Surface Computing

[Crimson Sky]

Either MS developed their own version of this screen technology, or the person who invented it has sold the technology. You can make this screen yourself with enough cash and R&D and not infringe on any patents.

[Crimson Sky]

Way to go MS.. someone else comes up with a cool idea, buy it and sell it as your own.

LoL..oh you mean like every other piece of technology on the planet? Consider that any company that manufactures blue colored LED diodes in the US must pay a small fee to Phillips.

[jaxspades]

I saw something like this while in school a few weeks ago....except the way he described it was a touch screen that COULD read multiple points at once...not with cameras or anything...and it even kind of had it's own OS....it wasn't MS, Apple, or Linux, just a simple one for the demonstration of what the Touch screen could do.

EDIT: http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/

I think that's what I was looking for...

[Cool1Net6]

... Way to go MS.. someone else comes up with a cool idea, buy it and sell it as your own. ...

Apple's iPod wasn't new, or as featured as its competitors, but it still blew up to huge proportions. All Microsoft did here was take a bunch of other ideas, slap an easy-to-use interface on it, and assembled it into a shiny package, just like Apple.

The multi-touch screen I saw a few years back was an actual LCD Touch Screen that could detect more than one touch point. They did the same things like sizing pictures and playing with water and such.

I also saw a separate video from japan that used little squares to represent different "programs", one for weather, one for music, etc. That worked by joining 2 of them side-by-side to make more complicated "programs", like scrolling through forecasts, shopping, etc. But on that one, you put your cell phone down to pay for things.

All in all, I really like this.

-Cool-

[Sakker]

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65

From 2006, looks a bit familiar huh?

[rendermandan]

I'm sure it uses some sort of sensors, instead of "cameras". Similar to the wall for the Cir de sole show in vegas where they climb the wall and every spot they touch, a processor recognizes that and sends a signal to the projector to create a "water pool effect" for every tough. -Similar technology, just in a smaller package.

I think the biggest problem with it would be the constand need to clean figerprints off your screen.

[Airbozo]

I think the biggest problem with it would be the constant need to clean fingerprints off your screen.

This is also my main gripe with ANY touch screen. After installing dozens of touchscreen POS systems at one particular Theater, it was only a couple of weeks after installation that they were calling me complaining of "out of focus" monitors. Of course I had to charge them mucho $$ to go on site and use the windex on the monitors...

[Cool1Net6]

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65

From 2006, looks a bit familiar huh?

The exact video I was talking about. Here is the other one using tiles.

-Cool-

[ChevronX]

I wonder what use I will have for one of these.

[AJ@PR]

This is also my main gripe with ANY touch screen. After installing dozens of touchscreen POS systems at one particular Theater, it was only a couple of weeks after installation that they were calling me complaining of "out of focus" monitors. Of course I had to charge them mucho $$ to go on site and use the windex on the monitors...

ROFLMAO...

The screen is amazing.
I had seen this some months ago... different video, different company.

Can't blame MS though... I mean, if it's a cool tech, go for it!

Can you imagine a big conference table with that?!

I call dibs in playing Pong!