moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Since we are seeing big name companies like Windows fading away from the traditional mouse&keyboard environment, and shifting towards a more touchscreen-oriented user interface, I find myself wondering; are touchscreens really as dominant as people think they are? So for this poll, think about how you use your computer/tablet/phone in your own free time. I don't want office/work use skewing the results, since most offices still use mouse and keyboard systems. Think about checking facebook, playing games, shopping online, checking the weather, your email, reading this very Neowin thread, everything that you can do on either a traditional mouse-and-keyboard OR a touchscreen, consider it in this poll. For me personally, I spend almost all of my time on a mouse-and-keyboard, despite the fact that my house is full of Android devices. Sure if I'm on the bus, or on the go, I'll use my smartphone to check my email, but I would really rather be using a mouse. +jamwheat 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atomic Wanderer Chicken Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 While a touchscreen is nice, you cant really play games that need a mouse and keyboard, which is almost every desktop game. WAQT and +jamwheat 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 While a touchscreen is nice, you cant really play games that need a mouse and keyboard, which is almost every desktop game. I disagree. I haven't played a game on my PC with a mouse and keyboard in 2 years, the same time that I made my DIY receiver for my wireless xbox 360 controller. Sure point-and-click games work better with a mouse, but they work EVEN better with a touchscreen. A mouse gives you better precision and accuracy in first person shooters, but its nowhere near as fun as a gamepad. And racing/flying sims are just downright silly on a keyboard; the only way to steer is to adjust the rate at which you frantically press the arrow keys. And I don't know about iOS, but most Androids these days support a USB mouse and keyboard. For my Galaxy S3, I just plugged in the OTG adapter and plugged in the wireless receiver, and then suddenly a mouse pointer showed up, and I could use my phone like a desktop OS, no root or config editing necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 On a traditional PC, you can't really get away without a physical keypad. You'd be insane to always do typing on the on-screen keyboard. You could, I guess, go without a mouse. But if you're doing that, you're severely hurting your efficiency. The only downside to a keyboard and mouse is it taking up space, but honestly who cares? Using a PC without a keyboard and mouse would be a complete nightmare. WAQT, hamslammer and thomastmc 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 On a traditional PC, you can't really get away without a physical keypad. You'd be insane to always do typing on the on-screen keyboard. You could, I guess, go without a mouse. But if you're doing that, you're severely hurting your efficiency. The only downside to a keyboard and mouse is it taking up space, but honestly who cares? Well I'm not just talking about a PC. I'm talking about all your digital computing, every day, including your smartphones and tablets. My question is, for every-day tasks that can be done on either a tablet or a PC, which do you find yourself using more often? I disagree that you'd be insane to do typing on the on-screen keyboard. I would certainly GO insane, myself, because I hate on-screen keyboards, but most of the people around me seem to have no trouble typing out long emails on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Well I'm not just talking about a PC. I'm talking about all your digital computing, every day, including your smartphones and tablets. My question is, for every-day tasks that can be done on either a tablet or a PC, which do you find yourself using more often? I disagree that you'd be insane to do typing on the on-screen keyboard. I would certainly GO insane, myself, because I hate on-screen keyboards, but most of the people around me seem to have no trouble typing out long emails on them. Oh, I see what you're saying. I guess that's hard to say. I'm at work for 9+ hours a day and have a desktop PC, so a keyboard and mouse basically rules the majority of my daily computing. If I'm at home and need to get something done, it will be on my laptop or desktop. Touchscreens simply aren't good for productivity. If I'm not at work or home, I'll be on my phone or tablet, if anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Oh, I see what you're saying. I guess that's hard to say. I'm at work for 9+ hours a day and have a desktop PC, so a keyboard and mouse basically rules the majority of my daily computing. If I'm at home and need to get something done, it will be on my laptop or desktop. Touchscreens simply aren't good for productivity. If I'm not at work or home, I'll be on my phone or tablet, if anything. Well I tried to rule that out in my original post, because I know that most offices use a mouse and keyboard for pretty much anything. This poll is about non-work-related usage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melfster Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I got rid of my tablet because it kind useless next to a PC. Tablets are mostly for entertainment and light web browsing for getting work done I really have to use a PC. Phouchg and WAQT 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syanide Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Voted both equally. For the casual stuff it depends on if I'm already sitting on the computer or if I'm on the bed. oliver182, DConnell and Sadelwo 3 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 I have a feeling that maybe Neowin wasn't the most unskewed place to have this poll... thomastmc 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+virtorio MVC Posted December 2, 2013 MVC Share Posted December 2, 2013 Apart from composing very occasional, and very short e-mails on my phone, I'm always using