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really?

Microsoft can sell these at a loss and make it back with game sales.
kinect version 2 will likely include MORE sensors what with M$ buying Canesta http://canesta.com/
who build time-of-flight optical depth sensors...

anyone have specs on microsoft's IR CMOS sensor in this thing?
TFA lists X853750001 / VCA379C7130

Damn! I spent a while looking through all of the various keyboards out there, and the Touchstream was one of a couple that seemed like it was actually worth looking into. The new "virtual" keyboards look like they're a better solution though. Cheaper too. Price, and no way to try one out, kept me from buying the touchstream. I'll probably end up getting one of the virtual ones now.

http://www.canesta.com/products.htm

(I have no relation with the company, just think the idea is cool)

They should use a projected keyboard, like the Canesta Keyboard, which projects the image of a keyboard onto a flat surface, and detects your fingers as they "type".

Everybody knows how to clean a flat surface effectively.

In this concept a virtual touch typist demonstrates he can type directly on a laser-projected keyboard, but this newer concept indicates that a special pad and pen are required. What happened? This was hot a couple years ago...

One of them is Canesta that makes a photo sensors that can make pictures that include deep maps.

To my surprise I see that they are running a contest were your can win 10000 $.

But I don't have time to participate myself, because I am writing on my masters. So enjoy the contest.

One of them is Canesta that makes a photo sensors that can make pictures that include deep maps.

To my surprise I see that they are running a contest were your can win 10000 $.

But I don't have time to participate myself, because I am writing on my masters. So enjoy the contest.

Is this really new technology? The Canesta keyboard already projects an image of a keyboard on any surface. This seems to be the same thing, except the Canesta keyboard exists in reality, and this site has a (well looks like anyway) photoshoped image. It could of course differ in resolution, etc.

Well, your "holographic" keyboard is basically a reality right now. Canesta has developed the hardware to project a keyboard on a flat surface and detect when you press down on each key. It is compact enough to be built into existing PDAs. I really wish someone would put out a PC based handheld or PDA with that technology built in!

I guess this is another wannabe portable device to find market niche, the only advantage it has over a PDA is its 640x480 screen, otherwise all specs are actually worse than a PDA. PDAs are cheap now, and will this "new" gadget be cheaper?

I still strong suggest the use of Virtual Keyboard, as input method seems to be a hurdle for small/light portable devices at the moment.

I think everyone's trying to find that sweet spot in portable devices, from PDA to SmartPhone, then Tablet, then HandTop, then Subnotebook etc.

Personally, I need a workable screen, maybe 10"-15", and I want it light, so it shouldn't have a keyboard, just like a Tablet (with touch screen), but I need a keyboard so that this device is workable, so we need a Virtual Keyboard.

Anyway, I think a lighter Tablet (screen section only) with a Virtual Keyboard will be light enough to carry around, and you can use your fingers and stylus in awkward situation, but when you have a desk, you can start up the VKeyboard for proper typing.

I think it's always going to be necessary, if for no other reason than that the centers for recognizing speech and written words are different and expect (require?) different input. Something I dictate to my computer is going to look weird to me if I give it in natural language when I read it, or it's going to require me to speak as if I'm writing, which is a skill that's a lot more difficult than learning to type.

I do think that we're going to continue to see more and more exotic, quick, and low stress keyboards, though. Things as simple as the "natural" keyboards with the broken apart, humped design would have been freakish even as short a time ago as my childhood. Ten years from now, everyone might own a datahand, or even something more exotic.

20 years ago or so, 14.4Kbps modems were cutting edge, slightly before that 2400bps, a few more years back 1200, 300 or 110 bps. 3Mbps is fairly standard now, why wouldn't we have 500Mbps or more standard in 10-20 years?

However, the idea of using a (communal) computer to do things on, giving it access to your entire digital existance, is absurd, and the reason is one of trust. You have to trust the owner of the machine to have not bugged it, and to have kept it secure so no one else can have bugged it. Much more likely is a ubiquitous wireless network, wired ports for even higher speed available as telephones are now (complimentary or for a small fee, depending on context), and small wearable inconspicuous computers with highly portable I/O - either voice response (e.g. using sub-vocal nerve impulse detection), virtual or projected keyboards, unobtrusive data gloves, 3D overlay displays beamed into your eyes (using eyeball and head tracking; put on a pair of sunglasses if you want to be able to block out the rest of the world and see only your virtual display). You never have to configure your computer becauuse it is always with you. Plug into a network or a local system, but trust your data integrity by using secure protocols between you and your home data store when you want to access data you're not carrying in the 1-terabyte chunk you carry around with you.

Of course, computers in the home will be completely different as well. The "home server" will be always-on, taking messages, monitoring security, controlling environment, providing wireless and wired network connections, and providing data storage. There probably would be screens and control stations throughout the house (so you don't necessarily have to wear your wearable portable system at home).

That's basically what the pen computer mentioned a week or so ago was on about - another example of a device looking at integrating a small-scale projector (Picture of pen computer in use). The keyboard was from canesta and the display was an LED projector. The article was a bit hazy on whether their display model contained a working version or not, but as the prototype did cost around $30,000, it might be a few weeks before it gets particularly cheap.

a projection keyboard?

Anyone else imediatly think back to when this article was posted on Slashdot? More specifically the reference to Canesta and their projected keyboard. It seems like this guy has just basically taken the same thing and only patented it. Still kind of a intriguing idea!

It replaces physical keyboards where they can't exist, also. Here's another company that does projection keyboards.

They've also done testing on usability. Touch typists can adapt and achieve about 60% of their electro-mechanical keyboard speeds.

One of many technologies to counter our lack of significant innovation in batteries

want to see real advances in keyboards? see www.canesta.com

this company produces a chipset for adding virtual keyboards to pda units

To paraphrase and mutilate:

I just want to say one word to you - just one word : Software!

Check out a picture and the marketing stuff.

Should be real easy to project any kind of key using this technology.