About the project
Microsoft has been working on its “Milan” project for more than five years, and hopes to continue for many more. The hottest gadget release in 2007 is in the form of a coffee table! The Microsoft surface tabletop unit is controlled entirely through touch. There’s no mouse or keyboard compared to a desktop computer. Microsoft has created both hardware and software for this stunning achievement in the world of technology today.
It offers tons of revolutionary tools that are in my mind creative and unique
To paint you can pick up a paint brush or just dip your fingers in virtual paint. I feel old when I can remember being excited and entertain for hours with Microsoft’s MS Paint as a young adolescent. It pales in comparison with any other tool out there, yet I spent hours practicing and creating what I believe to be decent artistic photos.
Photos on Milan
Virtual pictures are almost as realistic as real photos. Just place your camera device on the surface and new photos automatically transfer the your desktop. A stack of pictures can be easily sorted through and shared. To resize or rotate a photo, just stretch or pivot two fingers. What’s even cooler is more than one person can be interacting with the surface at a time.
Don’t expect to own one any time soon
Multi-touch surface technology is new and complicated, resulting in a hefty $10,000 price tag. Since the average Joe doesn’t have that kind of cash in his pocket, Microsoft is targeting businesses (hotel lobbies, restaurants, casinos, etc). They hope in 5 or so years, the price will drop enough for households. The company’s initial customers are T-Mobile, Starwood hotels, Harrah’s casinos, and slot game maker IGT.
Here is a diagram and some hardware details I took from the Popular Mechanics website
1. Screen: A diffuser turns the Surface’s acrylic tabletop into a large horizontal “multi-touch” screen, capable of processing multiple inputs from multiple users. The Surface can also recognize objects by their shapes or by reading coded “domino” tags.
2. Infrared: Surface’s “machine vision” operates in the near-infrared spectrum, using an 850-nanometer-wavelength LED light source aimed at the screen. When objects touch the tabletop, the light reflects back and is picked up by multiple infrared cameras with a net resolution of 1280 x 960.
3. CPU: Surface uses many of the same components found in everyday desktop computers — a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a 256MB graphics card. Wireless communication with devices on the surface is handled using WiFi and Bluetooth antennas (future versions may incorporate RFID or Near Field Communications). The underlying operating system is a modified version of Microsoft Vista.
4. Projector: Microsoft’s Surface uses the same DLP light engine found in many rear-projection HDTVs. The footprint of the visible light screen, at 1024 x 768 pixels, is actually smaller than the invisible overlapping infrared projection to allow for better recognition at the edges of the screen.
