Windows 7 Gets Touchy With New Logo Program

As upset as some are with Microsoft and its Windows logo program, that’s not going to stop Redmond from continuing to make up new stickers to grace our desktop cases and our notebook palm rests.

The next Windows logo sticker to join the collection will be an important one, however, as it will certify a very important hardware requirement -- the ability to feel touch.

Windows 7 will bring with it full touch support of that not yet seen before in any Microsoft OS before it. Although Microsoft’s development of touch technologies impressed us all with its Surface, touch screen devices with Windows 7 has the chance to be far more ubiquitous.

A new Windows Touch logo will brand PCs and inform consumers that the hardware and all of its components are optimized for Windows 7’s touch technologies.

“Quite a few folks have been a little skeptical of touch, often commenting about having fingerprints on their monitor or something along those lines,” said Steven Sinofsky, senior VP of the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group. “We think touch will become broadly available as the hardware evolves and while it might be the primary input for some form factors (such as a wall mounted display in a hospital, kiosk, or point of sale) it will also prove to richly augment many scenarios such as reading on a convertible laptop or a ‘kitchen PC’.”

On the latest Windows 7 Engineering blog, the development team detailed the requirements needed to qualify for the logo, which include 43 separate tests for quantitative aspects of the device, such as accuracy, sample rate, and resolution.

“For Windows 7, touch support is engineered by building on our advances in input technology we began with the TabletPC work on Windows XP.  Touch in Windows 7 requires improvements in hardware, driver software, core Windows user experience, and of course application support,” added Sinofsky. “By having this support in an open platform, consumers and developers will benefit from a wide variety of choices in hardware, software, and different PC form factors.”

Work is still being done to finalize the Windows Touch logo program, which Microsoft said will come together with the Release Candidate when OEMs and IHVs will be able to run their tests. See this video for a short demonstration of touch inside Windows 7.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • jsloan
    why does it hurt?!

    dos this mean all new monitors will need to have touch, ouch...

    will touch interfere with the screen image, the battery life of my windows 7 notebook, ect...
    Reply
  • duckmanx88
    I tried using touch screen with an HP screen and I just couldn't get used to it. just use a mouse.
    Reply
  • falchard
    Yes touch will increase power needed. Any electrical device added like a touch recognition board requires power. Its touch support so a touchscreen isn't necessary. There will probably be an increase in touch screen support, but I doubt it would widely be used because of cost.
    Reply
  • jhansonxi
    The logo should be a fingerprint as it's what you'll end up with all over the screen.
    Reply
  • seboj
    Gates has long believed that 'touch' is the future.

    I have to agree with him on this one.
    Reply
  • salem80
    they imitate the Same thing Linux Do
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQkSObRtw0o&feature=channel_page

    Reply
  • ricin
    I go ape-shit on anybody that touches one of my displays.
    Reply
  • city_zen
    it will also prove to richly augment many scenarios such as reading on a convertible laptop or a ‘kitchen PC’

    Kitchen PC + LCD Screen + touch = bad idea
    Reply
  • fudgeboy
    sebojGates has long believed that 'touch' is the future.I have to agree with him on this one.
    lol bill gates just enjoys being touched *wink wink*
    Reply
  • Cheese-kun
    does that mean my normal lcd monitor becomes a touchscreen monitor? i dont get this at all. Do u require an touchscreen monitor, or just a normal one would do.
    Reply