Microsoft Hardware Blog

Today marks an exciting day at Microsoft as the availability of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview was announced this morning in Barcelona. If you haven’t been following the news around Windows 8, we encourage you to check out the Windows Experience Blog today to get a complete look at what’s new with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and help you decide if downloading the Consumer Preview is right for you.

A lot of the buzz with Windows 8 has been around touch technology and how we’re changing the way you can interact with your PC. Touch is a first-class citizen in Windows 8, but so is the mouse and keyboard – it’s all about a no compromise approach.   The tools we know and love today for interacting with our PCs, like mice and keyboards, remain important devices for getting tasks done quickly, powerfully, and comfortably. In fact, today we are announcing that the Microsoft Touch Mouse – the winner of Engadget’s “Peripheral of the Year” award – will be updated for Windows 8, as it’s an ideal tool for quickly navigating the new Windows 8-style UI where horizontal scrolling is a fundamental need. In the meantime, its sleek design and ergonomic shape combines the classic functionality of a traditional mouse with advanced touch gestures that make everyday tasks more fluid and intuitive.

We’ll have more updates to come on the Touch Mouse sometime around Windows 8 general availability, so stay tuned for details.

For those of you who decide to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (or perhaps already have!) you may be wondering how to best work with your current Microsoft mouse and keyboard and the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Starting today, we’ve launched a new beta app for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview called Microsoft Device Center that will help you more easily customize your Microsoft mouse and keyboard to make the most of your computing experience. Available for download here, the Microsoft Device Center beta combines Microsoft’s existing mouse software (IntelliPoint) and keyboard software (IntelliType) into one simple solution. Remapping your mouse buttons or assigning keys on your keyboard to your favorite file or webpage is easier than ever in the Microsoft Device Center beta for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Stay tuned as we’ll have plenty more to share in the coming months!

- Hardware Team

Imagine a room full of beautiful, talented people, coming together to determine the best of the best on a worldwide stage. That room is the Kodak Theater, those people are A-list actors, and the occasion? The 2012 Academy Awards.

In the past, the Oscars have been limited to few mediums for coverage, dominated mainly by the television industry. In recent years, however, the blogosphere has risen. Oscar viewers flock to websites like E! Online and Perez Hilton to get the dirt behind the glamorous event: who wore what, who’s dating who, can you believe she said that? And the latest trend in the Oscar blogging world is live streaming with a webcam.

Adding video to blogging allows you to not only get your point across, but to include your personality as well.

What could be cooler than giving your own take on the Oscars with your own webcam? The Microsoft Life-Cam Cinema is the perfect piece of hardware to allow you to broadcast your own version of Oscar coverage from your laptop.

“Don’t miss a thing—enjoy high-quality 720p HD widescreen video together with crystal clear audio, with the LifeCam Cinema. Relax while the camera automatically sharpens your images and TrueColor adjusts exposure for bright, vibrant footage. And for even sharper video, take advantage of the high-precision glass lens and ClearFrame Technology to improve the picture even in low light conditions.”

See? Cinematic feel…you are on your way to being Oscar-worthy already.

—Hardware Team

David Bollinger is a leading thinker and creative experimentalist in the world of Generative Art. We were honored that he chose to participate in The Art of Touch project. His unique vision (and unorthodox approach) resulted in some memorable works of art. We asked Dave to share his views (and secrets!).

How long have you been working with generative and algorithmic art? How did you get started?
First I must state that I rarely, if ever, think of myself as an “artist.” At least, not in any proper sense of the word. So I don’t feel that I’m pursuing any particular style or movement within the “art world.” Rather, I consider myself just a “tinkerer,” though my interests seem to lie primarily along lines that are now described as generative/algorithmic/procedural works.

I may be dating myself, but my earliest experiments were on an Apple II and TRS-80 in the early/mid-80s. I can remember writing a rough game, somewhat like the old arcade game “Robotron,” though all of the actors were controlled by the computer (no human player). Its only real purpose was to accumulate the “debris” resulting from the simulated combat play as its “artistic” output.

I’m not even sure I know what the proper definition of “Generative Art” really is, though to me it implies that at least part, if not most, of the output is created by semi-autonomous “agents.” That is, I enjoy crafting code that might simulate something like a virtual ant farm (used merely as an analogy) where the output might be the pattern of trails and caverns they dig out for their virtual colony.

Your Art of Touch creations are striking and unique, and one of your pieces won our weekly prize package. Can you share any secrets about your technique?
The rules clearly forbade “robotic” entries and voting, but said nothing about submitting a human-drawn entry created with altered code.  So I figured that anything not expressly forbidden must be allowable and fair game, right? To my thinking, this was exactly in keeping with the spirit of generative art.

I began by simply playing with the various tools provided.  Unfortunately for me, the tools seemed better suited to those with more traditional sketching talents, and didn’t seem entirely appropriate for creating the types of images that I tend to work on. So I began to wonder if there was something I could do to alter the given tools to better suit my style.

A bit of poking around revealed the underlying javascript. Then using the debugging facilities provided in most modern browsers, I altered a few prototypes of the existing objects, so that whenever a new “brush” was created, it was created using some of my own code.

At first, I simply replaced the mouse handlers, and quantized the coordinates onto a larger rectangular grid (effectively like a “snap to grid” type function, as is common within illustration software). I then killed the mouse move handler so that only mouse downs and ups had any effect. Those “tweaks” allowed me to more precisely draw the types of hard geometric figures I was interested in.

By the time of my third submission, I had grown tired of red, so I altered the palette as well. I also had the code automatically spawn some “workers” that generated the actual line work.  Thus the entire piece was created with about a dozen human mouse clicks, just to initially position the workers and give it some sense of directed composition.

By the time of my fourth submission, I had replaced the entire brush logic with my own, based on a prior piece I had coded in Java. This code was again more brush-like, in that I “painted” the piece by hand, but had the code “augment” my simple strokes with additional complexity.

What is your favorite tool for artistic expression?
Code, clearly. Java is my preferred language these days – specifically the variant present in the processing.org project. I’m fluent in a number of programming languages, but the Processing environment does a wonderful job of “getting out of the way” of artistic creativity, handling many of the more mundane and tedious aspects, providing a framework from which you can just start coding the fun part, almost in a rapid-prototyping sense. Recommended.

Where do you find inspiration?
I’m an admitted geek when it comes to anything related to math and science. I’m no great master of either, but again just a “tinkerer” and fascinated observer. So my work tends to reflect that: strongly geometric, purely abstract, often in response to some new bit of math/science trivia that I’ve just learned of…wondering “what would that look like?” if used as part of the “behavior” of an autonomous agent, for example.

Many thanks to Dave for sharing his insights with us!

-Hardware Team

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

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