Touch-screen technology is one of the most pervasive design elements in the technology sector today.
After all, everything from smartphones and tablets, to personal navigation devices, printers and even WiFi routers incorporate the ability for a human to interact with them using nothing more than their fingertips.
But we're only scratching at the surface of where this goes. "Right now, touch technology dominates the gadget market," says Traci Maynard, general manager of the software division at Tarsus Technologies.
"Touch hasn't cracked the one space where the majority of users will get the biggest productivity and experience boost, namely mainstream client computing. With Windows 8 due for launch on 26 October, some of the industry's biggest software and hardware players are laying it all on the line to see touch succeed," she says.
"I know that a number of market pundits are saying it's not the first time someone has tried to make touch an integral part of the computing experience," Maynard continues.
"In fact, Microsoft's Bill Gates tried to convince the market of something similar back in 2002 when he unveiled the first tablet PC," she adds.
"But you'll know first-hand how much of a difference touch makes to the computing experience if you've made use of the Release Preview version of Widows 8 on a touch-capable device," she says.
Maynard says touch didn't make sense in the Windows context before, since it was an element that was retrofitted to an operating system that was designed for use with a keyboard and mouse.
"This time around, it's as if the keyboard and mouse are the afterthought.
"Windows 8 is clearly designed to leverage the power of touch," she says.
"Timing will also make all the difference," she continues.
"The world is already predisposed to the use of smartphones and tablets - devices that have grown up with touch as their primary input mechanism.
"From that, it's a small jump to making the same a reality on the desktop and notebook.
"I really do believe that in the next decade, we'll be reminiscing about a time when touch wasn't a pervasive part of our technology usage experience, and laughing at how na"ive this debate was," Maynard concludes.
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Tarsus Technologies
With more than 27 years' of experience in the ICT industry, Tarsus is the leading value-added distributor in South Africa, specialising in the supply of the world's foremost PC and peripheral hardware brands to the local reseller channel.
Tarsus strives to meet the channel's needs for credit funding, stock availability and efficient logistics, ensuring that resellers are able to deliver the highest quality service to their customers, focus on support and compile the best overall solutions for their end-user customer base at the lowest possible cost.
The company prides itself on its flexibility, adaptability, knowledge, skills and successful track record combined with an industry-leading ability to manage large rollouts. These are the reasons Tarsus has consistently been rated as the top distributor in the country by international vendors, resellers and the IT media alike.
With its strong commitment to the South African channel, Tarsus is able to not only make the reseller channel more efficient, but more importantly, it plays a vital role in dramatically reducing the costs of doing business in the local ICT market.
Tarsus distributes a range of products from the world's leading manufacturers, including Acer, AOC, APC, Asus, Cisco, Dell, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Meissner, Microsoft, OKI Printing Solutions and Samsung.
Tarsus' head office is situated in Johannesburg with branches in Cape Town, KwaZulu-Natal, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein and Nelspruit. Tarsus has also extended its footprint into Africa with branches in Namibia, Botswana and Mauritius.
More information about Tarsus is available at: http://www.tarsus.co.za.
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