Building the next release of Microsoft Windows is an industry-wide effort that Microsoft approaches with a strong sense of responsibility and humility. Windows 8 reimagines Windows for a new generation of computing devices, and will be the very best operating system for hundreds of millions of PCs, new and old, used by well over a billion people globally.

Sinofsky further stated in the first blog post that pre-release version of Windows 8 would be released in coming months. The Build conference is being held next month and according to news, Microsoft would be releasing the beta version during this period. It would be interesting to see whether this news is confirmed or not.

Sinofsky said that they would be keeping a close look on the blog and would be going through all the blog posts and comments. Here is what he wrote-

Feel free to send us your thoughts via comments or email—we can’t respond to every question we receive, but your suggestions for blog topics are welcome. The email contact link in the right pane goes straight to my inbox without any filter (except spam filtering). Please note that we are also making this blog available in several other languages (acting on feedback from the Engineering Windows 7 blog) and you can expect to see those posts within 48 hours of the English language post.

If you’re looking for notifications of posts, then be sure to follow us on Twitter @BuildWindows8. Look for shortened URLs of http://win8.ms/ with links to posts and videos.

Via: Windows8Beta.com

If you’ve been anywhere outside of a cave over the course of the last few months, you have likely heard of the Mojave Experiment that Microsoft carried out.  It was designed to trick people into using Windows Vista and then to catch the surprised expressions on their faces when they found out that the system they enjoyed using (Windows Mojave) was actually a system they were conditioned to hate (Windows Vista).  The message on the part of Microsoft was that Vista was a fantastic system but also one that was highly misunderstood by its critics.

Well, Windows Vista has been a big bomb in spite of the Mojave Experiment and in an effort to save face (not to mention market share), it appears as though Microsoft has decided to up the ante on their Windows 7 operating system, bringing it onto the market in beta form a lot earlier than many people may have thought possible.  However, many in the technology market are very suspicious at this latest turn of events and some have even gone so far as to suggest that the beta of Windows 7 might be another Windows Mojave, designed to trick people into using Windows Vista under another name.

One of the elements that seem to have disappeared from the drawing board is the massive Multitouch support that Microsoft had promised to introduce throughout Windows 7.  That support appears to be nowhere near as intense now, leaving Multitouch fans to hold their collective breath until the beta comes out.

Windows 7 Mobile in many ways is arguably more anticipated than its counterpart for conventional computers.  The Windows 6.1 Mobile system had a number of problems with it, suffering from bloating in the same way that Windows Vista did.  While it is not known whether Windows 7 Mobile will correct this problem, the leaked documents do describe Multitouch functionality that is far greater than anything Windows has brought to the market before in its mobile devices.

Theoretically, people with Windows 7 Mobile would be able to use a combination of their fingers and a stylus to input information onto a touch screen.  They can use just the stylus, just one finger or a combination of multiple fingers to input commands and they can use gestures like finger swipes much in the same way that users of the iPhone already can.  Additionally, Windows 7 Mobile appears to support jiggling motions, allowing you to shake a device or flick it to make different things happen.  A lot of this is speculation based on a leaked document of unknown authenticity, but it certainly does present some interesting ideas.

It was all excitement let loose when the recently retired Microsoft CEO, Bill Gates showcased the TouchWall for the first time in the recently concluded Microsoft CEO Summit. The TouchWall technology from Microsoft has surprisingly come at a time when the world is applauding the much-awaited yet astounding debut of Microsoft Surface.

If one remembers correctly, it was not so long ago when the then Microsoft chief had announced the launching of the Surface technology to the much amazement of the technology freaks around the world. The tabletop Surface computer was first of its kind of technology, which took user interactivity to new heights with the appropriate convergence of the virtual world with real life experiences.

There has been quite a debate over the tactile interfaces, used in Surface tabletop computers. While there was an earlier announcement about the upcoming Windows 7 to feature all the interfaces; Apple Inc. can very well be lauded for have created the most thriving tactile computer till date , i.e. the iPhone. iPhones are one of the very first successful interpretation and integration of touch technology or Multitouch which allows file browsing, web surfing, zooming, and rotating pictures, with just the movement of your fingers.

