Touch Screen | Using A Fingernail

Some of the most common problems with using a finger to operate a touch screen device is the lack of precision. To compensate without the use of a stylus, the forward tip of the fingernail is not an unusual solution given that the nail is of sufficient length. The keratin that the fingernail is made of mimics the hardness of a stylus that would normally come with touch screen devices.

Aside from offering more precise points of contact, it minimizes the amount of skin grease that would otherwise be smeared onto the screen. And because the fingernail sliding across the screen generates less friction than would the skin of a finger, drawing lines and dragging icons become much less frustrating.

The particular touch screen technology behind the device would determine whether this strategy is even an option. Capacitive touch screen systems would require the conductivity of a finger anyways so a stylus, or fingernail, would not work. Most personal touch screen devices like most smart phones and touch screen laptops on the other hand work with a stylus.

How A Touch Screen Works

The touch screen interface of various devices can be built in several different ways. However, the purpose of the touch screen interface remains the same regardless of technical design. They are to recognize one or more contact points on the monitor, to recognize the corresponding command of a particular point of contact, and to deliver the command to the software application.

The two most commonly used techniques are capacitive and resistive systems which utilize a metallic sheet to conduct an electrical current. A change in the current is recognized as a touch on the screen and the corresponding command is executed.

There are two systems that utilize infrared light technology to capture touch screen user interactivity. The first touch screen system creates a grid of light that detects interruptions caused by an object coming in close contact with the screen. The other system records shadows created by objects and the shadows are detected by a pair of cameras to triangulate the position of the object.

However it is done, the purpose of different techniques in creating a touch screen interface is to determine the command depending on what controls are displayed at the time and the location the contact occurred.

Touch Screens Change the Way Retailers Do Business

The latest craze in technology is clearly the touch screen and with its advent, a whole host of new products have flooded the market offering an array of new and interesting spins of traditional everyday scenes and activities. Everything from ATM machines to the touch screen laptop has been utilizing this new technology and, perhaps, most striking among these is no doubt the super market checkout line. Where once it took two pimply faced teens to ring and bag your groceries, the march of the touch screen has made it possible for you to now ring yourself out at the supermarket in half the time and with three quarters less hassle and energy. However, even if you’ve never used these new fangled check out machines and regardless of whether you own or intend to own a touch screen laptop, you can’t help but marvel at this remarkable and innovate technology.

Appreciate the Touch Screen

If you are an owner of an IPhone or a touch screen laptop, then you might already be taking for granted the wonderful technology sitting on your lap or resting in your pocket. Touch screen technology, in all its guises and forms is the culmination of years of innovation and research and, were it not for this technology’s humble roots, you likely would be without your talking touch screen ATM machines or that fancy touch screen laptop that has become an inseparable companion on your business trips. Regardless of what kind of touch screen device you use, there’s no denying that ever more of these gadget are popping up on a regular basis in all the corners of our lives. While some people may long for the good old days, many others still believe that life has been nothing but improved and made more convenient from the advent of touch screen technology.

Touch Screen | Technology | Our Dependence

Of all the developments in modern technology – from cars and trains to airplanes and space travel – there is nothing that changes more quickly or so dramatically as computer science and technology. In just 50 years, we went from giant, two story computers to handheld computers and, even more recently, the touch screen laptop. With every new breakthrough and development three more seem to come down the pipe and this exponential effect sees no end in sight. Not only have computers themselves developed and evolved – be it that new touch screen laptop or the noble desktop PC – but so too has the way in which we use computers in our everyday lives and they now pervade virtually every waking moment of our day. As technology continues to advance, so too will our dependence and we must remain ever vigilant to not to become over dependent to the point that we can’t function without a computer’s say so.