Techfest 2010

Science

Play Guitar By Flexing Alone: Microsoft Research’s Muscle-Computer Interface

9:00PM March 2, 2010 | Wilson Rothman

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Slide on a pair of electrode-laden armbands, and suddenly all your sweet air-guitar licks are captured, finger by finger, without an instrument in sight. Sure, there are plenty of good reasons for this besides Guitar Hero. More »


Software

Microsoft’s Realtime Translator We Assumed We’d Have By Now

5:00PM March 2, 2010 | Wilson Rothman

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Today in Redmond, Microsoft Research demoed the Translating Telephone. It does exactly what it says it does, and as you can see – well, hear – from this video, it was awesome. More »


Software

Project Gustav: Microsoft Research Updates MS Paint In A Huge Way

9:59AM March 2, 2010 | Wilson Rothman

MS Paint may be beloved but it’s also the butt of plenty of jokes about art skill. Project Gustav is Microsoft Research’s answer: A GPU-intense multitouch and Wacom-tablet-friendly natural painting program, giving artists a genuine old-school experience, in 3D. More »


Computing

Microsoft Makes Surface Mobile By Turning It Upside Down

9:33AM March 2, 2010 | Wilson Rothman

Microsoft’s Surface tables are sweet but they have two problems: They’re huge pieces of furniture and they cost a lot. Turns out, they could solve both problems by turning the system upside down, using a portable camera/projector and any surface. More »