Microsoft Multitouch Terminal Surfaces

For those of you not familiar with the term, Multitouch is a touchscreen technology which allows the user to interact with it via multiple points of contact rather than just one. For a presentation by the system’s developer see this video. As you can see the possibilities are astounding.

A couple of days ago Microsoft announce that it would be building coffe-table-esque devices which make use of the Multitouch technology, and will be lauching them for commercial use by the end of the year. The table top will feature Wi-Fi, Infra-red, and bluetooth to enable it to interact with devices placed on the table. A consumer model is many years away yet though but imagine playing your favourite games on one of these babies. Build it into a desktop and combine it with standard monitors and you’ve got an endlessly customizable gaming setup with keys arranged to your own comfort. (From Joystiq and SlashDot.)