RSSGates demonstrates touch UIs everywhere, including walls and furniture
By Jacqueline Emigh | Published May 16, 2008, 5:41 PM
"Little thin, tablet-like computers" and giant, sensitive walls with interchangeable touch- and pen-based "natural interfaces" are still on the way, said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, speaking at a CEO Forum Wednesday.
Microsoft's prototype Touch Wall includes special software plus "some scanning cameras down here at the bottom, so whenever I go up to it and say just touch it, the software will notice that, theoretically," as described by Microsoft's ex-CEO and soon-to-be-retired chairman to an assembly of CEOs at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
"So, in fact, this piece of software has all sorts of information behind it. And typically when we think about information now it's very linear. A PowerPoint presentation is slide-by-slide, and if something happens during the presentation, you want to skip around, that's hard to do," Gates illustrated.
"Here we've got things laid out in this nice two-dimensional form. So, I can zoom in on anything, I can move around. I've got different types of information that I'm using here. And it's all just easy to navigate to, because at any time I can look at different things," he elaborated.
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| At a CEO summit in Redmond on Wednesday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates demonstrates making selections on a prototype 'Touch Wall,' though here - curiously - he seems to be pointing to nothing. (Courtesy Microsoft) |
"Here I can point, I've got an actual document. This is a Word document. So, I can go and step through this page by page, see different things. If something is interesting, I can blow that up or I can just go back to where I was."
Although Microsoft's prototype Touch Wall is a large vertical display surface, it is kind of similar otherwise to Microsoft Surface, a table-sized horizontal intelligent display first previewed at the same conference a year ago.
Microsoft Surface is now an actual commercial product, Gates reminded attendees: "In fact, a few months ago, we sent out our first units of Microsoft Surface."
"One of the first customers is AT&T for use in their phone stores. And what happens is somebody who's got a phone comes in, puts it down on the table; the software recognizes it, suggests what calling plans they might use, suggests another phone model they might use. When they select that, it shows them comparison, what features it has that that existing phone does not," said Gates.
In fact, the CEO Forum seems to be one of Microsoft's favorite spots for showcasing Microsoft's latest natural interface concepts.
"I've also shown here the RoundTable, which is the videoconferencing thing that takes the entire view, the 360-degree view of everybody in the room by using multiple cameras, and creates that teleconferencing interaction that's far, far better. That's a new type of interaction," continued Gates.
Now emerging on the horizon, he said, are "little thin, tablet-like computers that have both the pen capability and that finger touch...and you'll be able to switch back and forth between those."
Gates told the CEOs he ultimately foresees vertical and horizontal natural interfaces of various sizes appearing almost everywhere.
"This idea that you just sit there and interact, touch, you don't have to learn anything, that naturalness really draws people in. So, it's been a strong success so far, and that form factor is going to get cheaper and smaller," predicted Microsoft's chairman.
Extremely stupid, since this was demo'ed at TED by others 2 years ago
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Just like Minority report movie!
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Stop trying so hard to technologically bloat our lives f*ckin nerd!!!
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If you don't like it I could recommend you a few caves in Southern France where the paintings are fading...
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...however if you like it, i could actually recommend a woman for you.
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When did I say I am lesbian?
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Heh...
I don't believe you even ever specified your gender...not that that stops some folks from making their own assumptions, and then treating them as facts. It's one of the reason's I do so enjoy posting here.
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Indeed. But are you sure a light infatuation with SF3 doesn't play a role...? ;-)
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light infatuation with SF3
Wow.
Welcome to kindergarten?
Felling a tad regressive today, are we?
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Ahem..I'd rather touch myself.
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Why not devote this time and energy into a version of Windows that is secure, unbloated and doesn't crash every few days. What would stop folks from hacking into my wall assuming it would be Internet capable (if my WEii is, I'm sure this will be too). Will I have to address a UAC prompt everytime I want to actually do something? What happens when my wall crashes?
Sorry, but there are too many "what ifs" that makes this even realistic. It's a good idea for the work environment, but never in my home.
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Microsoft is much more then just Windows, they have hundreds of projects that have nothing to do with the OS.
There are people dedicated to working on the next version of windows already this is just another one of their many side projects.
They can do a less bloated version of Windows and have its called
http://research.microsoft.com/os/Singularity/
I think this could be a cool idea but of course needs to be developed more.
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^This^
It's called having 'departments'.
One set of people works on one thing, another set works on something different.
Microsoft doesn't run sequentially.
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A lot of what if's sure :)
BUT it's stuff like this that gets the right sort of people thinking and gets companys inovating.
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By their own admission, Singularity is not a full OS, just barely a kernel...and how many have actually seen how it runs?
