Are touch screen computers a passing fad, or are they here to stay?

Greasy screens,and sliding your fingers all over the screen,really don’t do it for me,but really want hear from people that like them and why.
Or don’t like them as well.

I don’t like them either. I can’t get used to touching my finger on the screen for everything. I have more chance of touching the wrong things on a touchscreen. I’m more accurate when using a mouse and a keyboard.

Maybe that’s because I use normal computer more often.

@Mimishu1995 Thanks for your answer and your quite a bit younger than I am,I was wondering if it was me cause I’m old.

I think they will remain until voice recognition becomes reliable, then we’ll just talk at them.

“Greasy screens”
We’re not all truckers you know :)

I think the touch screen on a phone is indispensable, but I don’t like it on anything else. Can’t tell you the number of tablets and laptops I’ve bought and returned!

I like the touch screen on my tablet, I haven’t analyzed why. I wash my hands on occasion so the screen doesn’t get noticeably greasy. I also do fine with a keyboard, touchpad, and/or mouse.
To answer your Q, probably until, as @downtide says, voice recognition becomes prevalent. Maybe even after, as I don’t like being audible when not alone in a room. If someone is reading in the room, I’d rather not disturb them with my business.

One can only hope.
They are fine on mobile devices to reduce size, or on ticket machines or ATMs to make them less vulnerable to vandalism, but on anything else I find them pointless.
I have 2 large monitors at work, and they are both at least 50cm away.
I would have constant cramps, were I forced to use touch screens.

I think there’s a tendency to think in terms of things replacing older technology that misses the point of technology overall: function. Tablets serve a particular function pretty damn well. They are great at consuming video, playing certain types of games, or casual web browsing. But when you want to do work on them, you use the bluetooth keyboard.

I’m not in the market for a tablet because I do not find that they meet my needs. The so-called “phablet” is replaces any need for a tablet. A 5.5” – 6” phone is the perfect size. When I need to write, I use a Chromebook. When I need to develop, I use my Lenovo Win7 notebook. The 7” – 10” tablet makes little sense to me because I have no need for it.

I already see a huge dip in desire and use of 7”+ tablets in my neck of the woods – with the exception of children. But I don’t think the technology is going anywhere. We’ll likely just see the realization that a tablet+keyboard looks an awful lot like something else: a notebook.

Touch screens on phones and tablets – yes.

I’ve never owned a touch screen computer, but I’ve tried a few in stores and it seems like it would be hard to get used to. I think I prefer the old mouse and keyboard method.

As for if they’re here to stay, I’d say probably.

My 2013 13” Macbook Air (2.96 lbs) is one of my most treasured possessions. When I was in hospital and in rehab for a month it saved my bacon.

At home I cart it all over the house and use it often in bed. The touchpad and keyboard are very convenient and I do not miss the mouse. The keyboard is vital, however. I would pass on the touchscreen.

I hate them! I can get used to them, but, to me, they’re clunky and unreliable and it’s too easy to hit the wrong thing. I feel like an idiot when I’m trying to type.

Subway now has a touch screen for ordering at their drive through. If I’m too close to the screen, even not actually touching it, it will select that item. Bleh. I just go inside.

Not crazy about them myself @Dutchess_III just wanted other opinion on it , and glad to see I am not alone on it. :)

I have used touch screen for thirty years, several business processing systems have used touch screens since the late 1970’s.

I think some people feel that using a touch screen makes them “cool.” I don’t give a care. I have a flip phone. May not be cool, but it’s a helluva lot easier to use than a smart phone.
My husband likes to be a “cool” person. He has a smart phone. When he wants to make a call, he has to go into contacts and search for the person. That scares the hell out of me because often he is driving.
My phone is set up so that I just have to press and hold a number to call certain people.

@Tropical_Willie Thats great but do you like them, and why, or why not?

^ @Dutchess_III – You are not describing “smart phone vs. flip phone here” in any way. You’re describing “my husband’s habits vs. my habits”. Here are your options for making a call on a smart phone….

1. You say, “Ok, Google. Call <name> at home.”. You never look at a phone. You don’t press any buttons. You just start talking, the phone makes the call.

2. You have a one-click shortcut on your homescreen that direct-dials people.

3. You click the “place call” button on your steering wheel. Your car asks who you want to call. You tell it. The call goes through.

4. You dial the numbers just like you would on one of those flip phones. But the numbers are on the screen, not physical buttons.

Those are just a few. And in those very rare occasions that I use my phone to place a call, I use #1.

Note: This is also how I listen to and respond to text messages that arrive while I am driving.

Well, he doesn’t use any of those options so it is what it is.

Nothing is here to stay.

The touch screen has its place sure, but I would not like to type my thesis on one!

Touchscreens have their place, but they have their limits too. The fact that Windows 8.1 is more mouse-friendly than Win8 was should tell you a little about those limits.

Now, bear with me for a moment….

The limits on personal computer size are dictated by input and output. Smartphones are the smallest practical computer at the moment for that reason; their screens are barely legible and their keyboards barely usable. And even then, you must choose between either a thick phone or giving up half your screen for a keyboard.

Now, the voice-activated interface that @hominid describes also has limits. Personally, I couldn’t use it in my car; I can’t even reliably use speakerphone since my car lacks the soundproofing that cars less than 20 years old have. ANd if you got a few peopel all talking to their computers all the time, there would be cacophony everywhere. Another limit is moving stuff; mice and touchscreens have a distinct edge over voice there.

There are other forms of interface on the horizon. Some rely on eye tracking; instead of “point and click”, they’re “look and shoot”. Google Glass has a bit of that. But the ultimate is a neural interface. Some may think it’s sci-fi, but we’ve actually done it a bit already; enough to prove it’s possible. We have cochlear implants that use a microphone and some electronics to stimulate nerves. We have wired cameras to the brains of blind people to give them enough vision to avoid walking into walls. We’ve made prosthetics that can crudely read nerve impulses directly.

Odds are that those will be refined to the point where our computer screens will be in our head (whether through modifying the eye, or just feeding the video signal right to the brain). Same with audio; who needs speakers when you can just play things into your auditory nerve? Typing might be a bit trickier, so that may require subvocalizations… but a sufficiently advanced computer with the right software could read the lip/tongue positions without requiring any actual speech.

So yeah, touchscreens are a fad, just as outhouses and whale-oil lamps were.

@Dutchess_III You’re rather old-fashioned. Quaintly so.

@downtide said it for me. Here to stay until voice recognition is reliable enough to just talk at them.

I admit I didn’t read the responses in between because that is what I logged on to say, and my time it short.

Big nod to @gondwanalon.