Manufacturing Windows 8 PCs for reasonable prices will not be a walk in the park.
PC vendors apparently are less optimistic about the impact of Windows 8 as the software itself and hardware upgrades could push prices of PCs into a territory that is not appealing to mainstream PC buyers.
According to an article posted by Digitimes, expensive touchscreens that cater to Windows 8's Metro interface as well as expensive Intel processors for ultrabooks are problem areas for PC makers:
"The sources pointed out that Intel is not willing to sacrifice its profits to reduce CPU prices, while PC brand vendors, facing operational difficulties, are also not willing to sell their products at losses, while notebook ODMs are already weak in profitability; therefore, even though ultrabooks are expected to greatly boost consumer demand, plans can only be postponed to a later time."
If the information is accurate, it appears that at least some PC vendors are not ready for Microsoft's Windows 8 vision and simply do not have the hardware in place that delivers what Microsoft and Intel are promising. The article mentions that "panel shaking" when using a vertical screen as a touchscreen is still an issue as well as slide and rotatable touchscreens. High-resolution screens beyond 1080p are not mentioned, but is another evolutionary hardware necessity PC makers will have to address soon.
The conclusion of the article suggests that demand for Windows 8 PCs may not be as strong as it is cracked up to be. The prediction is that Windows 8 may not be so much a 2012 topic, but instead will flourish in 2013.
Working on a Touch screen PC is not at all fun. It was cool and fun for about 20 minutes after that my arms got tired. It’s just not a comfortable way to work. There is a reason most people write on a horizontal surface and not on a vertical surface.
Touch screens are a good cash register interface but they won’t go far on the personal PC.
Win8 is trying to do a number of things with a new UI, and failing HARD. If you didn't know that moving the cursor to different sides of the screen did anything, you would never know about it. Try using that feature with multiple monitors btw....fun.
Touch screen doesn't work with desktop use. Period. Reaching up to touch a display is as counter-productive as anything I could imaging. A retinal interface would be a better solution.
When will someone develop an OS with an html/css style GUI that can be customized/stylized in an open source way. Users could develop their own interface, as well as 3rd party developers. Windows has had the same basic interface since Windows 95, a small menu bar and an entire screen of wasted space. It hasn't changed because there is no single GUI solution.
Working on a Touch screen PC is not at all fun. It was cool and fun for about 20 minutes after that my arms got tired. It’s just not a comfortable way to work. There is a reason most people write on a horizontal surface and not on a vertical surface.
Touch screens are a good cash register interface but they won’t go far on the personal PC.