Next Generation Computers - What Does the Future Hold?
Microsoft released the idea of a new technology in development called “surface computing” which uses multi-touch technology to interact with a user or multiple users all at once. The wonder of this is that unlike with a traditional mouse and keyboard, this innovation is capable of processing multiple points of interaction on the screen. This is what the next generation computers will resemble.
It may be possible that soon the days of purchasing refurbished desktops or laptops or even refurbished monitors comparable to newer computers will be gone. The secret project codenamed “Milan” introduced some next generation computers in 2007 in the form of a coffee table. The features and capabilities of this extraordinary technology are boarding on science fiction. Military and governmental procedures are already utilizing such multi-touch technologies in their areas of operation. This innovation compliments the idea that surface computing capable computers will replace traditional computers all together in the near future.
Not only is the screen touch sensitive, the multi-touch technology can interact with physical objects placed on the table top. It has infrared cameras built into it that literally allow it to see what is sitting on the tabletop. Not only can it sense that something is sitting on the surface, it can recognize what it is and allow direct interaction on the screen with whatever may be placed on the table. Multiple wireless functions are integrated into the surface computing platform, allowing it to communicate with other wireless devices placed on its surface. Take a picture, place it on the tabletop, and watch the image appear on the surface. Then place a different wireless device on the surface, for example a camera phone, and with your fingertips drag the image on the table to the device. There, without any wires or time-consuming connections and syncing, you can transfer material effortlessly from one device to another with next generation computers.
For now, the focus of the next generation computers is to sell to retail clients. Service Pack 1 has officially been released as of May 2009. The $5,000 to $10,000 machines will, with certainty, eventually be made available in local retail stores. Looking even farther into the future, the goal of developers is to one day allow people to live in an environment surrounded by a network of computers that can all interact with each other. Perhaps the coffee table will have a surface that acts as a remote and your kitchen tabletop will have a computer that allows you to purchase food. Exactly what the future holds, we cannot say.
