surface

'Seamless computing' ties all your gadgets together

Imagine if you could cut and paste information among your smartphone, tablet, smart table, and big screen. Better yet, what if you could flick objects from one device to another?

Software developer Nsquared has tied together a Windows Phone 7, Slate tablet, Microsoft Surface smart table, and Kinect-controlled big screen into one seamless computing experience. The video says it all (see below).

There are some nifty moments: Put your smartphone down on a Surface--a horizontal touch-screen display that doubles as a table--and the e-mail on the phone screen automatically shows up on the smart table beside the phone, larger. No need to do anything but put the phone down.

Here's another nifty moment: Look at a 3D model of a home on a large projected screen, choose replacement door handles using a separate application on your tablet, then flick them onto the big screen where they're rendered and incorporated into the model. Then grab another door handle from a Silverlight-enabled Web site and likewise flick it into the model. And for the piece de resistance, take a picture of a lamp with the tablet, crop the lamp from the background, and flick it into the model on the big screen.… Read more

Report: Windows Phone 7 revenue an 'abysmal' $613 million

Microsoft's Windows Phone sales for 2011 are "abysmal," according to a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published last Friday.

Diving through Microsoft's annual report released late last month, the news site came up with a revenue figure of $613 million for the full fiscal year, which includes Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7, Zune, Mediaroom, Surface, and hardware.

Remove the sales kicked in by the Zune and the other non-mobile items, and Microsoft's mobile operating systems actually delivered less than $613 million.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request from CNET for comment on the … Read more

Friday Poll: Most compelling use for natural user interfaces?

Set in 2054, "Minority Report" revealed a future in which natural user interfaces play a major role. A memorable scene features Tom Cruise controlling a large interactive screen with illuminated gloves, gesturing back and forth to navigate through an NUI.

Less than a decade after the movie hit theaters, we now have Microsoft's $150 Kinect accessory for Xbox 360, which provides a similar experience to the one seen in the movie--without requiring special gloves or a multimillion dollar computer setup.

People have primarily used a mouse and keyboard to interact with computers for decades; this seems silly considering that nearly every other computer component has evolved significantly in the same time frame. Now that the Kinect SDK is available for Windows 7, natural user interfaces have more opportunity than ever to change how we interact with computers.

Supportive technology such as speech recognition (which has already matured greatly, as this week's launch of Google Voice Search for desktop computers highlighted), Microsoft Surface, and 3D Immersive Touch are all stepping stones to something far greater in the evolution of computer interaction. It's inevitable that years from now, aspects of these technologies will work together to free us from pressing keys and clicking buttons.

So, what do you think the most exciting possibilities for natural user interfaces are? Vote in our weekly poll. And please be sure to elaborate in the comments section.… Read more

'Green asphalt' layers cool surface on school lot

What's light green, sprayed on top of asphalt, and lowers the temperature of parking lots by 30 degrees? If you went to school at Robert L. Duffy school in Phoenix, you'd know the answer.

Late last month, the charter school became the testing ground for "green asphalt," a concrete-based reflective covering designed to make asphalt surfaces cooler and more durable.

Phoenix-based Emerald Cities installed the coating at the school to demonstrate the viability of the technology to city leaders and contractors, company CEO Sheri Roese said yesterday.

As part of its efforts to be carbon neutral, … Read more

CES: Underneath Microsoft's new Surface

LAS VEGAS--While much of last night's CES kick-off keynote by Microsoft centered on huge Kinect sales, Windows Phone 7 features, the latest PCs, and the technical prowess of the next version of Windows, tucked into the presentation was a product that has been largely untouched since its introduction back in 2007.

That would be Microsoft's Surface, a $12,500 table-top, multitouch computer, which has a new version shipping out later this year that's five grand cheaper, has 10 inches of additional screen real estate, more powerful internals, and a drastically thinner underside.

The new unit is four … Read more

CES: Netflix, Hulu Plus navigation comes to Kinect

Xbox 360 and Kinect owners will soon be able to enjoy easy new ways to wave their way through movies and music.

Microsoft this evening announced a spring software upgrade that will let Kinect owners use hand gestures and spoken commands to watch videos streamed through Netflix and the Hulu Plus monthly subscription service, effectively upping the stakes in the rivalry with Sony's Blu-ray-equipped PlayStation 3.

You'll be able to watch these "controller-free in the living room, the biggest screen in your home," Ron Forbes of Microsoft's interactive entertainment division told the audience at the … Read more

What we know now about Surface 2.0

With the teaser of the next version of Windows earlier today at CES, Microsoft rather surprisingly unveiled version 2.0 of Surface--the multi-touch, table-size computer the company introduced to the public back in early 2007.

Version 2.0 of the Surface is thinner, more accurate to touch, and can be put in places the previous one couldn't. And unlike the first one, this one might actually end up inside the homes of consumers instead of being relegated to retailers, hotel lobbies, and museums.

But there are some big unknowns--several of which Microsoft says should be addressed at tonight's … Read more

Microsoft eyes shape-shifting touch screen

Microsoft could be looking to give touch screens more of a tactile feel.

A patent filed by the software giant in 2009 and published last week details a light-induced shape-memory polymer display screen. In a nutshell, that means a touch screen that has a real texture and tactile feedback to it, making people feel as if they're touching an actual object.

Invented by Erez Kikin-Gil, the screen would be coated with polymers that could change or hold their shape when different wavelengths of ultraviolet light hit the pixels from underneath, according to an article in New Scientist.

The screen … Read more

The Smithsonian welcomes Microsoft's Surface

As part of a new, permanent exhibit, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has implemented Microsoft's Surface computer as a hands-on learning aid.

Microsoft worked with The Smithsonian to put together seven applications for the Surface with which visitors can interact. Each app is related to the exhibit's "The Wonder of Light: Touch and Learn!" theme, letting users do things such as zoom in and out of photos, rub sticks on the surface to create virtual fires, and shine a real flashlight onto the Surface's screen to light up an underwater scene.

The Surface … Read more

A look at Microsoft's latest surface computer

Not content with turning all manner of surfaces into computers, Microsoft's researchers are working to turn an entire room into one giant computing surface.

Andy Wilson and his team had already turned a table top, a globe-sized sphere, and a walk-in dome into surface computers. Microsoft also has its Surface, a tabletop computer that it sells for use in places like hotels and restaurants. But with LightSpace--the latest research project--Wilson has turned an entire 10-foot-by-8-foot room into a surface computer. The floor, table, and a wall are all interactive in this latest project, with users able to do things … Read more