Gizmodo: Surface

TouchKit Brings Surface-Like Multitouch to the Nerdy Masses

John Herrman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:20:00 EDT

Touchkit, an open source (software and hardware) multitouch kit designed by NOR_/D, has been announced at a $1580 price point, or roughly 1/8th the cost of Microsoft's Surface table. That's not to say that the TouchKit is equivalent or even necessarily a competitor to Microsoft's offering, but it is theoretically capable of many of the same flashy tricks. The system must be hooked up to a separate computer, and also requires an external projector. As you can see in the video, there's not exactly a whole lot it can do out of the box, but the open source platform can be tweaked by anyone with a little knowledge of C++. Check out the gallery of the hardware and potential installations are their site. [Gizmag]

Scientists Create Smoothest Mirror Surface Ever

Kit Eaton — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:15:00 EDT

A team at the Autonomous University of Madrid have created what they're calling the smoothest mirror surface ever made. It's flat down to the size scales of individual lead atoms, and was made by depositing lead onto silicon crystal at freakish temperatures of -173 to -133°C. This messes with the quantum properties of electrons in the lead and lets it settle without bunching up as it's warmed up. It's not shiny, or for checking out your hair-do though: the intention is to bend the compound mirror into a convex shape for use in a helium ion microscope. This'll work in similar ways and with similar magnification to an electron microscope, focusing helium ions instead of electrons, which don't damage delicate biological samples. The team's next task is to tackle the bending part. Smooth work, guys. [New Scientist]

Uncrating the First Surface Table in Australia

Adam Frucci — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Unlike many gadgets, the Microsoft Surface Table isn't something that a lot of consumers get a chance to unbox for themselves. That doesn't mean you shouldn't get to enjoy seeing some lucky Aussies from the Amnesia Blog pulling the first Surface in the land down under out of its crate. Follow me past the jump for a nice dose of living vicariously through others.

Arriving in 275-pound crates, the pair of tables were unloaded off a truck before being pried open with a crowbar. Inside, it look like the unboxing of many other gadgets, just a lot bigger. This sucker is huge. I still kind of want one, as impractical as that would be. Maybe someday. [Amnesia Blog]

Hands On With the Microsoft Surface Sphere Prototype

Adrian Covert — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:41:00 EDT

Microsoft's Surface Sphere operates a lot like the original Surface, utilizing a projector surrounded by a ring of IR cameras, which is then covered by a semi-opaque globe. The IR cameras detect when the beams are being blocked, and transmits it as contact. Using it, I found there are still a few early glitches, but this is an amazing piece of technology and far along for a prototype.

Admittedly, this is a very early, and very rough demo, but the use of IR technology means that navigating the Sphere isn't quite as smooth or intuitive as a multi-touch display. Similar to the HP Touchsmart, I noticed that contact with the sphere had to be deliberate to get an accurate response. And one notable hurdle the Surface Sphere will have to overcome is light sensitivity. Flash photography affected the input mechanism, tricking the computer into thinking a giant hand was touching it.

Similar to the original Surface, photos and video tiles can be shuffled around the Sphere. The coolest demo was by far the Pong-style game, where blockades could be placed on the globe spontaneously using your hand or a Post-it note. There was also a neat demo where you could flick the sphere like a globe to make it simulate rotation, then drag your fingers across to create a paint trail. This has the potential to be pretty awesome.

The big question is why a sphere when so many of us are looking for a more practical application for a surface table, not a less practical one? Walking around to use a UI could be complicated and annoying for the average PC user. Researchers said the sphere was the most challenging surface possible, and if they could get Surface-style multi-touch working on that, they could get it working on anything. Maybe they could use it to model Trident data on a touch globe. They also said that academics could make good use of it, and I agree that I can see this being useful for classroom collaboration. The obvious uses are in public and retail spaces, for advertising and marketing. And a fun implementation is that it could be used for multiplayer gaming, because you can't see the whole sphere at once.

Microsoft Multi-touch Sphere Plays 360-Degree Video, Trippiest Pong Game Ever

matt buchanan — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:35:21 EDT

The Seattle PI has the first look at Microsoft's multi-touch Surface Sphere—simply Sphere—that we've known would debut this week. It's more advanced than Surface, since it has to use algorithms to round images, and uses an infrared system to detect hands and objects touching it. It plays omnidirectional video and what has to be the craziest rendition of Pong ever. The video shows a lot of amazing potential, but incredulously, it's just an ooh-and-ah project right now, with no commercial plans—it's just supposed to relay their vision of everything as a potential Surface. We're convinced, now make it happen. [Seattle PI]

Microsoft Surface Sphere Will Be Multi-touchable Next Week

matt buchanan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 16:59:00 EDT

Microsoft is going to debut its spherical multi-touch Surface next week at its annual Research Faculty Summit. We're pretty curious about what you can do with a big ball of multi-touch (and wondering about the little things—is it a perfect sphere? How are you supposed to hold it? Is it like a globe?). They pulled references to it off the exhibit list (to keep it a surprise, probably), but it's still very much on the floor display map, as you can see. We're stoked. [Mary-Jo Foley]

Panasonic Shows Off Surface-Like Digital Wall

Matt Hickey — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:00:00 EDT

Microsoft's getting some competition for its Surface device. Panasonic is showing off a very Surface-like product it's calling Digital Wall, and it's exactly what it sounds like. While at this point it doesn't appear to offer all the the features of Surface it could also come in much cheaper that the Microsoft version, and for many people that's the key. Hit the jump for a short video of the Digital Wall in action. [Digital World Tokyo]

Disney's Innoventions Dream Home is a Big Ad For Microsoft and HP...But I Still Want It

Sean Fallon — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:00:00 EDT

Recently, Disney announced the grand opening of their new Innoventions Dream Home located in Tomorrowland in Anaheim, Calif. The construction was a collaborative effort between Disneyland, Microsoft, HP, Life|ware and home-builder Taylor Morrison—so naturally the home functions more as a big advertising campaign for current products than an actual "home of the future." Still, I wouldn't mind booting out the fictional Elias family from their 5000-square-foot home to get my hands on some of this tech.

Microsoft:

In addition to Microsoft technology we are already familiar with like Surface, Home Server, Vista, the Zune , Xbox 360 and the like (the home of the future is still running the 360?), there are a number of future technologies installed in the home that were inspired by innovations from their prototyping lab:

•Magic Mirror: A mirror projects different clothes, accessories and hairstyles onto each family member’s image when they stand before it. The clothes not only morph to the contours of the body, but also sway as the person in front of the mirror moves.

•Kitchen of Your Dreams: The kitchen recognizes ingredients as a family member sets them on the counter, suggesting recipes for those items and providing instructions once a recipe is selected.

•Story Time: Visit the child’s room to be transported to Neverland. Read “Peter Pan” aloud to absorb a full multimedia experience, as cues in the story set off lights, sounds, colors and video.

HP:

In the kitchen, HP has their TouchSmart PC keeping things organized and the iPAQ 510 Voice Messenger is available to make calls. In the living room the aforementioned iPAQ is connected to the Surface table to transfer and display photos. They can also be transferred wirelessly to any number of HP digital photo frames in the house as well as to the MediaSmart TV.

As for Life|ware, they provided much of the RFID technology and media center solutions that tied all of the technology together.

To get the full scoop on the home of the semi-present, hit the following press releases. [HP and Microsoft and Life|ware and Disney via Hemagazine]

Microsoft Surface Debuts For Drunken Vacationers At the Rio in Vegas

Jason Chen — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:10:00 EDT

Microsoft's following up its initial retail rollout of their Surface Table at AT&T with a slightly sleazier version in Vegas. The Rio is going to get six Surface tables, which allows patrons to order drinks and play mini-games with their buddies. The most interesting is a "Flirt" application, which lets you try your luck electronically with people at other Surface tables without actually going over there and talking to them. How well does vomit come off of these things again? [Surface Blog]

College Student Makes Multi-touch Table Out Of Cardboard Box

Elaine Chow — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:00:00 EDT

Microsoft's Surface multi-touch table sure is cool, but who has $10,000 to spend on a gadget like that? I personally have maybe fifty bucks to my name right now, so I guess I'll have to fulfill my multi-touch itch with a cardboard box and a webcam like this guy.

Seth Sandler, an undergraduate student at UC San Diego, built a portable multi-touch pad out of a cardboard box, a piece of glass, paper, and his Philips SPC900NC webcam. The camera picks up on the shadows created by your fingers when they're placed on the pad's surface. A tracking software then transfers the motions onto a computer screen. Multi-touch goodness at an incredibly low cost—looks like I can afford to eat this month after all! [New Scientist]

Windows 7 Features Revealed

Jason Chen — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:55:29 EDT

Here's what Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer revealed about Windows 7 at All Things Digital a few minutes ago. The biggest "feature" is the touch and multi-touch integration, which takes many of its roots from Microsoft's Surface Table, and will be available as an interface options for other apps. Here's some more stuff they pulled out, which we captured in photos here.

• There will be a OSX-like dock, though how OS X-like is yet to be seen.
• Multi-touch gestures in photogalleries like two-finger zoom, flicking, and panning. Think of the photo app on the Microsoft Surface table.
• Multi-touch paint program where you can draw with 10 fingers (again, think of what you've already seen in Surface)
• Multi-touch piano app
• In-depth mapping application that pulls from Microsoft's Live Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth

Looks like a LOT of the multi-touch features were culled from the Surface team, and the non-touch features look fairly similar to what's already in Vista (based on the video above). Those apps are demo apps only, and will be revised/rewritten/reworked before the final version of Windows 7 is available. All this will be yours in about 18 months. [Vista Blog]

Microsoft TouchWall: Surface for the Common Man

Mark Wilson — Wed, 14 May 2008 12:30:00 EDT

While we found Microsoft's Surface interesting for retail contexts, it's simply too expensive (at $10,000) for the average consumer to get all that excited about. But Microsoft has an enticing alternative to the Surface called the TouchWall—a rear-projection system constructed from just "a few hundred dollars worth of readily available hardware." And their demonstration is more than a little impressive.

The software system it runs is called "Plex," which sits on top of the Vista platform. Keep in mind that the TouchWall powered by Plex isn't as robust as the Surface—its touch interface may be similar but it lacks the additional interactive elements—but man, the system looks pretty incredible for the price, even against similar virtual whiteboard competitors in the market.

This video was shot on a PC running Vista/Plex, a 4×6 foot plexiglass screen, a rear projector, a infrared camera and the three infrared lasers. Apparently the TouchWall rocked a cardboard screen just as easily as the plexiglass demo, and it has the flexibility of supporting pretty much any flat surface as large as one's projector can support it.

But for some insane reason, Microsoft does not plan on marketing the system as a product. [CrunchGear]

Microsoft Surface Model Now American Gladiator

Jason Chen — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:30:00 EDT

Remember that Microsoft Surface model? The one that was a competitor on American Gladiators last season and actually managed to win the whole thing? She's actually a Gladiator now (her name is Jet), and really beefed up for the part. We would make a multi-touch joke here, but she'd break our fingers off and shove them into our eyeballs, so we won't. Hit the jump for her new photo.

[American Gladiators]

Microsoft Surface + Xbox 360 = What?

Jason Chen — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:45:00 EDT

Stefano from onthetabletop attended CHI 2008, where several members of the Microsoft Surface team was there tossing around ideas. One of the more interesting ideas, besides slimming down the table so it could fit inside spaces smaller than bars and AT&T stores, was shoving an Xbox 360 inside. Why would you do this? To allow the 360 to become an additional control input mechanism, possibly making RTS games SO MUCH EASIER TO PLAY. Will it happen? Who knows. These guys could have just been just daydreaming possible features to impress female attendees. [On the Tabletop]

Build Your Own Multitouch Table With the Cubit

Elaine Chow — Sun, 04 May 2008 14:30:00 EDT

Engineers at Eyebeam, a New York arts and technology center, are drastically reducing the cost of ownership for multitouch tables by taking them open-source. Schematics for the Cubit, a multitouch tabletop display, are available online for people who want to make a scaled-down Microsoft Surface for one tenth the Surface's price.

The Cubit is a boxy tabletop with a clear surface. All a potential multitouch table owner needs to get started is a webcam with an infrared filter and a small image projector. Plug in the webcam, install the Cubit software, turn on the projector and start touching.

Eyebeam fellows Addie Wagenknetch and Stefan Hechenberger said they were releasing the Cubit in order to "prove that anyone could build [a multitouch table]." Besides offering the designs and software online, the two are selling DIY kits that include parts and instructions.

The Cubit was on display at the Maker Faire, along with several other open-source multitouch projects. Though open-source has long been focused on software, it looks like DIYers, like Eyebeam andBug Labs, are now taking the philosophy into the realm of hardware as well. [Technology Review]

Multi-grope: Interacting with Microsoft Surface at the AT&T Store

Benny Goldman — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 10:29:44 EDT

Microsoft's near-mythical Surface table just appeared at five AT&T Stores across the country (with seven more locations soon to get one), and we were happy to have a go with it this morning. As you'll see in the video, this one is programmed for mobile phone sales pitches, and doesn't have all of the fun apps we've heard about, but even here, Surface's massive, beautiful potential is obvious.

I panned and zoomed around coverage maps easily, best when I relaxed my touch, as pressing too hard made the table less responsive. Placing a specially-tagged phone on the Surface brought up information about it, including service plans, accessories, and the ability to see it in different colors. When two phones are placed on the table, a side-by-side comparison chart appears. The actions available on the AT&T Store table include flick, zoom in/out, flip, drag and the object-sensing ability.

My favorite part of the Surface is that it has lots of touch points; one person can zoom in on an object while another person flicks a different object. At one point, we had 30 fingers on the table, and they were all registering. The ability to collaborate in a physical way (group painting or photo sharing come to mind) will definitely be a big draw. Inevitable comparisons to the iPhone—curiously unavailable to place on the table—are warranted: It's basically the same feel, but 10x bigger.

Don't expect this to replace AT&T reps just yet, as purchasing still can't be done directly on the Surface. Still, it's definitely one cool tool that we look forward to seeing in other arenas. It's at five AT&T locations starting today (two in NYC, one each in San Fransisco, San Antonio, and Atlanta), and it will be in 12 stores by next month. [Microsoft Surface]

New No-Touch Surface Gives You Jedi Powers

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:10:54 EDT

This evolution of Jeff Han's multitouch surface doesn't require touching, allowing you to manipulate objects Jedi-style thanks to infrared camera tracking overhead. This makes possible the use of conventional software, like a web browser, while keeping the advantages of direct touch manipulation. We talked about the technology and its advantages over previous multitouch displays with Florian Echtler, the researcher behind the project at the Technical University in Munich, Germany:

Jesús Díaz: Florian, this is an interesting evolution on the current multitouch solutions. What are the advantages of your method versus things like Han's displays or Microsoft Surface?
Florian Echtler: Well, the main difference is that you can control the cursor without touching the surface, so you can have the hover state which the usual mouse cursor has. For a "click" event, you have to tap the surface with any finger.

As a result of this, it's easier to use conventional software, like a web browser because a) you can use mouseover, which you can't with other touchscreens, and b) you can hit small targets (like a web link) more accurate, as you have the visual feedback from the cursor, showing you where you're going to click.

Second advantage: you can tell which hand a finger belongs to, and you can distinguish between fingers. You could, e.g., use the index finger for left click and the middle finger for right click—again, useful for conventional software emulation. But of course, you could just assign different actions to the fingers—think of a RTS game. We're not quite there yet, but on the other hand, it's still a prototype.

JD: I guess it requires less cleaning too, since you don't have to touch continuously or at all... How portable is this new method? How does it work?
FE: Unfortunately, it's not very portable right now, as it requires an additional overhead light source (also infrared). I assume you are familiar with FTIR (from Jeff Han)—this system is basically an extension, also taking the shadows from the overhead light into account.

JD: So it's not totally touchless, it requires touch to select and move things? Or can you move things without touching at all?
FE: While the video doesn't show this, it's possible nevertheless. Holding your hand still for a moment could be used for triggering an event.

JD: Why is there an offset in the video?
FE: In the first part, the offset is because we're displaying the raw, uncalibrated video data from the camera. In the second part, the data is calibrated and the cursors are deliberately shifted away from the hand to avoid occlusion.

AT&T Surface Retail Demo: Buying a Cellphone Finally Doesn't Suck

matt buchanan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:16:29 EDT

AT&T just ran us through a demo of what shopping with Microsoft's Surface at their stores is gonna be like. It's wayyy better than dealing with an embittered, ill-informed retail drone. You can dynamically check out coverage, smoothly zooming in and out for a fantastically detailed view of where you might get 3G, for instance. You can throw a phone on there and mess around with its features, or even better, slap two on the table and compare them head-to-head, feature-to-feature. Of course, it'll also sell you more shit, like the whole range of device accessories, or ringtones and media.

AT&T Stores the First to Get Microsoft's Surface Table

Adam Frucci — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:30:00 EDT

It looks like AT&T will be the first retailer to plunk down the coin for Microsoft's fancy-pants Surface table, installing them in its stores on April 17th.

The tables will be set up so that when you place a phone on it, it'll automagically pull up info on that particular model. You'll also be able to buy crap like ringtones, graphics and videos by slapping your phone on it. It's not coming to every AT&T store, however; only residents of NYC, SF, Atlanta and San Antonio will have the privilege of using Microsoft's $10,000 toy to buy that ironic Mister Mister ringtone you've been thinking about getting. [Tech Digest]

Microsoft Surface in Your House in 2011

matt buchanan — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:40:21 EDT

For Microsoft, full speed-ahead on a cheaper consumer version of Surface, its multi-touch computer table, means 2011. Tom Gibbons, VP of Microsoft specialized apps and devices group says that "In the three-year time window, we absolutely see how to get there. If we can beat that, we'll try to beat that." Alas, it's Microsoft, so they're already running late on the initial launch to companies waving around a lot more money than you. Expect to hang onto your Ikea coffee table until 2012, to be safe. [Fortune]

Microsoft Reportedly Working on Sphere Shaped Version of Surface

Sean Fallon — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:45:52 EST

By now you have probably heard quite a bit about Microsoft's "Surface" multi-touch table, and now ZDNet is claiming that the company has been showing off a sphere-shaped version of the technology around their campus. We know that Microsoft is pushing to get this technology into homes sooner rather than later, but a spherical device doesn't seem to be all that practical (unless you are a fortune teller or something). However, when it comes to the future of this device, we will just have to wait and see. [ZDNet via Electronista]

Microsoft's First Surface Game Will Thrill Out-of-Work Entomologists

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:40:01 EST

The first game for Microsoft's Surface table has been demonstrated in an exclusive peek by SarcasticGamer.com, and all I can say is, it combines the spine-tingling excitement of a mobile-phone puzzle game with the spine-achiness that comes from hunching over the screen to play.

The game is called Firefly, though the good ship Serenity is nowhere in sight. Instead, you grab fireflies as they flit around the screen, pulling them into your glass jar. The graphics are beautiful, and the interface looks very organic, so we have no doubt Surface will eventually lead to some sweet gaming. But this appears to take the "anyone can play" theme a little too far, to the nursery-schoolish "anyone can win."

As Doc from SarcasticGamer says, "Anyone can herd fireflies." True, but most people would probably choose not to. [SarcasticGamer.com]

ToyQuest Touch Table Turns Your Little Treasure into a Baby Bill Gates

AddyDugdale — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:41:36 EST

Given how delicious we all think Microsoft's touchscreen table, the Surface, is (apart from the $10,000 price tag) here's a more basic version from ToyQuest. The Touch Table EES (that stands for electronic education system) boasts a 21-inch touchscreen from which you can play games and DVDs (hmm, very educational). It does redeem itself somewhat, though. Find out how after the gallery.

There's also a Google Earth-style globe for you to bone up on geography—and work out where Bill and Melinda's malaria millions are being sent. There are built-in speakers and AV/USB/SD inputs, but no internet connection (so no tabletop pr0n surfing while Nannie occupies herself with the ironing). Cost is $499. [TechEBlog via TechAmok]

Weird Combo of the Day: Microsoft Surface Model is Also an American Gladiators Contestant

Jason Chen — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:10:32 EST

Has it really been that long since we've had a Weird Combo of the Day? Well, it's back, and we've got an especially weird Weird Combo of the Day for you today. Do you remember Monica, the woman that's in all the press photos and web videos for Microsoft's Surface table? Turns out she's a contestant on American Gladiators as well. Don't believe us? Hit the jump.

DUN DUN DUN! [Surface Blog]

Microsoft Trying to Push Surface Out the Door Faster For Us, the Little People

matt buchanan — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:00:11 EST

Did you know? There's a lot of consumer demand for this whole touchscreen/surface computing thing. Also, five years is a long time to bring out a product after announcing it, right? Well, Microsoft knows this. Steve Ballmer said today they're "going to follow our nose" and put it to the grindstone to get a consumer version of its Surface touch computer out to your local Best Buy sooner, rather than way later after a total project re-boot with five different versions and horrible driver support. That's comforting. [CNet]

Wiimote Hack Converts TV into Touchless Microsoft Surface

Jesus Diaz — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:50:44 EST

This user interface project allows you to control objects on a display using gestures, working like Microsoft's Surface but without touching the screen at all. Inspired by Johnny Chung Lee's work, the system requires you to wear Minority Report-style gloves equipped with infrared emitters on your fingertips. A Wiimote on top of the display keeps track of these IR LEDs, while the software can read the motion down to two-finger pinching gestures for image zooming. Hopefuly, using it won't convert you into a sofa-jumping, grinning-crazy, Scientology-member maniac. [Oh Gizmo]

Skyhook Surface-to-Air Human Recovery System Looks Like Craziest Ride Ever

Jesus Diaz — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 08:30:59 EST

Ah, 2008, you are a cool year so far, but not as cool as 1958, when the Fulton Air Surface-to-Air Recovery System started to operate: attach yourself to a helium ballon using a nylon cable capable of sustained 4,000 pounds, shoot it into the air and wait until a cargo plane grabs you and takes you of dangerous areas, literally flying, Spiderman style. If you are a special operations soldier and have the guts to try it after seeing it in video, that is:

The system began its life as a variation of another crazy scheme using by spec-ops in World War II. Then, instead of a helium balloon they used a pair of poles, which were then grappled with a plane towing cable and hook. At the beginning of the 50s, Robert Edison Fulton Jr.—and inventor working for the CIA— thought about using a weather balloon and a nylon line.

He presented his invention to his boss, director of CIA technical research Admiral de Florez, who directed him to the military. The Office of Naval Research put him to work and by 1958 the first real Skyhook pick-up took plac, when a Navy P2V got US Marines' Staff Sergeant Levi W. Woods with less shock than a parachute opening.

Th Air Force stopped using it in 1995, after years of winching people to the skies using C-130 Hercules and with only one casualty in 17 years of use. Long range helicopters made the system less useful, but Fulton's invention is still alive in other armies: in 2001 a British Hercules rescued an injured spec-op soldier in Afghanistan.

And besides, any device that gets to be used in an actual James Bond movie (Thunderball) gets extra points for us. [Wikipedia]

Bill Gates Farewell CES Keynote Cheat Sheet

Wilson Rothman — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:30:00 EST

Right this minute, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is taking the stage to face the adoring throngs at CES for the last time. Before he moves on to the greater task of solving the world's problems, he will look back on his previous keynotes, talk about where Microsoft is headed, and make a few final announcements. Here are the Cliff's Notes to his last CES speech ever:

Bill appears and after a brief state-of-the-industry intro, notes that this is his final CES appearance. He'll look back on some of his previous experiences, noting how far we've progressed since he declared the "Digital Decade" in 2001 for three reasons:
1. The promulgation of lower-cost HD displays and soon interactive surfaces.
2. Mobile intelligence - cellular and GPS enabled products that help us get through the day
3. Interaction with technology increasingly mirroring the way we interact with people

First announcement: NBC Universal is making MSN the exclusive home for NBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. It's the first "long tail" Olympics: there will be thousands of hours of content available at nbcolympics.com, ranging from the most popular sports to the most obscure—from basketball to badminton. The video will be both live and on demand, with over 30 simultaneous live broadcasts; 2,200 hours of live broacasting and 3,000 hours of on-demand content. All of the video will be shared in Silverlight format in "near HD" quality.

Hands-on: Never-before-seen demo of the Surface table. In this demo, Bill designs a snowboard for himself—yes, a snowboard—using multitouch technology to try out different designs, then save them to his Windows Mobile phone and share with his friends. I only wonder what his insurance company thinks about his snowboarding plans.

Robbie Bach, Microsoft's President of Entertainment & Devices Division, will take the stage to cover the bulk of the presentation, talking about:

• Xbox's banner year - 17.7 million Xbox 360 units sold; 7 titles surpassing 1 million sales mark; U.S. users spent more on Xbox 360 in 2007 than more on any other game console ever

• TV show deal with ABC Television and Disney Channel for Xbox Live programming, available for direct download to Xbox 360. It includes 500 hours of content, in standard and high def, available at the end of the month, with shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, plus Disney shows including Hannah Montana.

• Movie deal with MGM - Xbox will offer MGM films in standard def and high def including the entire Rocky series, Terminator, Dances With Wolves, Silence of the Lambs, Legally Blond, Barber Shop and the Bond franchise.

• New application for Microsoft's Media Room IPTV, distributed by AT&T U-Verse: On TNT, NASCAR fans can choose a view of the race from the camera inside their favorite driver's car via their set-top box; Showtime boxing will let you choose camera angle and audio feeds from the trainer, ref, or the commentators; in CNN's coverage of US presidential campaign, viewers can vote on issues, gauging voter opinion in realtime.

• Media Center Extender support is growing in the consumer-electronics industry, led by Samsung, which will be working on a connected TV with MCE capability.

• Zune 2 off to a good start, with 1.5 million people starting Zune social fan pages since the service began in November. Bach will announce the availability of the Zune in Canada, the first distribution outside the US.

When Bill takes the stage again, he will demonstrate a "device of the future," something that won't necessarily become a product sold by Microsoft, but still a good glimpse of things to come. The device will ostensibly store and catalog all of Bill's memories so that he can pull up a reel of all his past CES keynotes. At one point, he will snap a picture of the Venetian auditorium and the gadget will recognize the venue, proposing various recreational activities he might enjoy after the keynote.

This is a rough sketch of the proceedings, one that's bound to change considerably. I'm told there will be some surprises—maybe a celebrity guest or some farewell treat. Who knows? That's why we plan to catch the whole event, and fill in any gaps that may be missing from this otherwise thorough digest. (You're welcome.) [Microsoft at CES]

Optimus Tactus Touch Keyboard Should Be Called Optimus Retardus

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:55:03 EST

While we love touch surfaces, as people who type hundreds of thousands a word each week we know that there is a limit to them: keyboards. Like this Optimus Tactus, an extruded shape/touch surface/keyboard concept by Art.Lebedev. We really like the soon-to-be-released Optimus keyboard Art but, seriously, how often do you type on your computer?

I can imagine that artists, musicians and video editors would like something like this... however, there are solid LCD tablet displays and Tablet PCs on the market already. Experience shows that, for the time being, it's a limited market. Further limiting it to a keyboard replacement could be economically impractical at best, never mind how practical this could be. The issue of the price is the other key here: by the time a touch surface keyboard could be a commercial reality coming from China via Moscow, touch computing from Apple and Microsoft would be so ubiquitous that it won't make sense anymore. [Art.Lebedev]

Windows 7 Getting Multi-Touch That Will "Blow Away" iPhone Users

matt buchanan — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 18:40:11 EST

One of the test engineers working on Windows 7, Hilton Locke, dropped a post today pimping Dell's Latitude XT that also contained this little nugget:

I will say that if you are impressed by the "touch features" in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7. Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales.

Multi-touch is obviously a given—it's actually possible in Vista, anyway. We're probably talking about way more in-depth input options and other more complicated interactions using multi-touch (versus the iPhone). However, more complex doesn't necessarily translate to more intuitive or better, and touch interfaces might be a case where less is more. How much of a "step up" from the iPhone or say, Microsoft's Surface venture is really a step forward before it turns into a stumbling block? [TabBlogger via ZDNet via Electronista]

Microsoft Surface Table Delayed - Picky Customers to Blame

Jason Chen — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 14:40:21 EST

Unfortunately for electronic table fetishists everywhere, you won't be able to walk into a restaurant, a casino or a retail outlet and play with a Microsoft Surface table until spring of next year. Why isn't it surfacing until then? Partners.

Partners who need Microsoft's help to build custom apps to fit Harrah's, Sheraton and T-Mobile needs for gambling, sleeping and phone choosing. Beyond the delay, Microsoft also has some interesting plans to expand from just the retail and hospitality industry to government, education and enterprise businesses to eventually, as Gates predicts, be on "every table," "every whiteboard," "every mirror" within 5 to 10 years. [News.com]

Video of New Microsoft Surface Table Apps

Brian Lam — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:45:39 EDT

T3 UK was late to the Surface Table coverage, but they did well by catching a video that shows off some visually stimulating concept apps that Chen wrote about a few weeks ago. I like the pond app that shows ripples on touch, and the multitouch paint app that can read all 10 fingers at once. Too bad these things are so expensive and for commercial use only. But this video? It's free and worth watching. Plus, the techno makes it all exciting and futurish. [Youtube]

Microsoft Surface Table In Depth Look

Jason Chen — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:45:15 EDT

Remember Microsoft's gesture-based table computer called Surface? We got a hands-on of it back at All Things D, but Ars Technica got an in depth look, getting videos of some of the eight apps—some of which ship with it in late 2007.

Some of those we saw before in the Surface announcement, some of them—like the water app—are new, and quite neat. Besides the water app, which you can swish your hand around on to make waves, there's the video puzzle, a finger paint program, a music app, photo app, casino app, a T-Mobile demo app that lets you see specs of any phone, and the dining app.

The machine itself is actually quite similar to Windows Media Center and runs on top of standard Windows Vista, which itself runs on top of an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, and a "moderately-powerful graphics card."

The final price is still undecided, but it looks like somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 will get you one of these to use in your business. ~~What's most interesting is that Microsoft is using the XNA development environment so that people can create custom applications for the Surface.~~ XNA is supported, but most of the Surface software is written for WPF. [Ars Technica]

Taito Touchscreen Arcade Card Battle Game Looks Like MS Surface

Jason Chen — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:50:24 EDT

Japanese arcade fans should get ready to pull out their lightning bolt, lightning bolt, lightning bolt, because this Taito touchscreen arcade game looks pretty awesome. The Engrish Google translation leaves us wondering at how exactly the game works, but from what we can gather, you put real cards onto the virtual board, which makes stuff happen on the video screen up top, which then determines whether you win or lose the battle. We're going to guess lose, since that's the only way the game will force you to plunk down another 500 Yen for four new cards. [Impress]

ROSIE Coffee Table is Apple Surface

Mark Wilson — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 10:00:35 EDT

Apple may not have responded to Microsoft with a surface clone, but another company is stepping up to the plate for them. Home A/V company Savant has announced their new ROSIE coffee table, a 40-inch touchscreen Apple computer in a form reminiscent of Microsoft's Surface.

While we have no specifics on hardware, the ROSIE claims to have "integration and interaction" with iTunes content. And it will also perform functions like downloading content from digital cameras, and supporting business card readers. And...there's not much more there.

Yes, it all sounds a bit fishy at the moment. So for now, we see the product as a glorified box around some Apple product featuring a fancy display and third-party OS. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this at CEDIA. And hopefully it's actually a super cool device that makes our lives perfect and beautiful and unicorns and flowers and free porn. [cepro]

Club Bill Gates, the Real Social

Mark Wilson — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 10:32:29 EDT

You know you've made it when random restaurants in Sarajevo are named after you, though I always envisioned Gates' place with a Surface at every table and a bit less residual grease on the windows. But that Sinatra-esque rendering of Bill—dead on.

So what would the Jobs restaurant be like? I'm seeing calamari, finger bowls...and a Meizu knockoff next door. [flickr via crunchgear]

DIY Interactive Multitouch Display For Tech Savants

kthompson — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:08:50 EDT

Harness the power of the technology that drives the iPhone's multitouch display as well as Microsoft's uber-expensive Surface table for a few hundred bucks and some elbow grease. Using a projector, a modified webcam and what amounts to a homemade acrylic whiteboard along with some community-made software, you can reenact the iPhone commercial at home. Hit the jump for a sweet action vid and instructional link.

Looks like a great way to improve your tech knowledge and get geeky for a purpose. If nothing else your giant swiveling board/webcam combo will make a great conversation starter at your next shindig. [Interactive Multitouch Display]

Another "Minority Report" Touch Computing Interface, But With Less Touching

Matt Buchanan — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:13:40 EDT

The "Minority Report" interface is a popular one to namecheck recently. The latest company to do so is the Swiss outfit Atracsys, whose interactive system, dubiously dubbed "beMerlin," optically (surprise) tracks hand movements and promises to deliver the same intuitive awesomeness Tom Cruise experienced, minus the awesome gloves.

But the demo video on their site so far mostly shows off stuff we've seen touch/surface computers do before: move stuff around in really slick ways.

That said, the fact that you don't actually have to put your fingers on anything is a slight twist, and if done correctly, could be more intuitive than having to leave actual smudge marks on glass. Or it might just come down to whether or not you're a hands- on type of person.

beMerlin [Atracsys]

Microsoft Surface: The Parody

Jason Chen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:15:00 EDT

SarcasticGamer makes this video detailing the reasons why you, Joe Average IT Guy, would want to buy a Microsoft Surface table. We're in for eight. – Jason Chen

Sarcastic Gamer

GLaser Mouse Uses Magic to Kick Glass's Ass

Charlie White — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 11:30:00 EDT

The GLaser's makers blurt out a bold claim: It's the first mouse that can reliably work on glass. This 1000dpi mouse uses juju its purveyor Royche calls a dual focus lens, and it's supposed to work just as well on transparent and shiny surfaces is it does on a conventional mouse pad. Hey, that means your hotel room's fancy glass top desk will no longer challenge you to get work done.

Check out the gallery for a diagram of how this thing works, and ogle the pretty colors in the pic above.

GLaser tries to make life easier for you in every way, even giving you one of those dedicated double click buttons. Pricing wasn't announced, but maybe this technology will spread far and wide, because we think all mice should be able to handle any surface. – Charlie White

Product Page [Royche, via Oh Gizmo]