How about linking to a website or something where I can see the designs, download the software, or maybe buy the DIY kit? Would be appreciated :D.

How far along is the software in terms of open-source multitouch?

@athingunique: [nortd.com]

Awesome!

Stick it to Microsoft!

gotta love this revolutionary multi touch technology that M$ is getting behind. if it's so cheap and easy why is it taking a multi billion dollar company so long to make anything of it?

i'm looking forward to seeing what the open source community make of this

Yup. All you need is a projector, IR camera, and some sort of box. It's not rocket science.

I imagine MS's price has more to do with software then anything else.

Here's an instructable version.
Not quite the same, but cool nonetheless.

@BoinK: the page cannot be found

Uh oh. Microsoft watch out! I'm coming for you!

@VirreVojj: Working just dandy for me, albeit slow. They're probably getting pounded.

NUIgroup is a opensource community meant for DIY multi-touch table, lotta discussion going around there

Im calling bull. I'll believe it when l see it in action. lf it does work, lt'll probably be so ramshackled that it won't even be useful. lt'll just be a bragging point.

Look, l hate to be so negative, but l'm tired of cheap immitations from the DIY community. l want you guys to be more original than apple and MS combined! You guys should be the ones being immitated. I think you guys can move beyond these OMG DIY IPOD types of projects. You don't need to emulate. You're better than them. Move beyond touchscreens, think ahead! Beat them to the next big thing before they get the opportunity to overcharge us regular joes for it.

Now lets get out there and redefine human/computer interactive interfaces! BREAK!

I would only buy a completely finished one, since I'd probably screw up building it myself. Also, I would only get one if windows supported it with a simple driver install or something like that.

This is great! Now, it will cost me so much less to do all the photo rotating and resizing that I've been missing out on without a tabletop display!

@TonyTriple: the DIY mentality hasn't been encouraged in the US educational system for quite some time (note the elimination of Industrial Arts type classes in high schools.) It's only within the last few years that it has enjoyed a resurgence, with stuff like Make: Magazine, Instructables, etc. Give it some time.

It's out there; you just have to look for it. Check out Johnny Chung Lee's website for some really cool, innovative projects, for example.

@TonyTriple:

Affordability is the whole point of camera / projector based multi-point hardware. Software is where costs start to escalate.

[www.cs.cmu.edu]
THIS IS SO COOL. IT WILL BE INCLUDED IN MY LINUX DISTRO.

@mferrari: It shouldn't be hard to get Vista to work with it, since you can already use regular Vista on a tablet. I know I'm going to build one just for use as a giant tablet screen, at least until you can use it with multitouch.

I knew this concept would go open source...totally awesome.

I still don't see the use for this.

@bms: Useful? Why does it have to be useful? It's just cool!

@metrophage: Forgot the smiley...

:D

@Gonzie: I think M$ has been taking their time beacuse they want to make something useful. As drewls Pointed out currnet multitouch isn't all that useful. Surface goes beyond that by recognizing items placesed on it and interacting with them accordingly, like the ones they have in AT&T stores.

I run a tuition business. I am not able to afford the high priced SmartBoards.

This is genius, will save alot in board pens alone. Plus the board itself wont wear out, and I can save the work on the board for the students to access over the internet/print out to take home. (Assuming that it will work with the huge box casing and can be wall mounted)

@bms - Now can you see a use for this.

Multitouch building and opensource multitouch software has been around for more than a year on [www.nuigroup.com]

It's great that cubit is making kits, but the whole concept of cheap and easy multitouch along with opensource software is nothing new.

I would encourage everyone to check out nuigroup.com. I'm cubit could be expanded through the nuigroup community.