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Coming Soon: Customize Your Next Bimmer with Microsoft Surface

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:53:49 -0600

Configuring your next BMW isn't as easy as touching a table yet, but in the near future, it probably will be. BMW has released a video of its prototype BMW Product Navigator (aka BMW Konfigurator), which is powered by Microsoft Surface and designed by Vectorform, which created the interactive 2008 election map used by MSNBC.

As with the 2008 MSNBC project, Vectorform's BMW Product Navigator uses Microsoft Surface to manipulate video that is then shown on an HDTV. With the BMW Product Navigator, you place chips representing product options on the Microsoft Surface tabletop computer, and the changes you make affect the BMW shown on the video screen. And, just so you can make sure you're buying the Bimmer you want, Product Navigator can email you your custom configuration, print it, or copy it to a USB flash memory drive.

What do you think about the idea of gesturing your way to the car of your dreams? Is this the best way to use Microsoft Surface? For your chance to answer these and other burning questions, join us after the jump.

Long-Awaited Microsoft Surface Developer Tools Coming This Month

Andy Salisbury — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:35:33 -0500

At this month’s Professional Developer Conference Microsoft will be handing out the software development kit for their Surface tabletop computer. In an announcement made on the PDC’s site, Robert Levy sates that attendees will be able to “learn how you can become a part of the expanding partner ecosystem for Microsoft Surface and leverage your existing investments in WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) and Visual Studio to build engaging end user applications. Attendees will receive access to the Microsoft Surface SDK.”

This announcement comes as a sigh of relief to developers, who have been promised the SDK for some time now. The only known companies with access to the SDK are AT&T and Starwood hotels, whose projects are unknown. Microsoft has also been stating that the multitouch interface will be part of Windows 7, but is yet to detail how.

Let’s just hope that Chris Taylor and his boys get started on their version of Supreme Commander for the Surface ASAP!

Microsoft Shows Off Its Sphere Interface Concept

Paul Lilly — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:27:02 -0500

The surface of the earth was once thought to be flat, and just as it was eventually proven to be round, will technophiles make the same discovery when it comes to surface computing? It's far too early to tell what the future of surface computing has in store, but don't be surprised if years from now your PC looks more like a globe than a flat screen.

Giving a glimpse of such a future, Microsoft showed off its spherical Surface computer during the company's annual Research Faculty Summit in Redmond. Attendees got a chance to play with the prototype that relies on an infrared system to detect hands, fingers, and objects.

"It's really an exploration of ideas," explained Hrvoje Benko, the Microsoft researcher spearheading the project.

Getting touch technology to work on a curved surface was no easy task, but Microsoft researches came up with advanced algorithms to translate images originally intended for a flat PC screen and display them correctly on the rounded globe. So far applications for the Sphere include a picture and video browser, interactive globe visualization, finger painting, and an omni-directional video conferencing application with 360 degrees of panoramic video.

Catch the YouTube video here, which also includes a version of a Pong like you've never seen before.

Microsoft's Surface, More Than Just a Really Big iPhone Screen

Chris Moody — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 08:03:26 -0500

Just how much cooler can they make Microsoft's Surface? Oh, I suppose they could do a nifty holographic 3D interface but that is for the future. In the here and now, the Surface gives new meaning to "Desktop".

Crunchgear reports that at a recent conference they got to look at the SDK, which allows developers the ability to slide an object around and have it stop based on friction or what objects it hits. Think about sliding a photo across a desktop with your fingertips into a folder. The good thing is if you miss, it doesn't end up on the floor. It takes the intuitive interface of the desktop as we know it and brings it together with our most intuitive interface device, our hands. The promise for this technology for the future is outstanding.

Object Recognition is planned for the future. Users will be able to place physical objects on the display to trigger different types of response, like downloading images from your Bluetooth enabled phone or uploading music to an MP3 player.

Now don't you just want one of these for a coffee table in your living room?

Image Credit: Microsoft

Time for a Multitouch Revolution

Will Smith — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:15:00 -0500

iPhone and Surface foreshadow the inevitable rise of our multitouch overlords

More than Surface Appeal

Mark Soper — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:15:54 -0500

Reach out and touch some data with Microsoft Surface -- the newest in multi-touch computing!