MOTO Development Group on Tuesday showed off its first round multi-touch casino gaming table prototype at the Global Gaming Expo 2010 in Las Vegas. Similar in concept to the Microsoft Surface, the touch table has Blackjack and Texas Hold ‘Em poker games built into it. The table has one large integrated touchscreen that supports multi-touch inputs from many players.
Microsoft this evening preempted its arch-rival Apple in the tablet game with the Courier, its own self-developed tablet. The rough example discussed at the Gizmodo Gallery event is shaped like a book and has two 7-inch multi-touch displays that fold up when the system isn't in use. It would also support a stylus for handwriting and include a 3-megapixel camera on the back. While not yet certain for final production, Microsoft also suggests that the Courier might use inductive charging to power the device without having to plug it in.
At the currently ongoing PDC show in LA, Microsoft is holding demonstrations of its Surface PC for members of the industry and developers. At the same time, Microsoft showed off a notable new version of the Surface PC developed by the software giant's engineers from Cambridge, England. Called SecondLight, it allows the table to project different images than those projected on its screen on a translucent surface such as tracing paper held above the surface. The images are projected through the table itself, with Microsoft describing the technology as a magic lens.
At next week's Professional Developer Conference, Microsoft will offer a developer version of its Surface computer to developers for $13,500, including a 10 percent discount, according to a Friday report. Interested developers are paying more for the Surface than commercial customers, whose version costs $12,500, because it includes the Software Development Kit (SDK) promised earlier this month. Either price is significantly higher than the $5,000 to $10,000 range Microsoft said the Surfaces would cost back in May of 2007.
Dell's multi-touch screen is still undergoing teething issues According to an online report published on Monday. The N-Trig digitizer used in Dell's multi-touch Latitude XT Tablet PCs has issues that, nearly seven months since the products' launch, have not been resolved. According to users, some of the problems include errors that prevent the digitizer software from being found, making the tablet useless in auto and dual modes. While this problem goes away after a couple of reboots, many see it as frustrating and counter-productive. The report goes on to name an additional flaw that has the digitizer clicking items while the stylus is hovering when the tablet is exiting standby mode.
Microsoft will release the long-promised Software Development Kit (SDK) for its Surface tabletop computer at its Professional Developer Conference set to begin on October 27. according to a Tuesday report. Apart from distributing the SDK to developers other than current partners AT&T and Starwood hotels, both of whom have been using Surface computers in their retail and hotel locations, the software giant will hold a tutorial on how to take advantage of the new platform when writing Surface applications.
Zest Prod has developed a new photo app designed to take advantage of the iPhone's multi-touch capabilities. Photoboard allows users to pick a variety of images to display in the app, and then solely through the use of gestures, manipulate their content. Photos can be resized by pinching, moved around by dragging, or organized by holding a finger on the screen, which bring up a circular menu. The software resembles concepts presented in Microsoft's Surface technology, which looks to make viewing photos more intuitive by using natural commands.
Microsoft's highly talked-about Surface technology, previously known to exist in AT&T stores and Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, is now being adopted at five Sheraton Hotel and Resort locations, in New York, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco. The Sheraton locations will take advantage of the multi-touch Surface to provide travel and activity itineraries, musical entertainment from featured Sony BMG artists, and photo libraries from Sheraton hotels around the world.
Microsoft today provided a promised demo of Sphere, its next-generation multi-touch device. The device expands on the lessons learned from the Surface table and shows how future electronics could apply complex finger input to curved surfaces. In addition to altering the picture to ensure it displays properly on the ball-shaped screen, Microsoft has also switched to an infrared sensor system at the center that registers multiple fingers and palms regardless of their position on the sphere.
Microsoft will demonstrate its previously only hinted-at spherical Surface display next week, the company has inadvertently revealed through its own floor map for its Research group's DemoFest event. Booth 110 at the show is listed as offering a "multi-touch spherical display" that resembles a previously described variant on the company's Surface touch computer, which for now is only available as a table-sized device for businesses such as AT&T stores and casinos.
