Touchscreen

The term “touchscreen” was first used in the New York Times under the article, “A Big 1983 Expected for the Digital Mouse”. In the context of the article it was stating that the technology for mice and the touchscreen emerged around the same time in 1967, but touchscreens weren’t as favorable because your fingers are too large to be precise, they leave grease on the display, and your finger blocks the image you’re trying to access. This article was talking about the up and coming digital mouse from Xerox but articles from both the Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune published articles in 1983 claiming that IBM was revolutionizing the computer with a touchscreen display.

In December of 1983, “touchscreen” found its way into the American Libraries journal. It was a small description of a teacher using one of the newest personal computers by HP: the HP 150. It seems that the New York Times had it wrong because in that same year Hewlett-Packard started a trend that would completely change the modern society more than 30 years from then. It seems that nearly everything today is or can be touchscreen: cellphones, computers, books (eBooks), televisions, even soda fountains. Touchscreens have made their stamp on society and until something even more interactive than using your finger comes along, my guess is that it’s here to stay.