a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnoopZ Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Mouse and keyboard all the way for a desktop PC, if I had a touch screen monitor I would hardly ever use it. WAQT 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I always have, and probably will always continue to use, a keyboard & mouse. As it was intended. (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre S. Veteran Posted December 2, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 2, 2013 I don't use any touchscreens whatsoever. Even my cell phone has physical buttons only. Anyway, I tend to sit at more than arm length away from my screens (and more than a meter away in case of my TV), so I don't see how I even could use touch screens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeburn Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 My mother recently got one of those new "hybrid" laptops, not the foldy-swivelly kind, just a regular looking Windows 8 laptop where the screen is actually a touch screen. She uses the physical keyboard for all her typing, but she almost never uses the trackpad for the mouse, instead almost always opting for using the touchscreen. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dot Matrix Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I want to look into buy a few desktop touchscreens, and getting rid of my mouse completely save for gaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilo Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Touchscreens are no where near as efficient as a physical input device. WAQT and Raa 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 The only touchscreen device I have is my 7" tablet, but it already has collected a film of dust, so it doesn't even count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleo Global Moderator Posted December 3, 2013 Global Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2013 Touchscreens are annoying. - Fingerprints on screen - Fingertips perspire while playing games and you lose low-friction gliding capability - No tactile feedback I've got a touchscreen ultrabook/tablet (Yoga 13 folding ultrabook) and the only time I ever really use the touchscreen is to access the "System" menu on the right to shut down/restart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJerman Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Keyboards will certainly never be replaced, and while there's the possibility of a mouse being replaced by a touch screen, I still find it highly unlikely that it will ever happen. A finger is a clumsy form of direct input, so to even consider removing the mouse you'd have to have a stylus, and I can't see any reason for that to happen. Nothing is really gained by replacing them. While I think touch screens will become far more common place and more useful, I think they will always be just be used in addition to a mouse and keyboard, except in phone and tablet devices. I personally have little interest in touch input. I'm fine with it on my phone, and pretty anything I'd want to do with touch input I can on my phone. That leaves my computer for when I have things to do that I want to use a mouse and keyboard for. If I had a device like a Surface Pro, I could see myself using touch for more because of it's form factor and ease of use, but I'd nearly always have at least a bluetooth keyboard paired near by, if not a mouse too. The only case I can see a keyboard and mouse eliminated is for people who do very little computing. I mean people who maybe browse the web and Facebook and send only a couple of emails a week. My grandparents seem fairly content using their Nexus 7 most of the time rather than their computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastmc Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 For devices touchscreens are great, and I could see using a touchscreen on a laptop instead of the trackpad much of the time, but on a PC there's still nothing better than a mouse/kb. I'm more excited about gesture input on the PC. To just hold my hand above the keyboard and control the mouse with my index finger, or make gestures for different actions, would be really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Norris Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Almost always a mouse/keyboard, excluding phones and tablets of course. I make frequent use of those when I have to but much prefer ye olde mouse/keyboard... hard to break ~35 years of habit. If I had a laptop that had a touchscreen I'd probably make more use of it when I'm mobile, but at my desk it wouldn't be terribly ergonomic. I do have a small 7" one off to the side of my keyboard that acts as a remote control of sorts while also giving notifications/etc.. doesn't count for this poll though as I don't use it as an actual interface with the OS itself, just one program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cork1958 Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 9 computers here total. 4 laptops and 5 desktops. I use a mouse and keyboard on every single one of them! :) Can't stand the mouse pad and keyboard on laptops. Personally, I wouldn't even want a touchscreen and all the finger prints on it. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappy Veteran Posted December 3, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 3, 2013 Yeah I hate my laptop touchpad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatlesssun Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Since we are seeing big name companies like Windows fading away from the traditional mouse&keyboard environment, and shifting towards a more touchscreen-oriented user interface, I find myself wondering; are touchscreens really as dominant as people think they are? Windows isn't moving away from the mouse and keyboard. The modern UI supports keyboards and mice just fine. Microsoft for now is attempting to make Windows a hybrid OS, thinking that more and more computing will be done on tablets but at the same time making that environment usable with conventional input. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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