In Bill Gates words, TouchWall is “intelligent whiteboard”. This device operates almost similarly to the iPhone – pinch to zooming and swoosh fingers for movement. To the amusement of all the delegates at the Summit, Gates displayed the easy navigation around a complex word document filled with multimedia, with the help of the interface.

The TouchWall allows you to flip through pages of a Word document, showing off various touch effects; while a PowerPoint document can be presented with astounding flair with moving around and zooming-in on select features. However, the most fascinating part of TouchWall is the pen feature, which allows you to circle items, or jot notes, all with your finger.

The gathering was impressed with the easy user interactivity of the interface; and it did not take the Microsoft CEO to categorically, raise his hopes for the TouchWall to become a vital tool for use with Microsoft Office’s next iteration.

Thanks, Ram.

Unfortunately for electronic table fetishists everywhere, you won’t be able to walk into a restaurant, a casino or a retail outlet and play with a MicrosoftSurface table until spring of next year. Why isn’t it surfacing until then? Partners.

Partners who need Microsoft’s help to build custom apps to fit Harrah’s, Sheraton and T-Mobile needs for gambling, sleeping and phone choosing. Beyond the delay, Microsoft also has some interesting plans to expand from just the retail and hospitality industry to government, education and enterprise businesses to eventually, as Gates predicts, be on “every table,” “every whiteboard,” “every mirror” within 5 to 10 years.

Source:gizmodo

Microsoft’s latest innovation, Surface, takes the possibilities and user-friendliness of computers to a completely new level. Surface combines a desk, a computer and a massive horizontal touch-screen, which reacts to human touch and objects. On the surface the device looks a little like a coffee table but the tabletop is actually a touch-screen, which can be controlled by hand – or in fact by many hands, as Surface recognises multi-touch contact.

“We are extremely delighted to have been invited to the heart of Surface’s development. Satama sees Surface as a significant long-term business opportunity in Finland and Europe. It is important for us to be able to influence the decisions that are being made in Redmond and to have a chance to steer the development of the product area and take part in planning new business models” says Esa Kanninen, Satama’s representative in the Surface Partner Advisory Council.

“It is extremely rare for a Finnish company to be invited along to the Partner Advisory Council. We see the fact that Satama was chosen as a tribute to Finnish expertise. Microsoft believes that Satama can contribute unique expertise and insight to the product development process,” says Teemu Salovaara, Partner Account Manager at Microsoft.

Thanks to its user-friendliness and interactivity, Surface is ideal for restaurants, hotels, information centres and other public facilities, for example. Surface combines Satama’s core competences: understanding customer dialogues, user experience know-how and creative design as well as expertise in Microsoft technology.

In a restaurant, for example, Surface will be able to automatically detect when a customer places a glass on it. A menu will appear, as if by magic, next to the glass. When it comes to paying the bill, Surface divides the total between the number of glasses on the table. Browsing and zooming in and out of pictures taken with a mobile phone is just as easy – just place the phone on Surface’s touch-screen.

Surface will be in the shops before the end of the year.

Links:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

Lisätietoja:

Esa Kanninen
Director, Sales & Marketing
Satama Mobility
Tel. +358 (0)400 405 953
e-mail: esa.kanninen@satama.com

Jari Pullinen
Director, Sales & Marketing
Satama Productivity
Tel. +358 (0)40 769 4443
e-mail: jari.pullinen@satama.com

Teemu Salovaara
Partner Account Manager
Microsoft Finland
Tel. +358 (0)50 554 1651
e-mail: teemu.salovaara@microsoft.com

    Guests And The Public To Experience Hands-On Interaction With Digital
    Content Through Product's Unique Capabilities

    Renowned Artist, Charles Pachter to Demonstrate Surface's Interactive
    Painting Feature with Creation of Original Artwork

    TORONTO, Sept. 14 /CNW/ - The Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel will host
live demonstrations of Microsoft Surface, a revolutionary new surface
computing product that was recently unveiled to major fanfare. For one day
only, Saturday, September 15, from 11AM to 4PM, guests and the public can
experience Microsoft Surface - a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor
that recognizes natural gestures, touch and physical objects, enabling
hands-on, interaction with digital content such as photos, music and maps.
    Microsoft Surface will roll out in Sheraton Hotels within the U.S. and
Canada starting late spring 2008, and will offer Sheraton guests an array of
capabilities to enhance their stay, which could include browsing and listening
to music, creating playlists, sending photos home, downloading books and even
ordering food and drinks.



