14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting ready to "Say Goodbye to Laser" with its hardware division. The Redmond company is gearing up to unveil the items from its latest product lineup on September 9 2008. The software giant has already announced the event under the slogan "Say Goodbye to Laser," but has failed to deliver any sort of additional details. The only clue provided involves a Flash animation placed on the official Microsoft Hardware homepage.
Microsoft Hardware is the company's division focusing on computer peripherals. Via this group, the Redmond giant is offering a luxuriant variety of mice & keyboards, Internet communication products, presenters, Media Center peripherals, gaming products and others.
The only sure thing is that, come the second week of September, Microsoft Hardware is going to steer away from the now traditional implementations of laser technology in its peripherals and introduce a new approach. The most obvious items that could be affected are mice. Whether Microsoft Hardware is ready to scrap the infrared laser diode from its mice remains to be seen, as the integration of laser-based technology is not limited to this type of products.
At the same time, Microsoft Hardware could be preparing for the advent of Windows 7 and the new Natural User Interface sported by the next iteration of the Widows client. The Redmond company has already been exploring an alternative path for the evolution of the mouse, and the UnMousePad prototype is an illustrative example in this context. Still, there is no telling what Microsoft is cooking for September 9.
"Microsoft Hardware was formed in 1982 to develop a device that would help people use the company’s new word processing program," reads an excerpt from the Microsoft Hardware's presentation. "The device was a mouse and the application was called Word, laying the foundation for a future of delivering hardware that helps people better and more easily use software. In the quarter century since, Microsoft Hardware has continually raised the bar, designing revolutionary peripherals that deliver groundbreaking performance, comfort and design."