future is here ....

well this entry is gonna be about some technological updates. well i dont really like to blog about i-fi stuff. not that i don't follow technlogy news but I prefer to keep it away from my personal space. but last week I came across a news which I thought I'd share here and it is really an outstanding concept.

M$ released their surface computing 'Milan' table top computer. basically its like a small coffee table with amazing features. check it live at http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ it was really fascinating to see the videos. it looks like some mind boggling gizmo gadget from some beyond 2k (and we really are beyond 2k now, its 2k7 already ;) ) movie but its gonna hit the market soon. the best part is it recognizes almost anything. although i didn't come across any detailed specs (on their site) but their videos give that impression.

basically it works with human touch as input and that too multi-touch screen which means a group of people can use it simultaneously. it makes sharing stuff so easy that you can simply place your digital camera, cell phone or any other device on top of the table and it will pop a menu ... its really cool. all you need to do is simply move stuff around here and there with your fingertips. thats next level of Drag-N-Drop.

well we all had come across apple's i-phone which is also multi touch screen with similar features for zoom , pan etc but thats not it. the good thing about the computer is that it can let you do umpteen number of things, like you can connect several devices, download/ upload stuff, do some online shopping just by laying out your credit cards on the table.... how cool is that.
detailed comparison here. maybe initially the cost may be high and they may target public places more than end consumers. so probably you'd get to see more of these in malls, cafeterias, pizzerias, all entertainment zones etc.

having said all of that, it would be interesting to dig more into multi-touch screen devices here. Also im not sure if this concept is originally from M$ or not. following links talk about some work on similar lines. looks like things like this existed since long. at least couple of yrs earlier.
http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vm_FzLya8y4

so whether M$ came up with the concept first or somebody else , we may not know but all I can say is future is good and future is here.

well thats all for the Milan. life is going pretty cool. I am having a great time in the new office. lotsa play + work. our whole team is planning yo go out for lunch on monday and we'd also watch pirates of the caribbean 3 post lunch. its gonna be fun time. monsoon has already hit here. so the weather is really very nice most of the time but then you really dont feel like working ;)
just kidding. ijoe (my ncst pal) might come over to pune next weekend and I might not come back here. so we(me, ijoe, prashant, ashwin and some of ijoe's friends) might chill out next weekend. lets see.

thats all for this time.

- signing off
ameyas7