Their latest video - “2019″ - was produced as part of a presentation Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elopat gave at last week’s Wharton Business Technology Conference. It’s an extrapolation ten years into the future of existing technology and trends. While some of it is clearly fanciful, there are some really innovative, practical concepts on display in it as well.
The model of touch based, surface computing is a clear theme of this future vision, along with the concept of having embedded displays everywhere - in walls, tables, and even a coffee cup. I do believe that as the cost and power consumption requirements associated with these types of technologies drop, we will see more ‘computing smarts’ built into everyday objects. A decade is a long time when it comes to technology, so I definitely believe we will see many of these concepts play out in that time frame.
What’s interesting to me is that some of the interface designs on display here could translate directly into software implementations taking place today. That said, anyone that’s seen the latest versions of of Microsoft’s Office, OS, and Mobile software offerings will see the clear disconnect between this vision and the reality of what is being delivered. I’ve never understood why a company that can be this creative in abstract visualization seems to struggle so much in translating that creativity into the products they make.
Whether it be through the efforts of Microsoft, Apple, Google, or a yet to be launched start up, the future of computing will definitely be more organic, intuitive, and pervasive.
This video is just a hint of what could be. The real possibilities are endless…
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