Microsoft Hardware Blog

The United States grand prize winner of the Art of Touch Project has been officially announced! Huge congratulations to Rose Saxena*. Rose created the most popular work of art, and is being rewarded with a starring spot on the Art of Touch website.

Our winner scored a sweet prize package too, including an Explorer Touch Mouse, a Samsung Series 9 laptop with Windows 7 , a Lifecam Cinema Webcam, and Microsoft Office Professional 2010. Rose also gets to enjoy her masterpiece on a custom laptop skin and a 36”x24” wall decal created by Zazzle.

But guess what, we are still giving away weekly prizes! So try your hand at the Art of Touch today, and get your friends to vote for you. It works. Just ask Rose.

*pending eligibility confirmation

- Hardware Team

It was an exciting week for Hardware at CES. We kicked off celebrations of our 30^th Anniversary with the unveiling of two new limited edition colors for the Arc Touch Mouse. Brandon LeBlanc shared his private Arc mice collection in a Windows Experience Blog post. Impressive!

CES attendees also got hands-on with the Art of Touch on the show floor. We saw some cool artwork being made in the moment. The responsiveness of our Touch Mouse Family really lends itself to this kind of creative expression. Have you tapped into your inner artist yet?

Curious what the Microsoft booth looked like? You can see photos on our Facebook page. There are also some nice shots of our latest mice in the album.

We also got to be a part of the What’s Next booth at CES, where people could get a look at some of Microsoft’s “future stuff.” Check it out!

Of course we probably had the most fun at CES giving away a free Arc Touch Mouse each day! Attendees scrambled to be the first to say the daily secret password. Who knew that “seven layer frito pie” could win you such a great prize? Congratulations to our winners.

- Hardware Team

CES is an exciting time for our industry, but we’re especially excited this year as it marks Microsoft’s 30^th year in the Hardware business. Do you remember what kind of PC setup you had in 1982?  Did your mouse look anything like this one?

A lot has changed since our humble beginnings in 1982. This was the year we began to realize that the complete PC experience should encompass so much more than a strong and efficient computer. Building on our extensive background and knowledge of PCs and computing, we paved the way for the hardware industry by delivering products that make the time you spend with your PC more efficient… and better yet, more enjoyable.

As we reflect on our 30 years, a few things remain true about our approach. Our commitment over the years has been to create products that offer comfort, design, control and a better interactive experience for you, our customers. These design developments have been shaped by years of watching and learning how you work and play on your PC, ergonomic findings and data, as well as input from usability experts. All of which help develop and deliver products that improve the way you interact on your PC.

Showing Off Cool, New Colors
Building on this, we are excited to unveil two colors of the Arc Touch Mouse never before seen in the US:  Sangria Red Diamond and Cement Gray. If you haven’t seen the Arc Touch mouse in action yet, check out CNET Senior Editor Rich Brown’s video review here.

Art of Touch
If you’re at CES this week, please come by the Microsoft booth and show us your inner artist! The Art of Touch lets you release your inner Da Vinci–we know you have one hiding in there somewhere.  And stay tuned to @MSFTHardware to hear more about an Arc Touch Mouse giveaway we’re doing on the show floor.

Thank you so much for being a part of our first 30 years–here’s to 30 more! We’re looking forward to celebrating this milestone with you throughout all of 2012!

- Hardware Team

We can talk for days about how great our products are, but wouldn’t you rather hear it from the people who are out there actually using them? It’s not polite to brag, so we’ll just let these rave reviews speak for us.

Natural Ergo Keyboard 4000
“The only keyboard for me”

“This split keyboard took a short time to ‘catch on to’ but now I find it difficult to type on a straight keyboard. It is slightly sloped & has a good rest to elevate the heel of your hands. I find the split keyboard actually improves the speed of my typing as well.”
—Zilla

The Natural Ergo Keyboard is consistently a hit with users, and rates 4.6 out of five stars. In some studies ergonomic keyboards have been found to reduce the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. In addition to comfort and support, enjoy easy access to files, folders, and web pages with handy hot keys.

Check out more features and reviews: http://bit.ly/wHhJBf

Arc Touch Mouse
“Best Mouse Ever!”

“I’ve used this mouse daily for almost a year and can honestly say it’s the best mouse I’ve ever used. Works great on ANY surface, feels great in your hand, and the fold-flat feature is perfect for traveling. And it looks fantastic too!”
—Trailrider

You don’t have to sacrifice style for performance with this gorgeous Arc Touch Mouse. You can use it just about anywhere, even on a rough wood surface or carpet, thanks to BlueTrack Technology. Portability is a breeze—flatten to turn it off, and slip it into your pocket or bag as easily as a cell phone.

Check out more features and reviews: http://bit.ly/zLLwtW

LifeCam Studio
“Extremely Impressive”

“This webcam is of extremely high quality. The picture quality is impeccable and it has a great built in microphone. It has a huge wide-angle view and is perfect for video chats with multiple people in front of this camera. It also features non-digital zoom.”
—davekats

We really mean it when we say this first-class product is the closest thing to being there. And our customers agree, rating LifeCam Studio with 4.8 out of 5 stars. Not only will you enjoy the amazing clarity and detail of HD video, thanks to Auto Focus your video is always crisp. Add TrueColor technology and the High-Fidelity Microphone, and you’ve got yourself a dream machine.

Check out more features and reviews: http://bit.ly/y3APDF

- Hardware Team

A laptop, like any piece of technology, is an investment. And to make sure your investment lasts as long as possible, it’s a good idea to protect it. One way to do that is to keep it cool during operation.

