Okay, people. I ask that you leave any and all Microsoft preconceptions you may have at the door and take what you see here at it's true face value. Microsoft announced a new technology lastnight. Well, it's not entirely new, but let's not split hairs like everyone wants to do.

Microsoft announced the Surface, a retail multi-touch graphical user interface. Click that link, and watch the videos. Seriously. And before anyone makes some snide comment about how this is a typical Microsoft move to copy Apple's iPhone touchscreen, please... Go whine to someone who cares. Microsoft started research and development on the Surface in October 2001, so it's been almost 6 years in development. Yeah, that's really some quick slap-together to compete against Apple, folks.

This... Is the true future of computing. TW's been saying for a long time, and I agree completely, so much so that I've done college papers on it. Of all the utopian Star Trek technology, the LCARS menu system is going to be the first one we see. Actually, we're already seeing it. Multitouch technology has been around for a while, and we've seen small scale demonstrations on what it can do. But now that large scale manufacturers like Apple and Microsoft are actively developing devices that use it, I think LCARS is rapidly approaching. (At least faster than it was.)

Here's an older video demonstrating the Surface table. If you think the Surface website videos were staged in any way, here's a glimpse of some Microsoft employees showing off exactly what it can do:

If that's not enough to convince you, here's a similar demonstration by Bill Gates of Surface's features on the Today Show. Unfortunately, it's a Gizmodo video that I can't stream here. And pay no heed to Gizmodo's lame comment about dropping $10,000 to buy the thing. While I don't doubt it's going to be expensive, no price point has been announced, yet. Of course it's going to be expensive. Late-breaking technology like this is always expensive. Give it some time and we'll have these things all over the place. You have to admit that having Microsoft's aggressive marketing pushing something like this is really a very good thing.

I know it sounds rather... hyperbolic... But this is the future of computers. You realize we've had keyboards since the invention of the typewriter? Around 100 years ago? And you realize we'd have the mouse for nearly 25 years? The two devices on computers that have never been upgraded. That really needs to change. Interacting directly with a touchscreen is so much more natural and quicker. I think gaming will still use a keyboard and mouse, but, then again, there might be far, far better control interfaces with a massive touchscreen like the Surface.

I guess we'll have to wait and see!

(Oh, by the way, At World's End music is rocking awesome.)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 2:22 pm and is filed under Microsoft, Technology.