Some spiffy video footage here of new computer interface possibilities, based on touch-screen technology that allows for multiple touching (which just sounds wrong) at a given time.
Like a lot of these things, some of the examples are just goofy. I mean, woo-hoo, I can do interactive lava lamp games. Wow, keen.
But some of it is pretty cool. The “virtual desktop” with photos and stuff was nice — it would be nice to have a desktop that I could shuffle around and resize and so forth as easily as this, but be able to have get all nice and put away on its own at the end of the day (ahem). Though you’ll notice that the manipulation of objects and “windows” is the focus here — how you actually control things (other than a limited use virtual keyboard) is another matter.
That virtual keyboard, btw, is limited use because, well, really, who wants to type on an unyielding glass surface?
Two other notes:
First, the screen is huge. With a huge screen, you can do amazing stuff. I want to see how it works with (a) my big fingers and (b) a laptop-sized screen.
Second, if this takes off, invest heavily in Windex. Because all those fingers on those screens are going to make a real mess.