I look forward to the development of touch-based technologies that make mice and pointers obsolete.
I agree and I'm looking forward to it, too.
Let me mention here, that when new technologies come into play and when they are "game-changing" (as it's referred to), you'll find the "paradigm of usage" changes so that people "think differently about usage" from then on.
It does take a while to catch on, because many are still thinking in an older paradigm and they can't "make the shift" very easily. These kinds of technologies are fully accepted when the older generation completely dies off and there are only new people around who have never seen the older technology. The same thing will happen here with the touch technology.
Another "game changer" and new "paradigm" that I'm looking forward to, but I sorta don't expect to really see it happen (I'm too old and will probably die first ... LOL ...).
I want to see the paradigm of a computer/voice interaction with the operator, and a fuzzy logic being used (the same kind of fuzzy logic that is used in language) and have the computer work out the details of what is needed with the operator "supervising" and overseeing what the computer is doing and modifying it as necessary as the computer works along.
You know... like all the science fiction movies and the Star Trek series ... that's the new paradigm that I want to see... :-)
So what do you think the second generation will have? Multi-tasking, yeah, but in terms of the UI, what? See any game-changers on the horizon that make it worth waiting?