August 13 - 12:25am EDT   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. [full story]

July 29 - 8:25am EDT   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. [full story]

July 24 - 3:50pm EDT   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. [full story]

July 18 - 11:00am EDT   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. [full story]

June 11 - 6:20pm EDT   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. [full story]

May 14 - 7:20pm EDT   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. [full story]

April 17 - 5:00pm EDT   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 ... [full story]

April 3 - 7:20pm EDT   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. [full story]

April 2 - 12:40pm EDT   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. [full story]

March 5 - 3:35pm EST   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. [full story]

February 4 - 2:40pm EST   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. [full story]

December 18 - 5:40pm EST   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. [full story]

December 12 - 3:25pm EST   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. [full story]