Windows 8, the next edition of the popular Windows® operating system, will debut later this year.  Recently, Microsoft® released a consumer preview of Windows 8, and we at Cirque are very excited about the focus on touch input.

Touchscreen focus

Many of the updated gestures and features are targeted toward touchscreens.  Microsoft is introducing an expanded portfolio of available gestures, which allows users to interact with the touchscreen in a very natural manner. New gestures include a right-edge swipe that reveals various Windows controls and a left-edge swipe that allows for the quick re-focusing of previously used applications.

With the touchscreen, you can select or activate an icon with a tap. Holding your finger on the icon produces additional information relevant to the icon.  Pinching or stretching your fingers on the touchscreen gives you control over the screen's zoom level and rotating your fingers on the screen rotates displayed images and graphics.

An additional touch feature new to Windows 8 is the Picture Password system.  When logging into the computer or tablet, users trace patterns around their own pictures. In the same way a password's characters are analyzed during authentication, Picture Password analyzes a drawn pattern to confirm it is correct for authentication.

 
Windows 8 charms that appear on the right and left of the screen.

Windows 8 Gestures on a Trackpad

Whether interfacing with a touchscreen or trackpad (or touchpad), you are going to need touch gestures to use Windows 8 to its full potential. Cirque will make sure you can do everything with a trackpad that you can with a touchscreen.

Trackpads are capable of performing most of these touchscreen gestures. The gestures already offered by Cirque trackpads such as rotation, pinch-zoom and scrolling will continue to perform within Windows 8. Additionally, active development to provide similar edge swipes featured in touchscreens is underway and looking good.

A Touchscreen Experience within the Monitor's Bezel

A large amount of Windows 8 computers will not have touchscreens. However, with Cirque's GlidePath® X linear sensor installed in a monitor's bezel, touchscreen like functionality can be included on the side of a monitor without the need or cost of a full touch screen.

This dual-axis multipoint sensor allows for edge-swipes, linear control, and simple gestures to be included near a screen. The given surface area is able to maximize the ability to provide useful controls.

This report on Windows 8 touch functionality was written in March 2012 after the Window 8 consumer preview release. Report updates will be frequent as Microsoft releases more information about Windows 8. Please follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be notified of updated reports concerning Touch on Windows 8.

Windows, Windows 8, and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.