Microsoft R&D shows off multi-touch laptop
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted Jun 22nd 2007 3:28PM
posted Jun 22nd 2007 3:28PM
[Via istartedsomething, thanks Mitchel T]
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I want multitouch on my aptop that is responsive and useful. When will that happen?
"how do we replace the mouse because its a single pointer?"
WTF about gaming?
i think the gaming world will be one of the last to utilize touch screens or multi touch or IR sensing displays if at all - you need more flexibility and command with certain professions and activities then you do with other, more traditional computing actions.
now, i think it would be sweet to have a touch sensitive (or some sort of reactive input device) that took the place of the mouse, but not integrated into the screen when you are talkign about gaming, etc...
The real problem is mice are pixel-precise. You click on exactly one pixel. Fingers and styli are not. Ever try to draw on a touch screen? It's a pain in the butt.
Ooh, innovative.
Looks promising... now just make me a screen that is finger-gunk and grease proof.
agreed, i need a finger-condom or something for all these touch-screens that are going to be coming out.
To be honest, for one of the biggest companies in the world, you'd expect their R&D labs to be doing stuff more impressive than this. The software lags big time, and the look of the demo software looks kind of like when you get stuck inside a wall in one of the old Tomb Raider games.
I hate to make this into an Apple V Microsoft comment, but if Apple can make a small phone with super-smooth transitions, you'd think Microsoft's labs could do it with a modified notebook.
Also...It shines infrared light through the display? is that safe?
...are you serious? It's infrared. Have you ever felt threatened by your television remote?
actually yes...that little bugger is a monster it eats people....and i was just kidding i know infrared is harmless
Before anybody says this is just like the iPhone please remember that the iPhone uses capacitive sensors while this uses IR. It's a VERY different tech.
Okay, this is almost like the iPhone....EXCEPT it uses IR technology. Close enough, but not quite. :)
Oh, and has he mentioned it, they've added a lot of extra sensors behind the display. Yawn.
What is up with all this touch screen love? Sure it is a great idea for a kiosk or a hand held device, such as the iPhone, but not such a great idea for a computer. It looks neat and all but your arms would get pretty tired after using it for a few minutes. For us office workers that spend 8 or 9 hours a day on their computer having your arms extended out for that long just isn't realistic. Consider how many older people work in corporate and it's easy to see this idea isn't going to take hold in any office. It's like the flip 3D thing in vista.. looks really cool but in all reality it isn't very useful.
Looks pretty good, could definitely see this being of use for the tablet crowd.
However, I would have some hesitation in buying a product that is endorsed by the guy that killed President David Palmer.
http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Graem_Bauer
Multitouch seems gimmicky. What interface problems does it solve?
How is putting my hand on a screen and making arcane gestures supposed to be useful?
while for personal use it might not be very useful at the moment, until at least someone comes up with good voice recognition software or some other type of input to supplement this tech, some obvious applications would be for kiosks and really large display screens.
In the long run I can see a laptop without a keyboard and without a mouse. Just a big screen you can put on your table and get going with.
So far it just looks like a bad adaption of Apples invention though.
"really large display screens"
Like maybe a coffee table top display screen?
as for it being a "bad imitation of apples [sic] invention", multitouch wasn't actually invented by Apple, and this uses IR anyway, unlike the iPhone.
Because with multi-touch, you can zoom a picture, rotate, select, copy and paste all with the way you interact with the objects on screen. The same actions with a mouse would require you to move the pointer to the magnifying glass, click, move the mouse to the picture, click, move the mouse to the rotation tool, click, move the mouse to the picture, click and drag... well, you get the idea. That is because a mouse can only perform one action at a time. It can only interact with objects on screen in one way, whereas, with multitouch, you can manipulate objects without having to select various tools and whatnot.
I think the IR approach could cause a lot of problems. There are a lot of devices these days that spit out IR signals, and with this technology any of them could interfere with my machine.
Can you imagine the pranks people could pull on you if you had this setup with a simple TV remote?
Does a multi-touch laptop give you a permanent hunch and baldness?
I think they call this the gorilla problem or something like that. Touch screens didn't catch on a while ago because people using them look like a gorilla poking at things, and more importantly, get arm cramps quickly.
Well this kills my invention of adding a middle finger key onto the keyboard
I love how he said "This is an another example" after demoing the same example 3 times.
You almost made me spit my drink all over my monitor!
Hey! This is just like the iPhone!
i don't understand... i thought apple patented the hell out of multi-touch?
Unlikely that APPL has any patents that would block this level of work -- recall that MSFT has been working on multi-touch with their very viable "surface" for ~5 years. Neither the technological approach nor the UI metaphors APPL has unveiled with the iPhone are novel. Likewise, none of the UI metaphors explored in this video are novel either --> what is interesting is this tech approach. Just as the tech approach behind MSFT's "surface" is also unique/different.
They did.
And Microsoft knows this.
And Apple will likely make a pretty penny in licensing fees. Apple is not a party to the MS-Linux patent wars. Apple and MS are still very much in bed, even if their PR pretends otherwise.
apple didn't invent multi-touch; it existed long before. I believe that apple patented the hardware (which allows it to capture more than one "touch"), not the software aspect..
He should have shown it doing anything cool. We're no longer impressed with "the pinch".
I loved when he rotated a PDF looking doc on the 3rd axis to show the back.... as if I have ever been interested with what is on the back of a Word or PDF document. If you're going to show off "spinning things around", do it on something useful like a 3d model of something.
I don't know. It sounds like a good way to send a secret message.
"Look on the back of the PDF!"
That picture just screams..."I like them French fried potaters mmmmm hmmmm"
as far as games go RTS would rock with this tech.. FPS not so much...
it all depends on your Acronym of choice really..
