The technological community were amazed at Microsoft's 2009 TechFest Conference when they saw the latest upcoming Microsoft Research technologies, and personally, I can't wait to see some of these let loose to the public, especially since I'll most likely be on the forefront when they're all released, sharing the experience with other Computer Scientist undergraduates at University!

Among the technologies underway are the following:

• Microsoft Core Tools for Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is the concept of adding digital components to real video information. Microsoft showcases how Augmented Vision software implemented in mobile devices can help change the way we see the world. One potential use is an electrician pointing a device with a camera at a wall and having the circuitry behind the walls superimposed on the device's image of the wall, helping boost detection and mapping accuracy. A simple implementation has been proposed for quick introduction to the public.

• Microsoft Surface Sphere

Microsoft Surface is an exciting initiative by Microsoft which aims to turn anything tangible into a potential Human Input Device. Starting with the Surface Table, Microsoft dazzled the community with the intuitive use of the multi-touch technology involved. The Sphere is Microsoft's intriguing attempt at providing a 3D concept version of Surface, justifying the slight impracticality by mentioning how since ''this was the most challenging surface possible, if they could get it working on that, they could get it working on anything.'' In addition to anything tangible, Microsoft SecondLight is another Surface technology which will receive human input from the air, recognizing characters in the form of gestures.

• Microsoft PhotoSynth for Video

I've been following the story of Microsoft PhotoSynth quite eagerly in this blog, as depicted in this past post, and Microsoft now intend to extend the functionality to video. Using many videos (opposed to many photos in the current version) of an event/object, a central server would use locations of senders and image recognition algorithms to piece together a large scene for a greater field of view representing the entire area in a larger resolution.

• Microsoft Social Desktop

Social networking has fast become a must have for people everywhere, and Microsoft notice that many networking media exist. This is why the intention of Microsoft Research when they proposed Social Desktop was to integrate the web and PC in such a way that sharing or updating networks from the desktop becomes seamless. Using Silverlight technology (previously discussed), files can be made available from URLs, shared to social networks or to friends temporarily or permanently. Files are stored via Microsoft's Cloud Computing platform, Windows Azure.

• Microsoft GeoLife 2.0

GeoLife is a social networking service based on Virtual Earth which uses location histories of members to build profiles and analyze potential friends based on areas they intend to move to, have lived in, and share common factors with (such as interests, etc). The system will keep track of members via GPS and has unparalleled potential. The research paper is available to be read by the public. Microsoft's social networking tools are also undergoing a change, with computational machine learning theory, social learning theory and various mathematical game theory concepts being applied to accurately determine who is (or should be) connected to whom, and what inferences can be drawn from existing networks.

• Microsoft Image-Centric Advertising Platform

Not so much for consumers, this platform will change the way advertisements are served, by replacing keyword relevance with image relevance. Viewers of a page may see advertisements based on the content of images they upload or interact with.

In addition to all these exciting upcoming technologies, I've been using existing releases for quite some time and ought to recommend them also. Microsoft Live Labs have released Live Mesh, which is a fantastic tool that sets up a virtual network between personal computers and provides an online space of 5GB. Shared folders between Windows Live ID holders can also be set up, which synchronize even when a user is offline (due to files being uploaded to the cloud first). Also using this concept of being able to access shared files from any terminal is Microsoft Office Live Workspace, which includes the Office Live Add-in, a plugin to Microsoft Office 2003/2007 which allows saving files to the online workspace effortlessly. Another Office related tool is the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, which allows Outlook to synchronize with your Windows Live Mail account in a familiar interface. Microsoft SharedView is another absolute must, which provides Remote Desktop/Assistance style features via the Windows Live ID system, allowing a participant to share their screen and present to others. Finally, for those interested in Astrophysics/Astronomy, the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope is a must, turning a computer into a virtual telescope, mentioned here. Of course, a high speed connection is required, but this provides real, fascinating imagery of space from NASA and various satellites.

I hope the general public looks into the software mentioned here and keeps a watchful eye on Microsoft's Research Labs. Windows 7 (formerly codename Vienna, mentioned earlier) isn't too far away either... Share the excitement!

Alexander Karapetian