QI read your column advising someone to avoid Windows 8 and stick with Windows 7 if they don't have a touch screen.
But another option is to get a new touch pad, which allows you to use the same gestures you would on a touch screen. Wouldn't that be easier to use than a touch screen because we're already primed to use a device beside our PCs?
TOM REGNIER,
Minnetonka Beach
AWhat you suggest strikes me as a way to force Windows 8 onto an older desktop or laptop PC that wasn't designed to run it. That's probably not a good idea.
Why? Unlike earlier versions of Windows, Windows 8 isn't much of an improvement over what preceded it. All it offers, really, is a new touch-screen interface. So if the touch-screen experience isn't satisfactory, you have to ask yourself why you bought it.
There are four distinct groups who will potentially use Windows 8, probably with varying degrees of satisfaction.
Tablet computer users: This is still a new market, and there's room for another major operating system besides Apple's iOS and Google's Android. While Microsoft's own Surface Windows 8 tablet is not quite as slick as Apple's iPad, it's a good touch-screen device.