Microsoft's new touchy-feely Windows 8 works well on a tablet or touchscreen notebook, but what about a traditional desktop machine?
With no touch, desktop punters wrangling Windows 8 are reliant on the old keyboard and mouse combo for navigation. Sure, you can dive into Windows 8's desktop mode where the traditional mouse and keyboard combo works much the same as Windows 7, but that still leaves Start Screen mode and the new Charm Bar, which I found to be clunky to operate without touch.
One answer for those who use a desktop machine is to fork out for a multi-touch-enabled monitor. Then you have the best of both worlds - a mouse and keyboard, which remain the best options for heavy data-entry tasks such as word processing, and touch for working inside the new touch-happy areas of Windows. Also, having used Windows 8 on a variety of touch-enabled tablets, notebooks and all-in-one PCs since its launch in October last year, I find touch a welcome addition to working with Windows.
Take getting at the Charm Bar, which comes up on the right side of the display and contains important search, settings, sharing and device connection functions.
With touch, the Charm Bar comes up with a simple right-to-left swipe from the edge of the screen. Without touch, getting at the bar takes either a well-aimed move of the mouse cursor to the extreme bottom right edge of the screen or holding down the Windows key and hitting the C key.
To get touch on my home desktop, I tried out Acer's 23-inch T2 monitor, which is certified for Windows 8 touch operations and available early next month.
The T2 has 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and a stand that lets the monitor swivel back through 80 degrees, ending up flat with respect to the surface it is sitting on. This means you can use it to play games such as touch hockey with another player where the 10-point multi-touch feature gets a chance to show off its ability to handle many fingers at once. The monitor is also 3D capable.
Running Windows 8 on my home desktop, the T2 was excellent. Touch control was very responsive and the claimed 178- degree viewing angle meant the display was easy to see even when tilted right back. Colour and sharpness were very good - this was one of the brightest monitors I have seen.
There are three USB 3.0 ports on the left edge of the screen, which are handy for plugging in keyboards and mice and other desktop accessories.
The only problem is the price - an eye-watering $699. This is getting up close to the price of a touch-enabled all-in-one PC.
