The fundamental issue is that unless you're holding the monitor on your lap, you have to extend your arm outward, and most people don't have the fine motor control to click small (mouse-click sized) items, menus, toolbar buttons, etc. You would need to enlarge the interface about three-fold, negating the value of the additional size of a desktop screen. Touch screens are a work-around for times when dedicated, physical, tactile input devices (keyboard, mouse, touch pads, buttons, switches, knobs, joysticks) are not practical.
Microsoft is making monumental strategic errors, one after another, and their executive leadership has to take responsibility for these. Probably the most worrisome aspect for Microsoft is that Ballmer actually things their products are good. Gates had problems executing, but I believe he recognized their products were crap, which must have been insanely frustrating.
I have been saying for years that Microsoft should buy a commercial linux distro, then write their services and GUI for it. Apple successfully did this with OS X (thanks to Jobs and NeXT), after working for years on "Rhapsody".
Imagine, a server with Active Directory for Linux, SQL server, sudo. A well-supported, familiar desktop GUI with the stability of *nix? Now, people would pay for that!
Windows 8 is a joke. Colourful icons and moving pictures which are just "shelf talkers" for the retail environment. Same old crap underneath.
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The fundamental issue is that unless you're holding the monitor on your lap, you have to extend your arm outward, and most people don't have the fine motor control to click small (mouse-click sized) items, menus, toolbar buttons, etc. You would need to enlarge the interface about three-fold, negating the value of the additional size of a desktop screen. Touch screens are a work-around for times when dedicated, physical, tactile input devices (keyboard, mouse, touch pads, buttons, switches, knobs, joysticks) are not practical. Microsoft is making monumental strategic errors, one after another, and their executive leadership has to take responsibility for these. Probably the most worrisome aspect for Microsoft is that Ballmer actually things their products are good. Gates had problems executing, but I believe he recognized their products were crap, which must have been insanely frustrating. I have been saying for years that Microsoft should buy a commercial linux distro, then write their services and GUI for it. Apple successfully did this with OS X (thanks to Jobs and NeXT), after working for years on "Rhapsody". Imagine, a server with Active Directory for Linux, SQL server, sudo. A well-supported, familiar desktop GUI with the stability of *nix? Now, people would pay for that! Windows 8 is a joke. Colourful icons and moving pictures which are just "shelf talkers" for the retail environment. Same old crap underneath.