Last week we were happy to announce the big winner of the Art of Touch project. Rose Saxena tapped into her creative side, and she received the most votes for her Art of Touch artwork. In addition to becoming a Featured Artist on the website, Rose also won a sweet prize package, including Microsoft Hardware gear like a Touch Mouse and LifeCam Cinema Webcam, as well as a 13” Samsung Series 9 Notebook with Windows 7 and Office Professional 2010.

Learn more about Rose in this Q+A.

Where are you from? Do you think your background has influenced your style of creative expression?
I was born in beautiful Rio, and lived several places in Brazil. At a young age, we moved to eastern Canada and then to many places in the US…south, mid-west and west. By the time I was 18, we had moved 15 times. This has definitely had a direct influence on my style, having experienced such a variety of places and people, each having unique aspects that have shaped my outlook and creative flair. Adding to the mix is my keen interest in horticulture and astronomy.

Have you had any kind of formal artistic training?
While not having any direct art training beyond high school art classes, I did train in ballet, tap dance, baton, and music (clarinet and flute), which definitely were avenues for a lot of creative expression.

You work in technology…do you see yourself as a creative person?
Absolutely. I feel that everyone is creative, the only difference being in how they express it. Working in the technology development field does require creativity in many ways to envision, architect, and put together easy to use solutions. It requires ‘outside-the-box’ thinking to stay in the forefront of the ever-changing world of technology.

What do you think about the relationship between art and technology?
They go hand-in-hand. Tools have always been used to express art…paintbrush, pencil, sketchbook. It’s only natural that the high-tech field would play a big role in enabling art to be expressed in new and exciting ways; using electronic tools that were themselves created by a collaboration of artists and technologists.

What inspired your Art of Touch creations?
The Art of Touch project really excited me and quickly drew me in to explore all of the possibilities with the variety of brushes, colors and effects. Microsoft did such an excellent job in putting this together that it was easy to get inspired and experiment. Pairing art and technology is a great way to draw out the artist in everyone, and creates excitement for both disciplines.

Any advice for young artists or technologists out there?
No matter what you are doing, it is important to be excited about it, have fun, and experiment; pushing the boundaries of what you think you can accomplish.

Any quotes or mottos that you live by?
I believe the mind is a powerful thing. A couple of quotes that I like are…
“If it can be dreamed, it can be done” — Walt Disney
“GIGO – Garbage In, Garbage Out” meaning that the quality of computer output depends on the quality of the input. This is so true for your mind as well.

Anything else you’d like to share with the Art of Touch or Microsoft Hardware audience?
The Art of Touch team did a great job in putting this together!  Hopefully, the Art of Touch web site will remain available so we can continue to have fun and explore the possibilities.

- Hardware Team

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

We’ll be announcing our Grand Prize winner and final featured artist this week.

We’ve already been honored to have three renowned artists participate in the Art of Touch. Each brings a distinct style and visual signature to the experience. Be sure to explore each of their unique brushes to create your own masterpiece.

Dr. Woohoo! gets cyclical with his Spinning Top.

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

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

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

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

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.

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