Microsoft is signalling the end of the mouse with its latest operating system, which aims to build on the success of its rival Apple’s iPhone touch screen.
Windows 7 will allow PC users to touch, rather than point and click, in a move which indicates that the world’s most influential software company believes that the days of the keyboard-mouse combination are coming to an end. But some critics claim that Microsoft is a long way from replacing what has been the dominant human-computer interface since its invention by Xerox researchers in the 1970s.
It is unclear how willing office workers or home users are to abandon hard-won typing skills and lean forward to start manipulating images on a large computer screen.
Windows 7 — which is not due to be released until 2010 — represents the latest in a long line of attempts by Microsoft to catch up with the technical lead established by Apple — though the software giant usually overhauls its rival in the end.
Related Posts: