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]

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]

• 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]

[American Gladiators]

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]

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]

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.

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]