surface

DJ app for Microsoft Surface

Like most people who've had a chance to play with it, I've been impressed with Microsoft's Surface, the multitouch tabletop computer that the company began demonstrating about two years ago.

It drew some mockery compared with the svelte iPhone, which emerged around the same time, but it's meant for a completely different experience: collaborative public spaces rather than solo communications. Unfortunately, I haven't had much opportunity to share my excitement--apart from a handful of deployments in hotels and AT&T stores; there aren't many of these tables out in the wild yet.

Which … Read more

Moto Labs screens interactive display concept

A new touch-screen tabletop computer display brings together the unlikely combination of technologies popularized by Apple and Microsoft.

It's called the Scalable Multitouch display, and its touch technology is similar to the iPhone, but it would scale up from handheld device size to dimensions more like those of Microsoft's Surface. The prototype measures just 19 inches right now, but it aspires to cover an entire 50-inch tabletop one day.

The Scalable Multitouch has been in development at Moto Labs in San Francisco for the past two years, and on Tuesday the company released an updated video (below) as a peek of what it's working on.

Like Microsoft's Surface, the Scalable Multitouch display is intended to be used as a group workspace where information on the screen can be manipulated by hand. But Moto Labs CEO Daniell Hebert says what his company is doing is different than Microsoft and others because it does not use cameras or projectors underneath the surface of the display to project images. And by nixing the inner camera/projector, it allows the display to be thin--perhaps some day as thin as the LCD screen you're likely reading this on.

The display instead uses multitouch technology--which means you can use more than one finger as an input device. Moto Labs likes to say that you can use as many fingers to control the device as you want, and that you're only limited by the number of fingers you have on each hand.

The device also employs capacitive touch--same as the iPhone--in which a finger touching a sensor grid (just below the screen) causes a change in signal. That relays exactly where on the screen the finger is. But while the iPhone uses a solid solution known as ITO (indium tin oxide), Moto Labs employs a grid of super-thin wires that pick up on the signals from each finger.

The thin-wire grid is used right now in single-touch displays, but has yet to be used on multitouch, and that's where Moto Labs' work on the inner electronics and the software to take advantage of multitouch comes in. … Read more

Video: Epson X-Desk interactive table takes on Microsoft Surface

One day, your computer will be a big-ass table with pictures of other people's kids all over it. We know it, Microsoft knows it and--judging by its fancy X-Desk surface computer--Epson knows it too.

The X-Desk works in much the same way as Microsoft's alternative, the Surface. An Epson projector positioned in the base of the table projects an image up toward a diffuser on the surface, while infrared Epson cameras beneath recognize objects and gestures.

Epson reckons it'll be used in retail outlets for interactive gadget comparisons; in bars and clubs for interactive cocktail menus; in … Read more

DIY Microsoft Surface clone you can make on the cheap

You could wait for Microsoft's Surface computing device to drop in price so you can put one in your living room. Or you could build your own, like the guys at Maximum PC did. Even more, they documented the whole process step by step so you can build your own.

They used off-the-shelf parts, a PS3 Eye camera, a small form factor desktop PC, and a mix of open-source software and other readily available apps to run the whole thing. The video is pretty impressive. With this data, someone could possibly beat Microsoft to the tabletop multitouch punch.

I'… Read more

Microsoft's Surface to touch 12 markets abroad

Microsoft is looking to keep the smile on its Surface computer, as it brings the PC to 12 overseas markets.

The software giant on Monday announced that the Surface computer, which responds to touch and hand gestures, will be marketed in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The computer is currently distributed in the United States and Canada.

According to a statement by Panos Panay, Microsoft Surface's general manager:

Since our initial launch of Microsoft Surface, we've received an overwhelming response from companies worldwide that are … Read more

Getting inside a Microsoft surface computer

REDMOND. Wash.--First, Microsoft showed off its tabletop Surface computer. Then it showed what that might be like as a sphere. At TechFest on Tuesday, Microsoft actually let the user get inside the sphere.

Microsoft's latest surface computing prototype uses a dome constructed from cardboard that serves as a giant display for all kinds of three-dimensional data. The main demo at TechFest featured the dome acting as a planetarium using data from Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope project. But, researcher Andy Wilson also showed the dome as a good backdrop for other things, such as video conferencing or mapping.

Since it operates in the dark, the new surface computer relies largely on speech commands and hand gestures for navigation. Although it is probably a good choice in general, it made for some laughs when the speech recognition proved less than perfect.

"Earth," Wilson said, prompting the computer to bring up a perfectly stunning image--of Mars.

Overall, though, the experience was quite impressive, with Wilson taking me through a rapid fire tour from Venus to the Crab Nebula before showing a 360-degree video image of the TechFest show floor. (I shot a couple of videos that I am working to upload now and will embed in the story once I have done so).

Beyond researchers, though, there is the question of who is going to have the space for their own dome. Although the cardboard dome wasn't that expensive to build, not everyone is going to want to carve out a separate dome room in their house. With a somewhat brighter projector, the same effect could be done in a fairly dark room, Wilson said. … Read more

Microsoft Surface to play defense at Super Bowl

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:286ccd43-a8c8-4fd8-be1f-f942d4da016f&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="Super Bowl: Microsoft Surface helps police monitor security">Video: Super Bowl: Microsoft Surface helps police monitor security</a>

Tampa authorities will utilize Microsoft's Surface touch-screen device, along with other technologies, as part of Super Bowl Sunday security, according to Ars Technica.

For well over a year now, more than 60 federal, state, regional, local, and municipal authorities have been working with the E-Sponder technology partnership to plan … Read more

Sony patents Surface-like photo printer

At CES last year I was lucky enough to get a chance to spend a good half hour with a prototype of the Microsoft Surface device. Since then, I've been to the campus in Redmond a few times and have seen a few more things it can do. It's promising technology, but Microsoft's going to have to hustle to get it to market if it wants to stay impressive, as other groups, like Sony, look to be rushing their own versions into the world.

Take this patent Sony recently filed for a digital printer. Using a touchscreen … Read more

Microsoft's Surface to drive BMW customization

BMW has been among the leaders in high-tech car innovation, occasionally even jumping too far ahead of what its older customers preferred to use.

So it should be no surprise that the German carmaker wants to lure in potential customers with another cool high-tech tool.

The BMW Product Navigator, which employs Microsoft's Surface computer, lets potential customers hand-pick options, then see a computer-generated video of their future car in action.

By placing mini discs on the computer table, customers at dealerships can add features like wheels in designing their customized BMW. Users can also use Microsoft's multitouch Surface … Read more