Technical issues can be perplexing! In this section we attempt to explain technical matters that have special interest in the WISL community.

Touch Screen

     The principle of touch screen is seductively simple. It is the "point" without the requirement to "click". Most of us engage in the practice even if we do not employ a touch sensitive screen(witness the finger print smudges that must be periodically cleaned from our monitor screens). As a technology it has been around for a long time. In the late 80's I participated in a project that resulted in the use of a touch sensitive screen to facilitate product inquiry in the University of Waterloo Bookstore. Although the prototype did work,  various factors conspired to prevent the facility from being adopted as a permanent feature in the bookstore.

    A touch screen monitor consists of a thin layer of touch sensitive material that overlays a standard CRT or LCD panel. The touch sensitive layer is usually connected to the workstation separately through a serial or USB port . Software is provided for calibration of the screen, usually by prompting the user to touch predetermined spots on the screen and then storing the alignment for reference to subsequent touches. In a standard Windows environment a finger touch works the same as a mouse click i.e. if you quickly touch an icon twice in succession the corresponding process is initiated.

    Our foray into touch screen technology was initiated by a request from Doug Pritchard, Manager of the Seneca College Bookstore. Doug attended a book trade show where he saw a demonstration of a product inquiry/ordering facility based on touch screen technology offered in a kiosk format. His challenge to us was to develop a similar capability without the high cost of the facility that he had witnessed at the trade show. His criteria included "ease of use" but to ensure security to allow only touch as a means of data entry i.e. no keyboard or mouse.

    Our approach was to begin with our browser based WISL Webstore and to modify it to meet Doug's criteria. We introduced a number of drop down lists in lieu of text prompts but there are still circumstances in which entering text is required. As a physical keyboard was not permitted in Doug's criteria we simply took a picture of a keyboard and placed it on the screen. In our software  we mapped the location of each key on the screen so the user may touch it just as would be done on a physical keyboard to enter text.  The Webstore application is invoked under Microsoft's "kiosk" version of Internet Explorer which provides further security by hiding the menu bars usually offered by the browser. A sample screen below illustrates the kiosk mode and the on-screen keyboard.

    Doug arranged for custom construction of the physical kiosks to fit within the concept and layout of his new store below. WISL Webstore was also adapted to Seneca's web page format.

    You may experience a demo of WISL Webstore including the kiosk features at http://www.wisl.com/webstore  If you don't have a touch screen a mouse may be used in lieu of your finger.