft has tweaked the desktop to support touch, doing things like spreading out menu lists to make the operating system easier to navigate with just a finger.

The key question is going to be how much software developers take advantage of touch and how many computer makers include the necessary hardware in their laptops and displays

Many programs will have support for basic gestures, such as scrolling, but what will also be interesting is seeing programs that truly take advantage of the technology.

Microsoft's approach with Windows 7 also highlights a key difference with Apple. The Mac maker has focused, at least thus far, on expanding the touch abilities of the laptop trackpad. Microsoft, meanwhile, seems aimed at touch on the screen itself--though trackpad makers such as Synaptics have added support for gestures that XP and even Vista laptops can take advantage of if their makers' wish.