Microsoft's Surface

MSNBC (and a ton of other places) reported the announcement of Microsoft's new "Surface" computing platform.

From the MSNBC article: "To do things on Surface’s tabletop screen, you reach down, touch it and push it. To make the image you see on the screen bigger, spread your fingers. To make it smaller, squeeze your fingers together. To move something into the trash, push it into the trash with your hand. And it allows what Microsoft calls “Multi-Touch” and “Multi-User” interaction — namely, more than one person can interact with it at a time."

And "One of the most revolutionary aspects of Surface, though, is its natural interaction with everyday objects and technologies. When you place your Wi-Fi-enabled digital camera on the table, for example, Surface "sees" the camera and does something extraordinary: It pulls your digital pictures and videos out onto the table for you to look at, move, edit or send."

The possibilities are very cool - and it will be available late this year (which means mid-2008 in Microsoft time) at places like T-Mobile, Starwood Hotels, etc...

More info at www.microsoft.com/surface

Baltimore in the New York Times Travel Section

Being a Baltimore native and current New York City resident, I'm always shocked when people tell me they went down to Baltimore for the weekend. Sure, I like Baltimore, but why would they (other than catching a game at Camden Yards)? Well, it turns out that Baltimore, "the forgotten middle child among attention-getting Eastern cities like Washington and New York," is having a "renaissance" and is a hot spot to spend a few days, according to an article in the New York Times Travel section this week. Who knew? If you are among those traveling to Charm City, let me know and I can give you some additional pointers...