Panasonic is working on a wall-mounted surface computer with an enormous touchscreen. What the company aptly calls the Digital Wall is reportedly twice the size of a normal 110-inch display, and allows users to drag folders and windows across it. Unlike the similar Microsoft TouchWall currently under development, which is based on its Surface computing technology, the Digital Wall does not yet support multi-touch inputs, although Panasonic is said to be working on it.
Microsoft and Harrah's Operating Company on Wednesday announced the first deployment of the former company's surface technology at the iBar in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The move represents the first official setup located in an entertainment scenario, having already been deployed at AT&T stores as interactive product demonstration centers. The Surfaces include a number of custom-designed applications for patrons to use, as well as a few Microsoft-supplied apps, customized for the lounge.
Microsoft is preparing to unveil a vertically-oriented, wall-mountable version of its Surface multitouch computing system, which the company calls TouchWall. PC World writes that Microsoft's Research and Office Labs department developed a prototype for the technology, citing that it is ideal for board rooms or other locations where interactive presentations are given. TouchWall uses integrated hardware, which includes laser and infrared lights which pick up touches to the display, through the embedded Plex software.
AT&T on Thursday became the first deployment of Microsoft's Surface computing, a new computing paradigm that leverages projection, cameras, and computer running Windows Vista along with a special management layer. As announced earlier this month, the company rolled out its new 22 "multi-touch surfaces" at five locations in four different cities around the US, including New York, Atlanta, San Antonio, and San Bruno ("San Francisco"). Microsoft Surface is made up of a 30-inch screen built into the top of a rugged, clear plastic surface that has the ability to "sense touches" and gestures as well as read barcode-like tags to identify and present information on products placed on the surface.
Luxology has announced a modo 302, the newest version of its 3D content creation software. Free for registered modo 301 customers, modo 302 adds new natural lighting capabilities, additional layered Photoshop file support, an animation Track View, new modeling tools and numerous other enhancements. Luxology is also making available the first version of the modo File I/O software development kit (SDK), which allows developers to import or export data directly from modo. modo combines a real-time subdivision surface modeling engine with an artist-focused set of tools.
AT&T on Wednesday announced it will be the first company in the world to use Microsoft's Surface computer in select retail stores. The multi-touch screen will allow customers to explore the mobile service provider's products and services. The computer's object recognition abilities also allow it to transfer digital content to devices via integrated Bluetooth 2.0 or built-in Wi-Fi and network capability, giving AT&T the ability to upload content to shoppers' cell phones.
Microsoft's Surface technology, which currently enables multi-touch computing on a table-sized display, may soon develop into a new shape, sources claim. Microsoft is reportedly demonstrating a spherical prototype at the company's main campus, though for what purpose remains unclear; it may be a proof-of-concept device, illustrating the ability of Microsoft engineers to produce touchscreens in unusual shapes. Most touchscreens must remain flat due to the use of glass or hard plastic.
Microsoft is accelerating the development of its Surface touchscreen technology for the home after customer requests, company chief Steve Ballmer said today at an analyst conference. The Redmond, Washington-based company had initially warned that a consumer-friendly version of the interactive table would not be available until four or five years after its early 2007 introduction but has since received a large amount of demand for a release sooner than the 2011 timeframe suggested by the schedule.
Two new apparent unlocking solutions for Apple's iPhone firmware v1.1.2 have surfaced, allowing owners of the cellular handset to sign up for wireless service with carriers other than Apple's exclusive partners. The new techniques, dubbed SonicSIM and StealthSIM, both claim to unlock iPhone v1.1.2 for use with all wireless carriers that use the same technology as Apple's cellphone. SonicSIM is a special card rumored to partially unlock the iPhone by tricking the device and dual booting operating systems, while StealthSIM is a similar card produced by a company hoping to sell the solution for $90 on eBay.
Microsoft's next version of Windows will support complex multi-touch features, according to a claim by company test engineer Hilton Locke. So far referred to only as Windows 7, the operating system will receive a Windows Technology update that should allow multiple points of contact and significantly more complex input options than the iPhone. Users of the Apple handset will be "blown away" by the additions to Windows, Locke hints without providing specific details.
