NewsRedmond Sweetens Deal for Windows 7 Touch PC Buyers with Touch Pack
Posted 05/29/09 at 03:41:22 PM by Mark Edward Soper
You've seen the demos of multitouch, and you might even have a PC that supports Windows 7's multitouch, but what can you do with it? If you're in the market for a PC that supports multi-touch, Microsoft is making a multitouch PC even more appealing by announcing its Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7.
Microsoft Touch Pack is a product of the collaboration between the Windows and Surface development teams, and as a result, Microsoft Touch Pack includes three Microsoft Surface applications and three casual games. Here's what you get:
- Microsoft Surface Globe enables you to navigate the Virtual Earth 3D version of the world by touch, and lets you get local information as you "fly" by particular places.
- Microsoft Surface Collage brings one of the original Microsoft Surface "touch and move the photos" demos to life, adding the ability to convert a collage into a desktop background.
- Microsoft Surface Lagoon is a multi-touch enabled screensaver - watch fish gather around your "submerged" finger.
- Casual gamers can enjoy the Rube Goldbergesque Microsoft Blackboard, a mashup of death rays and air hockey in Microsoft Rebound, and float origami on the water in Microsoft Garden Pond.
To find out who gets their hands on Microsoft Touch Pack first, join us after the jump.
NewsEpson Develops a Rival to Microsoft Surface
Posted 04/20/09 at 04:38:49 PM by Andy Salisbury
It looks like Microsoft’s Surface won’t be the only computer in the interactive touch-sensitive table market; Epson has recently announced their very own offering, the xDesk.
Aside from having an extremely cheesy name, the xDesk offers some pretty solid features for a machine of this caliber including a 52-inch, 1024x768 touch screen that can communicate with gadgets such as phones and cameras placed onto its surface, and the ability to recognize gesture recognition, allowing multiple users to drag around photos or draw. It’ll also transfer audio and video wirelessly though Bluetooth 2.1, but if you’d rather go the wired route and use FireWire or one of the five USB 2.0 ports, that works fine too.
Underneath the hood you’ll find a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory, a 250GB HDD and an ATI HD 4850 GPU. Though, as for pricing and availability, there’s still no word.
Also, if you’d like to see a video if it in action, be sure to click here.
NewsMicrosoft Bestowed with 10,000th Patent
Posted 02/10/09 at 07:15:40 PM by Pulkit Chandna
Microsoft has reached a major landmark after receiving its 10,000th U.S patent. The software bellwether has cemented its place among top patent recipients in the last five years; it is the fourth highest patent getter in the U.S. The 10,000th patent concerns a technology that allows a Microsoft Surface-like computer to discern real objects and link them with data or media. Microsoft can be expected to move up the ladder in the near future as it has a policy of incentivizing employees for patent filings.
NewsComing Soon: Customize Your Next Bimmer with Microsoft Surface
Posted 12/03/08 at 03:53:49 PM by Mark Edward Soper
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.
NewsRedmond Turns Microsoft Surface "Up to 11" with SecondLight
Posted 10/30/08 at 04:31:13 PM by Mark Edward Soper
Microsoft Surface has already been transformed from its original tabletop multitouch interface to a spherical computer, and this week's PDC added even more excitement with the introduction of SecondLight, the next phase in Surface's development.
As the UK's PC Pro website puts it, SecondLight is like "Surface on steroids." A product of Microsoft's Cambridge, England research labs, SecondLight projects an image through the table, enabling a translucent surface placed on top of the Surface tabletop to display additional information, such as place names, an interior view of an object, and much more.
To learn more about how SecondLight works, join us after the jump.
NewsFive Sheraton Hotels Install Surface Computers
Posted 08/15/08 at 10:42:35 AM by Pulkit Chandna
Microsoft’s touch-sensitive Surface platform received a major shot in the arm with Starwood hotels, which owns the Sheraton chain of hotels, agreeing to install Surface machines at its hotels. The first lot of Surface machines reached five different Sheraton Hotels on August 13th, 2008. Using these Surface-enabled tables, guests can find information about the restaurant, listen to music, or chart their course through the hotel premises. However, Craig Parker, general manger of Sheraton Gateway Hotel SFO, did acknowledge that the guests might take some time to get accustomed to the Surface computers.
Each Surface computer is reported to have cost Starwood around $10,000. As the machine is made to order, there is always a possibility for change and evolution. Perhaps they can include games to keep the guests riveted. Also lending individuality – or a personality – to the table using interactive 3D characters might be a wonderful business idea as guests might even leave a tip for the table then - not really.
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