Last week Microsoft revealed the Windows 8 UI at the D9 conference that showed off a “Touch First” UI. Since then a lot of people have been saying that having a “Touch First” UI is going to be good for tablets but what about Desktop or normal laptops that are not touch devices.
I then remember the video that Microsoft showed a few months of their new Microsoft Touch Mouse and remember there were some striking similarities between the two videos.
Task Switching
In this video Previewing Windows 8 you are shown how to task switch “you just take you thumb.. from the side and just swipe it in”.
In this video about the Microsoft Touch Mouse the commentator says “One can use a thumb to move back and forwards in a web page or a browser”.
As you can see even though one is switching images/documents and the other is switching apps teh action itself is very similar.
Snapping Windows
Again the Microsoft Touch Mouse video shows how “One can snap them side by side for easy comparison.”
And here the Windows 8 vide they “with one simple gesture you can snap one app next to another app.”
Again the similarities are quite striking between the actions…
Touch Trails
Another similarity i noticed between the two videos was the use of touch trails…
Image below shows two touch points shown on screen with the Microsoft Touch Mouse Video.
This is a similar touch line shown on in the Windows 8 Video.
What is clear is if Microsoft is going to be pushing a “Touch First” UI then they need to touch enable as many existing non-touch computers as possible with the Microsoft Touch Mouse or other similar mice.
It will also be interesting to see if Microsoft sells a “Windows 8 with Microsoft Touch Mouse” SKU similar to how they sold Office 2000 Premium with IntelliMouse Pro so they enable a touch experience for as many people as possible…