    <<
               GREAT PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES OF MICROSOFT SURFACE
               ----------------------------------------------
        INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES/REACTION WITH GUESTS AND THE PUBLIC
        -----------------------------------------------------------

    WHAT:     Sheraton Hosts Public Look at Microsoft Surface

    WHEN:     Saturday, September 15th from 11AM to 4PM

    WHERE:    Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, 123 Queen Street West

              For more information on Microsoft Surface, visit
              www.surface.com
    >>

For further information: Cynthia Bond, Dan Young, Starwood Canada, (416)
947-4827, (416) 947-4955 ext.4458, cynthia.bond@starwoodhotels.com,
dan.young@starwoodhotels.com

After the huge success of their first Conference the folks at Tangible and Embedded Interaction Conference are inviting Applications to show of your research in Embedded Interaction Tecniques at TEI 2008 that will be held in the B-IT Center in Bonn, Germany. The conference will take place between the 18th and 21st February 2008.

From TEI site:

Call for Participation

After the big success of TEI’07 we are now organizing TEI’08, the second international conference dedicated to research in tangible and embedded interaction. Work addressing HCI issues, design, use context, tools and technologies, as well as interactive art works are all welcome, including especially interdisciplinary submissions across these themes. We anticipate that papers will be published through the ACM Digital Library (confirmation will follow soon).

With technological advances, computing has progressively moved beyond the desktop into new physical and social contexts. As physical artifacts gain new computational behaviors, they become reprogrammable, customizable, repurposable, and interoperable in rich ecologies and diverse contexts. They also become more complex, and require intense design effort in order to be functional, usable, and enjoyable. Designing such systems requires interdisciplinary thinking. Their creation must not only encompass software, electronics, and mechanics, but also the system’s physical form and behavior, its social and physical milieu, and beyond.

Research on tangible and embedded interaction has gained substantial visibility and activity over the past decade and it has worn many names, including tangible interfaces, graspable interfaces, physical computing, tangible interaction, IT product design, appliance design, interactive spaces, etc.; and been associated with larger research areas, including mixed, virtual, and augmented reality, and ubiquitous and pervasive computing.

The conference brings together this new field, providing a meeting ground for the diverse communities of research and practice involved with tangibles — from computing, hardware, and sensor technology, to HCI, interaction design, and CSCW, to product and industrial design and interactive arts. We invite submissions from all of these perspectives, be they theoretical, conceptual, technical, applied, or artistic. The conference is designed to provide appropriate presentation forms for different types of contributions including talks, interactive exhibits, demos or performances, and posters. All submission types will be included in the proceedings as papers and will be integrated within the single-track conference. Interdisciplinary submissions are particularly welcome.
Topics for Submission

Authors are invited to submit high-quality papers about original research that contributes to advancing the field. Appropriate topics include but are not limited to:

* Case studies and evaluations of working deployments
* Analysis of key challenges, proposals of research agenda
* Relation of tangible and embedded interaction to other paradigms
* Programming paradigms and tools, toolkits, software architectures
* Novel interactive uses of sensors+actuators, electronics+mechatronics
* Design guidelines, methods, and processes
* Novel appl. areas, innovative solutions/systems and industrial apps
* Theoretical foundations, frameworks, and concepts
* Philosophical, ethical & social implications
* Interfaces specific in form and context to particular cultures
* Usability and enjoyment
* Advantages of these kinds of systems, weaknesses, affordances
* Learning from the role of physicality in everyday environments
* Embodied interaction, movement, and choreography of interaction
* Role of physicality for human perception, cognition and experience
* Teaching experiences, lessons learned, and best practices
* Standardization, production, and business applications

Important Dates and Deadlines

Paper submission deadline — October 5, 2007

Author notification deadline — November 23, 2007

Camera-ready copy deadline — December 14, 2007

Early registration deadline — December 21, 2007

Conference dates — February 18-21, 2008

UPDATE:-
The conference submission system is now available at the following link:
http://edas.info/newPaper.php?c=5561&

More Information Can be found here