Touch Screens

I've seen the future and it will be filled with touch screens. Currently I'm writing this post from an iPod touch. The inspiration for this prediction is not the news that every cellphone manufacturer under the sun has just released a touch screen phone, but my 2 year old son Ethan. I often let him play with my iPod touch. He knows how to turn it on and start the app. he wants to use. Over the last week he decided that all electronic screens should be touch screens. I have found him both at my laptop and desktop touching the screen trying to get it to respond. He was not just putting his grubby paws on the screen like most kids, but deliberately tapping on icons to see what would happen. So with this in mind, I find it baffling that highly educated people struggle with using touch screens. Part of my job is to work with programmers to create custom touch screens to control audio and video conference systems. We try to create the user interface so that anyone can use it without training. I often get requests from clients for quick start guides. I recently had a client request a step by step description on how to make a phone call using the touch screen. The screen looks like a telephone keypad with a button labeled DIAL and another labeled HANG UP. My point is, if my 2 year old can figure out how to use a touch screen, do I really need to create instructions on how to make a phone call from one? Touch screens are going to be more and more of a part of our daily lives, so let's embrace them. By the way, I don't remember having any instructions for the iPod touch.