PCs To Pinch and Swipe With Windows 7's Native Multitouch Support

With multitouch support baked in to Windows 7, PC makers are
rushing to bring machines to market with touchscreen
interfaces just like the iPhone's.

Computer users of all stripes—whether they usually say “I’m
a PC” or “I’m a Mac”—have a few reasons to look forward to
the launch of Windows 7 next Thursday. For one, this latest
version of Microsoft’s operating system has a clean,
easy-to-use interface and a significant structural overhaul
that makes up for a lot of Vista’s mistakes. For another,
it’s ushering in a new wave of finger-friendly computers.
Learn why—and see the breakdown on brand-new multitouch
machines built for Windows 7.

Before, manufacturers had to develop or buy special code to
understand gestures like pinching to zoom, but now Windows 7
is the first major OS to build that code right in at the
foundation. That means it’s getting easier and less expensive
for PC makers to include iPhone-like screens—and with the
cost of the screens themselves coming down, nearly every
major PC maker has at least one multitouch Windows 7 machine
on the way.