DailyTech

"Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates got some hand time with a snazzy new creation, the TouchWall, which he debuted at the Microsoft CEO Summit.  Gates previously lauded so called "Surface" computers with tactile interfaces the future of computing, and has said that the upcoming Windows 7 will include features that focus heavily on the use of such interfaces.

Tactile surfaces are nothing new.  While Apple is much maligned for its creative pricing and less than friendly corporate policy, among other things, it can legitimately claim to have the most successful tactile computer to date -- the iPhone.  The iPhone was widely lauded for its ability to do things like file browsing, web surfing, zooming, and rotating pictures, all with simple finger movement.

Apple may not be the king of tactile for long, however, as Microsoft is looking not to just deploy the technology in portable devices, but in full size computers as well.  It already launched demo models of its Surface computer, a small coffee table style machine that users can touch and manipulate, to partner AT&T stores.

The progress continues with the TouchWall, which Bill Gates describes as an "intelligent whiteboard" and hopes will become an integral tool for use with Microsoft Office's next iteration.  In his speech, Gates first discussed the evolution of surface computers from simplistic interfaces like tablet PCs, to more complex interfaces like Microsoft's Surface and RoundTable tactile computers."