Reveiw of Windows 7 Touch Pack

I've been intrigued with Touch for awhile so I bought myself an HP Touch Screen for Christmas and have it hooked up to my media box in the stereo rack. I mounted it on the wall in the hallway and it now serves as a glorified touch-capable jukebox. This is the best upgrade/gadget I've ever owned.

Windows Media Center with Touch Pack installed is an easy and intuitive way to interact with a music catalog. The Pack optimizes WMC's interface and navigation is a breeze. My only complaint is that WMC disables the screen saver. Which is really too bad because the Touch Pack installs a cool screen saver called Lagoon that simulates fish swimming in a pond and dynamically responds to touch.

The bundled games aren't really worth playing but do demonstrate the capabilities in interesting ways. I think the real value here is Bing Maps and Surface. Being able to interact with a map via Surface is an incredible experience. Once you figure out the two point input routine, it's easy and intuitive. I can see some excellent educational opportunities here. If you plan a lot of trips, or like maps and cartography, this is a must have.