July 4, 2010 By 110 Comments

The way we interact with computers is about to change in a huge way

Frankly the title is wrong.  It’s much bigger than that.

Do you remember watching Minority Report and getting completely excited about what could be possible in future user interfaces?  Microsoft has invested heavily in different ways to interact with the pc, Project Natal which was recently renamed to Kinect is set to be released in October and cost only a  mind-blowing $150 USF.  It’s going to allow you to control your entire home media center experience, not just play video games.

Recently I ran into a presentation by John Underkoffler at TED.  It was an amazing demonstration of the real Minority Report Interface that he created for the movie all of us loved.  Watch the TED presentation below, but before you do try and put the video into its true context.  It’s not about the gloves or being able to wave your hands in the air to make things happen.  To me what makes this type of research and technology so incredible and “beautiful” is how the pc is now able to learn about its environment, where it is, where objects are, and help us in the real world.

Traditionally when you interact with a personal computer, you have to sit in front of a screen in order to use it.  Even new advancements like the iPad or iPhone are really just new form factors to a personal computer.  They are truly revolutionary devices for sure, and I love my iPad, but they all are not truly leaps forward in shifting a key concept. 

I interact with my computer by using its user interface.

What is about to happen in our lifetime, in fact, in the next few years…

The computer interacts with me, my real world objects, and my space.

To be sure there will always be the need for both types of experiences, but I am making a bet that this substantial shift in the way the technology interacts with us is about to usher in a whole new era of innovations that will make the videos on this article seem boring within the next 5 years.

At the end of the video Bill Gates asks a great question “When is this coming?”.  And that has always been the hardest part for technology, software, and innovation.  Great ideas are great, but only if you can make them reality. Bill Gates understands this better than anyone, and is one of the best minds on our planet at making things that are “cool”, actually mainstream.

Microsoft Kinect is coming in October.  A revolutionary game changing device priced at $150 USF.  Anybody will be able to go to their favorite electronics store and get one.  Get ready for your world to change.  Get ready for Microsoft to learn an incredible amount about how humans work and move and want to their computers to interact with them.  It really has very little to do with games when you take the blinders off.

Also get ready to never again get a phone call asking you how to use the remote.

Filed Under: Microsoft, User Experience Tagged With: ,
January 7, 2010 By 132 Comments

Microsoft Changing the “Game” in 2010

Steve Ballmer CES 2010
Today’s CES Keynote presentation by Steve Ballmer really got me excited about where technology is headed. It was the second time Steve Ballmer was taking the stage to deliver the traditional Microsoft CES Keynote Address since Bill Gates stepped down from the role. Although things started slightly late due to a power outage, once the show was in full swing, I was glued to my seat.

Slate Devices

Traditional PC’s have been the ugly boxes you hide in a corner somewhere, and don’t want to display to people on purpose.  Over the years cases have gotten better, sizes have gotten smaller, lights have been added, but overall they have stayed the same.  Microsoft tried to push the envelope years ago with Tablet PC’s, but the hardware just wasn’t there yet. It looks like in 2010, Slate Devices are going to come fast and furious.  Check out this beautiful demonstration of HP’s Windows 7 powered Slate Device that was shown today:

In fact, Microsoft next month is planning on unveiling its own slate device, the Microsoft Courier.  The reason I love these devices is they have all the power of Windows 7, in a smaller form.  If I could carry around a mobile device, and a Slate PC that ran Windows 7, I probably wouldn’t need a laptop.  Check out the Microsoft Courier in this video:

Microsoft Project Natal

The reason I am so pumped about Project Natal is because it’s a total game changer.  It will forever change the way we interact with computers.  This means the way we interact with our Televisions, our games, movies, even telephones.  Everything is about to change.  If you listened closely to Robbie Bach, he explained that Microsoft literally hired rocket scientists to develop Natal, and they have been working on this for nearly 10 years.  I can’t even begin to explain how many ripple effects this kind of innovation and technology is going to have on technology.  Combine Natal with touch computing, the speak recognition research Microsoft has been doing for years, and all the devices that run Microsoft software in your life, and you have an extremely powerful game changing, life altering ecosystem of technology at your fingertips.  Check out this video of Project Natal in action:

Natal leaves everything else out there in the dust.  Sure there will be clones that come out after Natal’s launch, but nothing will be as unique as Natal and work as well.  What the iPhone did for mobile devices, Project Natal will do for interaction and user interfaces.  It will leave every company out there trying to either partner with Microsoft to make games for the XBOX 360, or use Natal’s patented technologies embedded on their televisions, blue-ray players, or other devices that want to kill remotes.

These were the two big announcements of the Microsoft CES Keynote this year and what got me extremely excited as a software developer and technology professional. I can’t wait to see the kind of tools we are going to be using to develop the software and the games that will be played and used on these new devices, and manipulated with these new Natural User Interface technologies.

Filed Under: CES Tagged With: , , ,
June 1, 2009 By 65 Comments

Project Natal for XBOX 360

As a software developer, I found this freaking ridiculously amazing.  I’ve been hearing about the motion controller from Microsoft for some time, but I hadn’t really thought it would use no controllers at all.  Hello Minority Report!

“Natal” will be able to track movements and sounds of multiple players at the same time, have built in facial recognition technology, and allow you to scan in objects to use in video games.

Anyway, the demo speaks for itself so you don’t need me to tell you it’s cool, watch it yourself!  The software development possibilities are pretty much endless with a technology like this.

Filed Under: Software Development, XBOX Tagged With: ,