14 DAY TRIAL // When it comes down to the next iteration of the Windows client, Windows Vista's Ultimate Extras are out, the Microsoft Touch Pack is in. But just as the Ultimate Extras were a set of offerings aimed at what Microsoft envisioned as the select users running the high-end edition of Windows Vista, the Touch Pack is aimed at an audience leveraging touch-capable hardware on computers (such as HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs (IQ500 series & IQ800 series), HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs, and Dell Latitude XT Tablet PCs) in tandem with Windows 7's native touch capabilities. Expect to take advantage of what the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 has to offer only with the proper hardware in place and the net version of Windows.
“About a year ago, Julie Larson-Green first introduced Windows 7 and its multi-touch capabilities, which we call Windows Touch,” said Brandon LeBlanc, Windows communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team. “While we’ve been working on bringing natural user interface to you in many Microsoft products, we first introduced multi-touch in Microsoft Surface. Since then, the Windows and Surface development teams have been collaborating closely on bringing multi-touch to Windows, and last year demoed a few applications they created to run on Windows 7. Today, we thought it would be fitting on this “anniversary” of first talking about Windows Touch to introduce the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7.”
The Microsoft Touch Pack will bring a total of three casual games and just as many Microsoft Surface applications, all adapted to Windows 7. The Redmond company is opening up Windows 7 as a platform to a whole new range of applications, but in order to get developers to build touch-capable programs for Windows 7 it is kick-starting development with a few examples of its own.
“While touch is built into the “DNA” of Windows 7, we thought it would be fun to give you some applications that show what’s possible with this new way to interact with your PC. The Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 is a set of six multi-touch optimized applications and games that are designed to truly showcase the capabilities of Windows Touch in Windows 7,” LeBlanc added.
With the Microsoft Surface Globe, Windows 7 users will be able to touch the world brought to their machines via the Virtual Earth 3D engine. The 3D version of the globe was first demoed a year ago by, Julie Larson-Green, corporate vice president, Windows Experience, with the introduction of Windows 7. Microsoft Surface Collage is an app that allows end users to put together collages of their digital images using their hands and make the result the desktop background.
Microsoft Surface Lagoon has been migrated from Microsoft Surface to Windows 7 as the name implies. The Lagoon offers a screensaver that will respond to touch and multi-touch interactions; users will be able to play with their fingers in the water and watch the fish respond to their gestures.
Microsoft Blackboard is one of the games included in the package. Designed as a puzzle game of physics, it allows end users to solve the puzzle by creating machines on the virtual blackboard. Microsoft Rebound requires less logic and more reflexes, as two opponents can go head to head against each other with just a digital ball standing between them and victory. Microsoft Garden Pond allows for origami figurines to be navigated on the pond by ripples in the water in order to achieve certain goals.
“The Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 will be available to PC makers (OEMs) who will have the option to pre-install some, none, or all of the applications available in the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 on PCs designed for Windows Touch (PCs that meet the logo requirements for Windows Touch) – so you should start to see these applications showing up on some touch PCs around the time Windows 7 is made broadly available. After general availability of Windows 7, we will look at making the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 even more broadly available based on feedback from customers and partners,” LeBlanc stated.
UPDATE: Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 is available for download here.
