Small touch targets is true, but with how expansive UIs have gotten since Windows Mobile it's FAR less of an issue and I've used it just fine in the past (external touch display). The most difficult target is usually the window close button, but the consequences for missing that are nearly zero, and practically everything else is more than large and space-buffered enough if you don't close your eyes before reaching for the screen. And that's before liquid glass redesigns.

I mostly agree though, Wacom is far from the cheap option.

It's one of those situations where the more seamless they make the experience, the quicker the user will end up totalling either the laptop screen / hinges or the touchscreen. Given the position of the connector and how people generally close laptops, it's the perfect lever to crack something.

Pfff, what a laughable claim. Meanwhile, just because people CAN use to learn something doesn't mean it's good. Touchscreen computers, especially laptops, are dumb for a few reasons. They already have a touch interface (the trackpad), and touchscreen on a computer requires dumbed-down interfaces with oversized controls and an M.O. that tolerates your hand and arm blocking your view of what you're trying to work on.

And also the screen's hinges must be (and perpetually remain) stiff enough to sustain people pressing on the screen the whole time.

With people doing so much on phones and tablets now, you can bet that when they fire up a legitimate computer, they want a computer's capabilities. That means a real keyboard, a precision pointing device, and software with a proper computer UI.