Gone – probably for ever – are the days when Microsoft could force the computer industry to adopt a technology through sheer force.  Nowadays it has to convince and cajole PC makers, dev elopers and customers to adopt its wares.  And it certainly has a fight on its hands convincing all of us to enthusiastically embrace the multitouch technology that has become a cornerstone of Windows 7.

If this week’s PDC is anything to go by, Microsoft is certainly winning over the dev elopers. The Surface tables that are dotted around the convention centre are attracting attendees like bees round a honeypot. So, to a lesser extent, are the demonstrations of Windows 7 running on HP Touchsmart PCs. 

I’ve just come from a session devoted to helping developers adapt their applications for multitouch, and whilst the sizeable hall wasn’t full, there must have been 300-400 people listening and tapping out notes on the demonstrations.

 Microsoft’s program manager Reed Townsend told the audience that he didn’t “think we’ve really scratched the surface yet on what a great touch UI could look like.” I think he’s right, and I worry that Microsoft’s decision to stick with the same Windows desktop for both touch and non-touch PCs proves his point.

Today’s touch PCs, such as the HP Touchsmart mentioned above, rely on a dedicated touch overlay to make the UI more finger friendly. In my opinion, boosting the size of the icons on the Taskbar and adding the Ribbon interface to native applications doesn’t go anywhere near far enough to make Windows 7 a true touch OS.

I asked Mike Nash, vice president of Windows Product Management, why the company hadn’t designed a separate touch UI for Windows 7. “It was more straightforward for us from a development point of view,” he replied. “Besides, Windows with touch and Windows without touch – it will be hard to get developers to spend a lot of time on it,” he added.

He may have a point. But in my experience touch only really works when the UI is specifically tailored to suit, which is why the iPhone makes Windows Mobile look so cack-handed. Let’s hope the hundreds of developers at today’s session have a better grasp of that than Microsoft does.