Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!ulysses!lee
From: lee@ulysses.att.com (Lee Begeja[cwc])
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Touch screens
Summary: Carroll Touch in Texas
Message-ID: <12787@ulysses.att.com>
Date: 13 Apr 90 14:16:03 GMT
References: <145@dynasys.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 39

In article <145@dynasys.UUCP>, jessea@dynasys.UUCP (Jesse W. Asher) writes:
> Someone recently told me that you could install touch screens on a normal
> monitor.  Does anyone know where I can get one of these that would work
> with a 386 version of unix?  Thanx in advance.
> 


More than two years ago we had Carroll Touch Infrared Touch Screens
installed on Mitsubishi monitors that we use with
our AT&T 6386WGS running V.3.2 .

Good points:
	1) The infrared system means that nothing goes between you and
	the picture.
	2) Once things got working the touch screens have performed
	flawlessly.
Neutral points:
	1) The output comes off of a rs232 line that plugs into your
	serial port.

Bad points:
	1) Carroll Touch requires that they do the
	installation of the touchscreen
	2) Carroll Touch does a lousy job of installation. (we had them do 20
	and had to send back more than half of them to be redone)
	3) They provide you with zero software.  It's up to you to
	write your own code to read the serial port based on their specs.
	(Their specs are accurate)
	4) There is a parallax problem with the infrared touch screens
	since the beams are above the surface of the screen.

If we were to do it now I think we would go with the acoustic wave type
of touch screen that does not impact the picture but removes the
parallax problem.  We would not use Carroll Touch because of their
lack of quality control on installation and their refusal to supply
kits to allow us to do it ourselves.  In fairness the touch screens
themselves work fine.

Lee Begeja AT&T Bell Labs att!ulysses!lee