Touch, multi-touch capabilities and gesture support manage to undoubtedly set Windows Vista (Windows version 6.0) and Windows 7 (Windows version 6.1) apart. As far as Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 is concerned, the release does not come with touch support “out-of-the-box.” For the time being, testers will need to feed the multi-touch hunger of the operating system by either allowing the platform to connect to Windows Update and get the necessary drivers, or by manually downloading and deploying them.

Still, it is important to note that the necessary hardware infrastructure has to exist for end-users to take advantage of the new touch capabilities of Windows 7. Brandon LeBlanc, Windows communication manager on the Windows Client Communications Team, pointed them to a few machines available well ahead of Windows 7 that support multiple touch points, including HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs (IQ500 series & IQ800 series), HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs, and Dell Latitude XT Tablet PCs.

Although Microsoft will undoubtedly add drivers for these PCs by default to Windows 7 before the operating system will ship, at the present moment users will have to turn to alternative channels. “To enable multi-touch capabilities on these PCs running the Windows 7 Beta, you will need to make sure you have the latest multi-touch beta drivers. The driver allows the digitizer screen to support multiple touch points. Remember these are beta drivers, they still need to pass through our rigorous Windows Logo process before they are final, we can’t guarantee that all pre-Windows 7 PCs will have logoed drivers,” LeBlanc said.

When it comes down to HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs, Microsoft is already serving multi-touch drivers through Windows Update. Users need only let their Win 7 Beta machines connect to WU in order for the multi-touch hardware to come to life. “After you have installed the Window 7 Beta, open Windows Update from the Start menu. You might have to click the ‘Check for Updates’ link on your left, so it will find the driver, it is Optional right now, so you’ll have to select it before it will install,” LeBlanc stated.

Users of Dell Latitude XT and HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs are not as lucky, at least for the time being. They will need to manually download and install the necessary drivers. “The drivers are available now on N-Trig’s website. N-Trig is the company that makes the digitizer in these PCs (you should read the release notes, there are some limitations, like no pen support you should be aware of and how to switch between Windows Vista and Windows 7). Please also note these are beta drivers and are not supported by Dell or HP,” LeBlanc added.