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Makes changing the wall paper in your house easier.And just think, if you spring for the Ultimate Edition of the wall you can have animated wallpaper. Thank you Dreamscene!! ;)
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Awesome! Now we can blow 5 to 10 thousand for a touchwall so it can make the task of donating to starving children all over the world even easier! "Touch, touch..".. "Twen-ty dol-lars has now been don-ated... calculating.... calculation complete, approx-imately 1 per-cent of your do-nation will reach its destination! Thank you for using BillWall™ v0.2!"
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The lesson?
If you want to donate?
Donate.
If you want to be a wet-brained, ignorant, troll?
Anonymously piss on the people who do in public forums while making yourself look like the complete imbecile you are.
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Oh, has someones right wing mentality been manhandled :(
The guy has a point and humor. c4p0ne, right on! :)
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*laughing*
Yeah, how incredibly right wing of me thinking he should be donating instead of b****ing about how much others donate...
I should just go Blue and *force* everyone to donate via taxes. Right?
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People have been attacking you for the supidiest reasons recently :)
What have you done to piss them off?
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You can just send it my way and I take care of it...
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They dislike logic and common sense? ;)
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Ok smartie. Explain the relation between logic, common sense and your insulting response to the post above.
Make it deep, don't be shy.
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After observing this guy pc_tool, it appears his responses, besides being scathingly ignorant & without purpose, are almost always constructed to insult other members intelligence with the lack of his. These types of comments are often a result of ones own insecurity... And i'm not saying that to be "insulting". It really is the truth.
pc_tool stop being angry and try not to take out your insecurities on others.
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You mean aside from the whole "he doesn't donate enough of the money I gave him" BS?
I mean, really... You need more?
As for the insulting response, you don't think he actually took it seriously do you? From an anonymous user on the internet? Nah...that wouldd only prove the point, wouldn't it?
*looks at the post below*
Oh my... ;)
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*laughs*
If you took it seriously, you are the one with insecurity issues, my friend. :)
AS for logic and common sense, if your post contains none of it, don't expect to get away with it. :) Pissing on Gates for donating more than you'll ever see in your life because *you* think it's not enough is laughable at best.
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I take it as a general statement highlighting consumers blowing out that kind of money on gadgets (Hollywood comes to mind...) while in other places people don't have enough to eat or a roof over the head.
Simply stating a fact - before you get funny ideas and we start arguing philosophy...
Anyway, this article is getting old and dropping off my radar...
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Freedom of choice.
Ain't it a grand thing?
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Can't see the touch walls would be very useful.
Whoever is doing the touching is pretty much blocking the screen, as seen in the pic above.
A display wall would be nice, but perhaps using the more traditional input methods for now...
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really like the round table interaction , would be really cool to sit in that type of interaction
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All I see is millions of finger prints :) I can't see this at home much, but wow - at work you have have some pretty cool PowerPoint presentations.
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And, patching a wall computer couldn't be easier. Just drop out to WSUS Depot and grab a brush and some spackle.
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Heh..
Nice. :)
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Great. Just what we need... an overheating wall. (relax people I'm just kidding!)
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Just think, though:
Anyone who wants a blue wall won't have to paint...so long as they don't mind the white letters. ;P
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Thats true. Man but with kids around... forget it.
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wow, you absolutely missed PC_Tool's joke
... and with your reply, completely annihilated all contained humor
but in a completely unrelated note
imagine having one of those on each wall of the house, displaying some absolutely hot chick ...
i wonder if with each screen purchased
a white-spot remover would be included ...
(or just wait for all spots to dry out)
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Maybe he didn't miss it but didn't think it was funny. Actually, if MS can make this work and keep the power comsumption down, it might represent the future in Home building and Office set-ups.
In fact, I like the idea- if they can make it work.
Of course some in the IT area might have to change jobs if they can't make the transition.
Oh and I haven't had a BSOD since early Windows 98:)
Have a nice day:)
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With kids around ... might find this as an opportunity for stencil drawing or tracing opportunity. Anyone see //wall burn// in the future.. ;]
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Ooh, a giant touch wall.. Sounds scary. How about some virtual "touch babes"?
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are your humor batteries running low ???
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For some on here VR babies would be better than real babies.:)
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No, thank you Mr Arbiter of Public Taste.
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I wonder who Gates thinks is going to buy all these new goodies? All the foreign workers he wants to bring in to the USA at reduced rates? Or all the workers at call centers in foreign countries that work for peanuts? Doesn't the corporations realize that when all the jobs are given away at reduced rates nobody is going to be able to afford all the goodies they want to sell? They don't seem to think of the future, only the here and now. It will finally bite them in their rear ends.
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=PimbkQNKzb4
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Yeah so immigration is Microsoft's job now? *rolleyes*
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