Home Forums Discussions General Discussion AC and Touchscreen computers and tablets

I know that touchscreen technology has been taking off in leaps and bounds in the last year or so, and the price of units employing them has dropped - I suspect that at some point in the future, it will be a standard feature on most computers sold.

What can one currently do with AC and a touchscreen computer (or tablet)? Can you use a stylus to tap on the various windows of AC and thus move the cursor to that spot? Or are the touchscreen capabilities stil too rudimentary for that and limited to very basic functions, such as closing the window or changing the window sizes, etc?

I would consider a tablet in lieu of a netbook, but I do NOT plan on writing - only dictating. Could I use a stylus instead of a touchpad (or mouse) to drill down into the various screens, drag and drop, etc? What exactly can one currently do with a stylus and tablet and AC, other than writing?


Melanie

Melanie,

I have a tablet pc and pretty much anyplace you can point and click with a mouse, you can use the stylus or touch the screen. I bought one tablet to see if I would like it but I rarely use the touch screen. I thought I might also use the handwriting recognition (write a note and have the tablet convert to type) but I also don't use that. I like using the mouse, the templates, and dragon dictate--much simpler and quicker.

Marty

Crap. Melanie, I just typed a detailed response to this and lost it for some reason. I'm an idiot.

Well, this will be shorter. I have an HP touchscreen tablet/laptop and if you can do it with a mouse, you can do it with your finger or stylus. A stylus is more accurate and you have said that you're looking at a stylus mic so that may work. Get a really fast tablet/laptop (spend the money on that as it will be your baby) and go look at the screens of the ones you are considering. My main disappoint with the HP is the quality of the screen.

As for mics (another one of your posts), I have the Dictaphone II, its the length of my open hand (well, not quite but I wear 8 1/2 gloves) and about 2 inches wide. It works OUTSTANDING and makes Dragon work and work well. I think this is due to it being a USB device. I think it's too big to drag around from room to room all day.

Wow, that is nice to know - I had no idea that the stylus worked so well! That will be very appealing to one of my partners, and I may go that route as well, rather then the netbook.

Good suggestion about trying the screen out.

And, it sounds like the Dictaphone would be great at a centralized computer, or in each room, but not for portable use - just as I had suspected. We have some kids that like to "play" with stuff in the room (and their parents let them, but that's another soapbox) and I was concerned about having a Dictaphone attached to the computer in the room. Am I being paranoid, or is this a consideration for anyone else?? They are waaaay too expensive to have little hands toying with them!

Melanie