Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: touchscreens | Themes: Display Panels and Monitors, Digital Entertainment, Business
3. Resistive Screens
Let’s start with the most economical technology: resistive screens. In this technology, the glass surface of a CRT or LCD monitor screen is covered by a flexible tactile layer. A touch is detected by sensing the pressure exerted on the sensor.
How does it work?
Operation of a resistive screen (source: Elo)
The tactile layer is made up of two membranes, both of which are made conductive by depositing a layer of metal oxide on them. They’re kept apart by tiny insulating spacer dots. When pressure is exerted at a point on the screen, the outer membrane is pushed into the inner membrane, causing electrical contact to be made. The position of this contact is recorded by the tactile screen’s controller, which subjects the edges of the screen to a weak current.
Advantages
This technology is very inexpensive, and it’s sensitive to all types of touch, whether from a finger or a stylus. It’s also unaffected by the presence of dust, grease or water on the surface of the screen. And it’s precise enough for a wide range of uses.
Disadvantages However, resistive screens also have certain shortcomings. First of all, the superimposed tactile layers are not highly transparent; they generally absorb 20% to 25% of the screen’s brightness. Also, the accumulation of layers with different refraction indices can generate reflections and also reduces the display’s angle of vision. In addition to that, due to their flexibility, the layers are fairly fragile — they’re vulnerable to scratches and even cuts from sharp objects.
Tough Despite It All
Archos 5
That said, these disadvantages mustn’t be overestimated. Resistive touchscreens are used everywhere today: on PDAs, Archos media players and gaming consoles. Even under intensive use, as on the Nintendo DS, longevity is not really a problem for them.
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If they want to get a cheap way to integrate "Dual Touch" for a computer, just write a driver that allows them to use dual mice.
Most likely it wouldn't be that hard, and it would allow you to do many things that you can't with a single mouse.
That was a great article and it would be great to have a touch screen for PC's but only if you can use it with voice as well, This way you can get rid of the keyboard and mouse...unless they find a good way to use brainwaves but thats just a dream till probably 20 years or so I'm guessing.
All that has to be done then is to make something better than a mouse and keyboard for gaming because I don't see first person shooters working well with a touch screen.
Not quite interested in leaving my finger prints on my monitor. There was a thing called "IBM Light Pen" a long time ago, and guess where it is now? We don't even need two mice to do the same thing. Just program it so that hitting both left and right mouse button enables dynamic zoom with mouse going up and down.
The real next invention on human interface would be mind controller or FPS game controller that doesn't suck any more.