Tablet PC Desktop Replacement?

April 8, 2012 3:30 PM

My work provided us with Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablets. I'm looking for software that could possibly replace the Windows 7 desktop and make the touch screen easier to use. The caveat is that I need to be able to get back to the Windows 7 desktop.

I've looked through askmefi and the posts are pretty old so I'd like more up to date info. The Windows 7 desktop is all right but it can be a little difficult to use with my fat fingers. I saw a recommendation for Frontface and it looks interesting. I've also seen recommendations for using Rainmeter with specific skins for a tablet. Is anybody using either of these solutions or do you have any additional recommendations? I'd like a desktop replacement that would allow me to browse, copy, cut, delete, rename, etc.... files. I will need to get back to the Windows 7 Desktop because I need to demo to students file management techniques.

posted by crios to Computers & Internet (2 answers total)

I haven't used Windows 8 yet, but I hear it's designed for just this kind of multi-use scenario. It's supposed to have a touch-friendly UI for common functions, but the old desktop ready and waiting whenever you want to call it up.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 4:58 PM on April 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Win 8 is perfect for you, but I'd really be hesitant to install the current preview on a machine I needed to do work on: App compatibility is all over the place, and it's pretty unstable driver-wise, it just straight up crashes a lot.

I'm sure it'll be fine by release, but just not yet.
posted by Oktober at 5:17 PM on April 8, 2012