14 DAY TRIAL // Some of the devices we are using on a daily basis today pack more power than our PC from a decade ago, and yet we aren’t really inclined to calling them computers. This is tangible proof of the continuous evolution of the computing paradigm, and great minds around the world are already not only imagining, but also prototyping and building the computers of tomorrow.
You can expect Microsoft’s Craig Mundie, Chief Research and Strategy Officer to already have a defined vision of how computing will be transformed both in the immediate and the more distant future.
At the start of this week, Mundie was the host of TechForum, with Steve Clayton, Editor, Next at Microsoft Blog, providing a taste of the main topic.
TechForum is focused on demoing prototypes as well as presenting ideas, many of which had been at home previously only in groups across Microsoft Research and or Applied Sciences. (fingers crossed that Microsoft will have also spare invitation for me in the future)
“This year, Craig spoke about the emerging transformative shift in how we will use computers, what they can do for us, and who is able to use them,” Clayton added.
“Computers will enable new abilities and enhance the human experience, more closely merging our digital and physical lives. Microsoft products such as Kinect for Xbox 360, Avatar Kinect and Microsoft Surface are examples of how this is already becoming a reality.”
And this is just the beginning of a completely new era in computing, Mundie argues. Make sure to watch the interview with Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer featured in the video embedded below.
You are guaranteed to get at least a general idea of where the software giant sees computing evolving to in the future.
And it’s quite simple. Computers are expected to become ubiquitous, integrated into your car, your living room table, your fridge.
They will also become increasingly intelligent, and more and more aware of their surroundings, and of the end users.
One major element of making this a reality is to make human – computer interaction not just as simple as possible, but natural.
Mundie opines that the GUI together with the NUI will be the basis of interaction in the future, and products such as Kinect and Windows Phone 7 smartphones are already certifying this.
“We’re rapidly approaching a future where computers are becoming more capable, but how we operate them is becoming simpler,” Clayton added.
“We are about to enter an age of very new computing experiences, and Microsoft is working collaboratively across the company—from researchers in our global labs to product teams here in Redmond—to help deliver such a future.”