Video Feature: Hands-On with the HP TouchSmart IQ500 PC

I have a home constructed touchscreen installed in my kitcchen. I thought hard about HP's first generation product last year but the design was a bit ugly to be fair. This second product looks much closer to the mark, a tidy looking design with a nice interface.

I wonder if the buzz around the iphone/touch could make this a great seller, I hope so.

This product could have been so great. instead it have a GIGANTIC error.

It's a completly reverse from HP. They launch the Smartmedia server EX475 for home users and that is a absolutely perfect product (when you upgrade memory and cpu) and the reason is that we should not worry about our files as they are protected and also the computers are protected. But the other reason for getting the Mediasmart WHS is to have alla the files in one place and not scattred all over on diffrent computers. That is such a good idea. one place for all and all can access and use the pictures, music, movies and so on. And i Vista you can change the path for pictures, music, movies and so on an point them to the shared folders on the Mediasmart server. Works great.

This is where HP has turned around. The Touchsmart program is only designed to use local files. You can't access files from other computers not Touchsmart program. You can access the files from Windows. So if you point your folder to a WHS then you can't access them from within Touchsmart.

There is a work around. You can install iTunes and use the iTune libary instead of the Touchsmart libary.

I have talked to the US support (chat) and they just say "we do no say that it work with media that is on other places than the Touchsmart pc. We have also not stated that in our commercials for Touchsmart PC's"

We as users have no idea that they go the oppersit way that their other produstc and ideas and also the normal standard that alla other are working from, that media should be shared and access from all products for media files.

It would be the same as Ferrari make a new model and call it F1 and everything is like all the others. Just one problem, when you start driving it's just able to drive in max 30 mph even if the speedometer say alot more.

What a huge blunder they have done. I just hope that we all help spreading this information so the buyers know what they buy and that the diffrent HP offices communicate so we don't ever see a problem like this again. they surely have to fix the problem fast if they want people to buy this product.