Just as a runner sweats to cool down and avoid injury, a computer uses a fan to maintain a healthy operating temperature for all its parts. However, this internal fan can only do so much, and if the computer continues to run hot, it slows down and runs the risk of sustaining permanent damage.

This is where devices such as our Notebook Cooling Base offer a solution. By slightly raising the machine and positioning a fan in the middle of the device, the Cooling Base allows your laptop’s components to run cooler, therefore increasing the machine’s lifespan and overall speed.  It’s a smart, inexpensive way to extend the life of your laptop and it makes a great gift for college students and tech enthusiasts alike.

The Microsoft Notebook Cooling Base comes in black or white and costs $29.95. Visit our product page for more information.

- Hardware Team

Ready for more words of wisdom from Art of Touch featured artist Marius Watz? Check it out.

How was your experience collaborating with fellow Art of Touch artists Dr. Woohoo and Erik Natzke?
Erik, Drew and I are all part of a fairly small international community of artists and designers working with code. I’ve followed their work for quite some time, and there are obviously certain similarities. Working with code there are some standard ways to achieve certain effects, but what gives the work a signature style is how the artist modifies those well-known algorithms and the parameters that control them. The results are as varied as they are for artists working with more traditional tools—coding is just as subjective as drawing.

What’s the future of art and technology?
The last decade has seen an amazing advance in art and technology, with Open Source artist tools like Processing and Arduino leading the way. Creative coding has invaded both art and design schools, with code becoming a tool for new types of aesthetic expression. Every year brings a new focus—for a while it was mashups, then locative media, generative art and so on. Each of these practices has been made possible by emerging technologies, but is also partly responsible for said technologies becoming popularly known. A recent example is the Kinect, which is rapidly becoming the de facto standard for live 3D scanning of spaces as well as movement. Again we see Open Source tools leading the way, with artists sharing both their experience and code. Combined with exciting new tools such as laser cutters and 3D printers, it certainly is a brave new world.

Which was your favorite Touch mouse product?
I use the Microsoft Explorer Touch a lot, but the Arc Touch Mouse is also surprisingly pleasant to use. Since I have two PCs on my desk I use both all the time.

Thank you Marius!

-Hardware Team

This week we got to pick the brilliant brains of Art of Touch featured artist Marius Watz. Learn more about his background and get his perspective on art and technology.

We hear you’ve been coding since you were 11. How did that evolve into visual art?
It’s been a long and strange road. I had no idea that I had any visual talent until I was 20, when I realized I could use code to make software that would create graphic forms. But at the time (ca. 1993) there were no schools teaching both code and aesthetics, so I ended up teaching myself about art and graphic design, until I was convinced that this was my calling. But it took many years before I decided to take the final step and be a full time artist.

What was your inspiration for Here Be Fire Dragons?
The first inspiration is fairly obvious. My brush produces swirling, rolling forms that somewhat resemble the tongues of flame that a fire-breathing dragon might produce. They also recall the serpentine forms of traditional Chinese dragons. The second inspiration is a little more obscure, since it’s a reference to an old cartographic tradition. Old sailors maps had blank areas, which would often prompt the mapmakers to get creative and fill those spots with mythical monsters. Such illustrations might bear the caption “Hic Sunt Dracones” — Here Be Dragons.

Stay tuned for Part Two, where we discuss the future.

Is it art, or is it code? It’s both. Generative art creates artwork algorithmically, usually through computer software. For example, rather than drawing one line at a time, a generative artist can write code that automatically draws several strokes to create an organic effect. With generative art, no two pieces are ever the same. Marius Watz is a leader in the generative art movement.

Watz started coding at age 11, and since then he’s gone way beyond programming—in fact, his artwork has been shown in the Victoria and Albert Museum. He is a lecturer in Interaction Design at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. In 2005, he founded Generator.x, a curatorial platform set up to produce a series of events related to generative art and computational design.

Watz believes that accidents can be beautiful, and his upcoming brush for The Art of Touch, named “Here Be Fire Dragons”, expresses his unique vision through touch. Enjoy this sneak peek of Watz’s contribution, and try his brush for yourself when it launches on Monday, December 19.

In the meantime, you can create a few pieces using the standard brushes and the two previously released effects by Dr. Woohoo and Erik Natzke, then share your masterpiece for a chance to win this week’s prize package.

Go create art. Share it with friends. Win prizes!

Click on thumbnails to enlarge.

- Hardware Team

With tablet purchases expected to increase 81 percent from now until 2015, laptops and tablets have become essential technology tools both at work and home, and often our fingers and wrists suffer especially when confined to an on-screen keyboard.

Today, Microsoft Hardware offers a more comfortable keyboard experience with the new Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 — the perfect balance of portability and comfort for both tablet and laptop users. Featuring an ergonomist-approved Comfort Curve design, the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 promotes a more natural wrist posture whether you’re typing from your office cube, the couch or your favorite café. The keyboard’s comfort does not compromise its portability because its slim design makes it lightweight and convenient to carry — just throw it in your bag and you’re off!

Ditch the cords, docks and USB Nano transceivers and connect via Bluetooth to Windows-based tablets, iPads and Android devices with ease. Whether you’re searching for the latest music, taking notes in a meeting or just catching up on email, make sure you’re getting things done comfortably. The Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 5000 is available now in the U.S. for $49.95.

- Hardware Team