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First, let me preface this post by admitting that I don't know enough about hardware. Years ago I just stopped keeping up with computer hardware, so as a result I'm beginning to sound more and more like some out-of-touch old man.

Okay. My parents went overboard for my birthday this year and bought me a new computer. I was stunned and grateful, but it also means I now have a computer with Windows 8. I had been planning to upgrade and get Windows 7 instead due to all the negative feedback I heard about 8, but that's obviously not going to happen now.

So here's my (two-part) question: Should I get a touch screen monitor to go with Windows 8, and if so, which one should I buy?

My needs and limitations:

• I don't want to spend more than $400 on the monitor
• I need a monitor larger than 19"
• I don't need a monitor larger than 23" (probably - I wouldn't turn down a good deal on a larger screen)
• I r stoopid with computer hardware
• Anything I can get through Amazon is a plus; it would allow me to take advantage of some credit and deals I have with them.

Thanks in advance.

I can't imagine why anyone would want a touch screen computer, like, at all. Though, Windows 8 is built for them.

One caveat is that I would get a touch screen computer in a second if it had an LCARS-style OS.

Bowielee said:

I can't imagine why anyone would want a touch screen computer, like, at all. Though, Windows 8 is built for them.

One caveat is that I would get a touch screen computer in a second if it had an LCARS-style OS.

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I didn't really want one, personally. I guess what I'm asking is this: because I am getting Windows 8, would a touch screen monitor make it a better experience? Would it be worth it?

I would say not, but that's just my personal preference. It's still a functional OS without a touchscreen.

Ask yourself this, would it be more convenient or more of a pain in the ass to constantly be reaching out to your screen when you're doing anything on the computer?

No. It's easy to de-fuckify (for the most part) windows 8 and turn it basically back into windows 7. Doing that is a much better option than going touchscreen - speaking as someone who has to regularly deal with touchscreens at work.

I got windows 8 with my latest computer upgrade. It took me a few days to get used to the differences, but I don't see how a touch screen would improve anything at all.

In a desktop environment, there's absolutely no reason whatsoever to use a touchscreen. A mouse is, even for Win8, easier, faster, more precise.
As Bowielee said: do you want to constantly have to lean forward to point at something? No you don't.

Other than that, $400 for a 21" or so screen is plenty these days, you should have no problem finding a good one.

Sounds like I don't need to get one, then. Woo!

Yeah, touchscreens are for handheld devices or oversimplified POS (that's point of sale, not piece of shit) machines. On a PC you need a keyboard and fine motor control for clicking that needs a mouse, which means you may as well not get a touchscreen because there's nothing a touchscreen can do for you that a mouse can't do better, and most monitors for PCs are not arranged in such a way that touching their screen is convenient.

What everyone else said, plus do you really want to have to keep wiping fingerprints off of your monitor?

First thing: Upgrade to Win8.1 at your earliest opportunity.
Second thing: If you can do with a trackpad/tablet any/all of the things you were going to do with a touchscreen, then you would probably be better off getting the trackpad/tablet instead. Otherwise your screen will get smeary, and that gets annoying quickly.

--Patrick

So now my question is: why make Win 8 built around the touchscreen if it's so shitty for home computers?

Because it's a stepping stone to try and "encourage" tablet convergence.

--Patrick

Tress said:

So now my question is: why make Win 8 built around the touchscreen if it's so shitty for home computers?

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Marketing, and because big square stuff looks "modern" while a desktop with icons looks "dated". Also, making "one look" for tablets/phones/pcs/laptops/etc.

I do'nt mind them going for "one look" but the implementation on desktops is horrible.

What PatrThom said. Trying to take the PC market and merge it with/transfer it to the tablet market.

GasBandit said:

What PatrThom said. Trying to take the PC market and merge it with/transfer it to the tablet market.

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That's dumb IMO.

Tress said:

That's dumb IMO.

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Hence, Windows 8.1.

Tress said:

That's dumb IMO.

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If you assume (as MS PHBs do) that the desktop is a relic and about to be phased out, to be completely replaced with smartphones, game consoles, netbooks, tablets, and network terminals - no, it isn't.

You see, what do we use a dekstop for? To play games? Consoles. To surf the net, mail, facebook? Tablets and phones. To wrok on large and annoying excel sheets on a desk? Terminals with a broadband connection to a server.

While I'm a huge desktop fanboy, both for games and for work, I can see how management would conclude that the old fashioned desktop muight be on its way to be replaced with specific machines - and if so, Microsoft is smart to try and adapt, to get the XBone and Windows Phone to work together, to be "the same" and to work properly. The backwards idiots still using a desktop...Well, they'll go away.
For "regular" office work, you don't need a desktop pc - just a (touch)screen and a keyboard, with a connection to a server. Look at Office and the like - you can't buy them anymore, just one-year licenses. You don't really need to run anything on your end anymore.

We'll see in 20 years who was right - but, though it would sadden me, I can imagine the desktop pc being a thing of the past, adn Microsoft being a big player only due to XBox, Windows Phone, Bing,... and Office, Windows and the like being forgotten.

I understand the logic, but at the very least they're trying to force a change way too early. So, dumb.

It's not way too early, though. Traditional PC sales are at best flat (if shrinking), desktops have been shrinking for a while now. Meanwhile touch devices are on a massive growth curve.

Bubble181 said:

We'll see in 20 years who was right - but, though it would sadden me, I can imagine the desktop pc being a thing of the past, adn Microsoft being a big player only due to XBox, Windows Phone, Bing,... and Office, Windows and the like being forgotten.

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The Desktop PC is already a thing of the past. That happened the moment notebooks stopped being high price low performance machines and became low cost machines capable of easily handling the average PC workload.