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Surface developer tools coming this month

Microsoft promises developers who attend this month's Professional Developer Conference will get the tools needed to write apps for the company's tabletop PC.

Ina Fried Former Staff writer, CNET News
During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.
Ina Fried
Microsoft's Mark Bolger demonstrates the Surface's multitouch user interface. Ina Fried/CNET News.com

The long-awaited software developer kit for the Surface tabletop computer will be made available to those attending Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference at the end of the month.

Microsoft made that pledge on its PDC Web site, as part of a listing for a session focused on writing Surface applications.

"Hear about the unique attributes of Microsoft Surface computing, dive into vision-based object recognition and core controls like ScatterView, and learn how the Surface SDK aligns with the multitouch developer roadmap for Windows 7," Microsoft said, in promoting the session. "Attendees will receive access to the Microsoft Surface SDK."

Microsoft has been promising for some time to open up Surface development beyond the select group of companies that have been working with early launch partners such as AT&T and Starwood hotels.

The company has also promised multitouch will be a part of the Windows 7 interface, but has yet to detail how that will work.