I think the real potential for this is in Video & Music Production, that and Arresting people before they commit murder or worse, get a Zune tattoo.
all i know is i'm gonna put off buying a tablet for a little while.
Count how many times he uses the word "Display"
Microsoft Drinking Game!
Graem Bauer survived?
I thought it was Clint Howard, Opie's bro...
Im sure Apple is working on something like this also but with the tech behind the iPhone, it should be a tablet with no keyboard no folding no nothing, just a big ass screen called iPad... apple notepad. running a modified vesion of OS X. I'm willing to put money on this coming out within a year or two. p.s i am not an apple fanboy and dont even own an apple computer but it seams to be the obvious thing for them to do.
"What is up with all this touch screen love? Sure it is a great idea for a kiosk or a hand held device, such as the iPhone, but not such a great idea for a computer."
Says you. I wish I had this today; it would make controlling my music software MUCH easier. Goodbye, MIDI, hello touchscreen.
Hmmmmmm...
This would be really awesome if it were integrated into a Cintiq (Wacom) type display. The combination of a pen tool and gestures (to forgo most of the menu system) could really streamline a photographer's/artists workflow ! I don't know how much I would dig this tech on a laptop but on a 20+ inch widescreen I say Bring It On !!!!!!
"STEVE JOBS IS KILLING US!!!!"
Umm... If I'm not mistaken Multi-touch is already on laptops. Lenovo is advertising multi-touch displays on its high end thinkpad convertible tablets.
Using full-screen Infrared Technology, can you manipulate the objects on the screen AND get a tan at the same time? That way I won't have to sneak time at the beach when I should be working at the office.
...ultra-violet?
I was playing off this article discussing far infrared waves:
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/infrared.html
But you're right. I probably wouldn't get a tan. I'd just be roasted.
what interests me is how they got the technology so thin. typically, the iphone (and i'm guessing the lenovo laptops) use capacitative sensors (similar to your standard laptop touchpad, just with a bunch of them in a grid)
but the msft guy said that this was IR - now the IR stuff like jefferson han from nyu showed w/ the multi-touch table had a camera directly underneath and and projected reflected off a mirror on the side (i think - this is the typical FTIR table setup), but the msft guy is using an IR based multi-touch display that's pretty thin (IE no projectors involved, just a nice thin LCD)
any DIYers up to the challenge?
"as far as games go RTS would rock with this tech.. FPS not so much...
it all depends on your Acronym of choice really.. "
Can anyone say dual-wielding sub-machine guns with independent targeting for each? Throwing grenades with one hand while picking off some guys with a handgun? Punching in the key-code on a door by actually pressing the buttons on screen?
Can you say Wii?
2-player gun games, two guns for one player. Though not exactly what you're thinking, it can already be done with current tech in a similar way, especially with guns with control pads on them.
Speaking of IR guns, this would be an interesting platform for gun games. The guns could be remotes (Wiimotes?) of all sorts, old modded light guns, or even tiny USB-rechargeable pistols (charges in 15 seconds, lasts for 15 minutes!). And speaking of Wiimotes, this could lead to some interesting cursor capabilities as well.
I mean, it's good to know that they are working on those things. Multi-touch definitely has a future. What I don't understand is how they actually made a video showcasing resizing and rotating pictures around. You'd think they would have came up with SOME new ideas... what else does this guy do all day? This is about as innovative as Windows Vista. Come on, here's a box [ ]. Now think OUTSIDE of it.
Personally, I think this would be extremely useful for those of us who do 3d modeling work.
Isn't there a Linux distribution that already supports that 3D interface with a bunch of watery features to the window? OLD NEWS
Yes, Linux has 3D window managers that waste system resources on fancy effects like spinning cubes and wobbly windows. What does that have to do with multi-touch screens?
or maybe you can all stop whining?
or start developing your own "awesome" technologies that you think should be out there
@brendan Sheehan jnr
The screen is much larger on the iphone, plus, its os is far simpler.
And those advantages may not be made up by the hardware...
But yes, the iphone is FAR slicker...
Meh. He didn't show anything that hasn't been demoed in the various Surface demo videos on the net. At most all he showed us was the application of surface to a laptop. Frankly on a traditional laptop the idea of a touchscreen is stupid. Thank about it. reaching out to touch the display with the display bouncing under your fingers. A tablet would be more realistic.
haha sorry but it's 7 o clock in germany right now, and i came totaly drunk from a drum&bass party and i just nearly pissed my pants when i saw the picture of that microsoft guy...lol i just couldn't stand posting this, it just totally made my morning/day how that video frame shows that akward microsoft geek heheheheh, oh my god... i hope i can still sleep... well... good night and thanks to engadget :)
Okay, just me, or did anyone else notice the white panel he plays around with through most of the video has "Looking Glass" on it?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Looking_Glass
http://www.sun.com/software/looking_glass/
Looks like the MS dev team is a little lax on making their own software and interface for this.
Thy the hell are you people comparing a non-prototype telephone to this guys prototype touchscreen interface? At least if you are going to be an apple marketing automaton make a valid comparison to two devices that PERFORM THE SAME FUNCTION.
The Iphone doesn't have an optical drive and his laptop does, oooh ooh oooooh.
it's nice and all... with the IR sensors and >2 touch-points. but similar to the iphone's interface? (pinch/stretch). hmmm... i dont see what the big deal is
When they add pressure sensitivity and individual finger identification, I'll be impressed. This is old tech already (see: Wacom)
Did anyone noticed that whenever he pushes the screen, the IR thingy gives feedback and shows his fingerprints? Could this be used (with better definition) as a biometric solution that doesn't allow anyone else to use the touch interface without authenticating his fingers?
That'd be really "really" cool.
That's right Microsoft, you totally invented multi-touch screens.
Also this program looks quite slow to respond.