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Is Touch Evil?

Posted by Steve Mueller on February 15, 2009 – 4:28 am  Share
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About a month ago, Zack Whittaker at ZD Net blogs wrote an interesting piece called Touch: the most evil technology in modern computing.  He claims that touch technology is evil for two main (and related) reasons — screens smudged with fingerprints can get glitchy and spread germs.TouchOfEvil

While both may be true, he undermines his argument by pointing out that one of the most germ-laden pieces of equipment in many homes is the computer keyboard.  Also, a study of office hygiene found that the telephone had the most germs, followed by the keyboard.  So it seems to me that phones with keyboards and keypads are already likely to be infested.

He also claims that touch computing has taken off too quickly and that multi-touch isn’t a mature technology.  While the latter is probably true, touchscreen phones have been around for years, although many (like Palm and Pocket PC phones) used a stylus.  I assume he’s referring to the Apple model of touch using capacitive screens, which is newer, but so what?  Just because something is new doesn’t mean it’s bad.  That philosophy leads to stagnation.

So what do you think?  Does Zack get two thumbs up or is he a bit touched himself?

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Steve Mueller (12 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

I do software development and quality assurance professionally. I'm the owner/Web master of Silicon Valley Pocket PC (http://www.svpocketpc.com) and the founder of the WinMoInfo social network. I've had Windows CE devices since 1998. See more about my PDA history at my history page (more than you probably will ever care about).


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  • @Leonard Low:

    Thanks for that info about medical professionals. That makes a lot of sense, especially in hospitals where they do wash their hands regularly and/or wear gloves.

    However, for normal users that may not wash their hands or disinfect their devices regularly, I wonder if there's much of a difference.

    @Daniel:

    I also wondered how many people actually share devices, but I know it does happen. I've heard stories about exes locking the owner out of the device after being loaned the phone to make a call or people accidentally wiping the device thinking they were only getting rid of their personal call information so the owner wouldn't see it. I've loaned my Pocket PC to my daughter for drawing (when she was younger) or playing games, too.

    I wouldn't loan my phone to a stranger, but maybe younger people like Zack think nothing of it. (That might be an interesting topic for a poll....)

    Steve
  • Daniel
    Screen smudges I can agree with (they do usually provide a handy little cloth) but the rest is nonsense. First of all few touch devices are shared. So you are only touching your own germs, if you are worried then wash your hands when you go to the toilet. Secondly maturity of software can only be achieved by the using it and people who want to wait until multi-touch becomes "mature" can watch in a couple of months as we play with the new latest technology while they try and get use to something that will be second nature to the rest of us.
  • Zack should have done his research before making silly claims. The fact is, medical professionals and lab technicians *prefer* touch-screen or flat panel devices for some of the most sensitive and sterile environments.

    Why is that? You ask. Simple: touch screen and flat panel devices do not have the cracks and crevices between operating controls that keyboards, buttons, or other mechanical interfaces have. It is the cracks and crevices that can be the hiding place of all kinds of nasties, whereas a smooth touch screen can be wiped completely clean and will not trap liquid or solid wastes in places where they cannot be accessed.
  • doogald
    It almost looks like he was on a deadline and could not figure out what to write about.

    I've just gone back to read the rest of his blog entries. *ho-hum*
  • Julie
    The guy who wrote that article is an idiot. People touch tables, phones, etc. Who cares? If you're the type of person who's that concerned about germs, just carry around some antibacterial lotion and wipey pads.

    I've read that money is the most germ laden thing of all. I wonder if that guy has a problem with carrying and touching money on a regular basis.
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