Imagine if you had the ability to manipulate media with hand gestures, or walk into a restaurant and order your meal and drinks via the interactive table (OK - so some sushi bars in Japan already have this technology).

Well ladies and gentlemen it seems the development team at Microsoft have been watching Minority Report with the introduction of Surface.

Microsoft is looking to make the same breakthrough in interface technology today that the mouse did back in the 1980s with "Surface." Surface, which will be demonstrated today at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference, provides instant interaction between people and digital content using hand gestures on a touch screen.

"With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said. We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision."
In its current form, Surface is incorporated into a 30" display mounted into a table. This allows user involvement to expand beyond just one person. Surface is capable of recognizing input from not just one finger, but multiple up to dozens of inputs simultaneously.