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“By joining Microsoft, we will be able to take advantage of the tremendous momentum of the Microsoft Office Division, tightly interoperate with its products, and deliver this technology to a very broad set of customers.”

Right, because what I wanted for an input device for my word processing and spreadsheet applications is an 80" display that has no keyboard or mouse and relies on multitouch. Oh and if I was going to buy a Perceptive Pixel product, I'd really like it to be tightly integrated and optimized with a particular operating system instead of deciding on my own what is best for my needs. I think by "broad set of customers" he meant "now just Windows users or whatever Microsoft wants me to say as I laugh all the way to the bank." I mean Perceptive Pixel currently supports "C, C++, C#, Java, Windows XP, 7, Linux in both 32- and 64-bit architectures." How long before that's just MS Visual Studio and Windows?

It's a 1920x1080 HDTV with touchscreen capability. That resolution is fine for viewing from 10-15 feet away, or if you're broadcasting it on TV. But if you're right in front of the screen touching it, it works out to an underwhelming 27 DPI. The pixels are nearly 1 mm square. I'm not sure this will work as the whiteboard replacement they're envisioning.

Jeff Han did this four years ago:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html

He now has a company spun off from his research at NYU:
http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

I'll use this opportunity to make a larger point: you're not going to get much progress out of the corporate game of developing a product. The difference is in these two questions:

1. What is possible to sell?

2. What is possible?

little behind these guys:

http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

Doncha think?

Their multi-touch wall and multi-touch workstation are in exactly the configurations that the 10/GUI video puts forth as being unusable.

little behind these guys: http://www.perceptivepixel.com/ Doncha think?

This invention has already been invented and is marketed to the government, military and other clients. Perceptive Pixel also developed the interactive map John King would use to show election results; didn't you see the Daily Show? :)

In summary, it never caught on.

millions of iPhones/iTouches sold begs to differ about it never catching on. Not to mention that the same technology will be making its way to consumer laptops and business conference rooms. People like this technology. Yes, you will have smears on it, but with every technology, that will get better with every revision. The fact that you are so against a technology its a character flaw. Be open to it, try it and decide then. All the examples you gave were nothing by hypotheticals when a consumer device has been on the market for almost a year.

This is cool technology. This demo is by far my favorite.

I can't believe I'm the only person who sees the infinite applications of this!
If this code were ported to Linux (which it will be soon) and you were using MPX, you could have a multi input computer!

The thing about this is that now there is ONLY software standing between me and this!

Front and side, concept multitouch iMac mockup.

Perceptive Pixel demo by Jeff Han, TED talk, research homepage. Fingerworks, purchased by Apple, 2005.

It's *Perceptive* Pixel, http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

Check out Jeff Han's new company, the Perceptive Pixel at http://www.perceptivepixel.com/ The original NYU Quicktime demo reel is at http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/ Look familiar? I'm sure MS hooked up with these guys. This demo has been out there for a while.

1. They've announce a product, not shipped it.
2. Apple did the same for their multi-touch device (the iPhone) last year.
3. It's a coffee table because of the way it works. Han's is a thin cheap flat detector and much bigger and flatter!
4. None of those gestures, like the zoom, pan, rotate gesture they're using came from they, they're all copied.

So Microsoft is doing what here? FUD'ing Apple with an unreleased product? Pretending to have invented stuff they've copied? Lying about researching for 5 years to block patents? What?

http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

The main difference between this and the traditional touch screens you're used to seeing is the multiple touch resolution. I've read that this uses an array of infrared cameras to do the touch sensing, which if true, is quite innovative. This table can detect AND resolve at least 8 touches, from pictures I've seen.

Many of the interface movements have been shown in the Jeff Han demonstrations as well as the iPhone demos. Maybe, just maybe, that's because they are very natural movements when you have a touchscreen capable of resolving and tracking multiple fingers?

I don't see any indication Jeff Han is involved with this. As far as I know his screen uses a true touch sensing method, nothing with infrared cameras. Also, Microsoft is spinning off a startup to develop this, while Jeff Han has his own company to commercialize his IP.

I'm no Microsoft fan, but here their research labs have gathered some technology that have not been implemented on a consumer device and brought it much closer to the average user. They run 10k right now, mostly sold to casino's and T-mobile, so it's not quite a consumer device yet. However, at 10k it's pretty damn close, that's what the Lisa computer (a precursor to the PC) first sold for.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65
It's all Jeff's work, the zoom, the rotate all the gestures...

His company is here:
http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

Looks like they've simply licensed it and removed all mention of the original designers.

Looks to me this is actually perceptive pixel - although I am sure MS will buy it up.

http://www.perceptivepixel.com/

MS is not founded on innovation but copying and refining - not that that is bad - but it is not a company for innovation through creation.

So credit on putting a working package together can I have my copy of Minority Report back now?

All the more reason to support the folk(s) over at Perceptive Pixel. Let's get rid of clicks altogether. I'm talkin' to you, too, Amazon!