MYNORTHWEST NEWS

Microsoft blogger talks the stuff of geek dreams

Dec 31, 2012, 9:27 AM | Updated: 9:39 am

Microsoft blogger Steve Clayton tells Todd Bishop and John Cook about the joys of learning about al...

Microsoft blogger Steve Clayton tells Todd Bishop and John Cook about the joys of learning about all the new technologies coming out of Microsoft. (AP Photo/file)

(AP Photo/file)

As a long time geek, Steve Clayton has his dream job.

“I get to run around the Microsoft campus in Redmond. I get to knock on doors and open lab doors and say ‘What’s going on in here?’ And find out the coolest new technology that’s going on at Microsoft,” the author of the Next at Microsoft Blog told Geekwire‘s Todd Bishop and John Cook in a special year-end edition of the show.

The tech evangelist says he’s seen a number of emerging trends that should dramatically change the way we use and interact with technology in 2013 and beyond. Among them, the growth of natural user interfaces like touch, speech and gesturing.

“We’ve seen some great progress in it but over the next few years I just think we’re going to see more and more, and it’s going to go beyond touch and gesture,” he says.
He says that doesn’t mean the ultimate demise of the keyboard and mouse, just as technology has yet to completely eliminate our use of pen and paper.

“If you want to write a long letter, the keyboard is probably still the best way to do it,” he points out, and tasks like editing a diagram or a photo still work far better with a mouse than a finger on the screen.

Still, the way we interact with our devices continues to evolve. Clayton says he’s been blown away by a number of developments, including translation technology he saw a top Microsoft executive demonstrate recently to a rapt audience in China.

“It not only translated what he was saying into Mandarin but translated it into his voice. The reaction from the crowd was phenomenal,” he says.

Also on his radar is the continued development and intersection of big data, machine learning, and what he calls the internet of things.

“That’s this notion that we are going to have more and more devices, object things, connected to the internet. That’s going to be cars, streets, cities, lampposts.”

It can be something as simple as your Windows phone doing a much better job of predicting what you’re typing on the keyboard and correcting it by accessing an ever growing trove of data, or something as massive as keeping track of millions of cars and helping ease traffic in real-time.

With the future comes ever increasing privacy concerns, and Clayton admits there will always be tradeoffs. But at the end of the day, users will always have the option of turning off the tracking and not sharing their location or other data.

Clayton tells Todd and John he’s also excited about the growing potential for 3D printing. He says one of the coolest things he saw all year was new technology that turns a Kinect sensor for the Xbox into a 3D scanner. Imagine you’re remodeling your home. You could, for example, scan your living room and create a 3D model, then place all sorts of furniture or other designs into the model to get a more realistic sense of what it would all look like.

It’s all the stuff of geek dreams. But for guys like Clayton, dreams really do come true.

MyNorthwest News

Everett boy missing...

Frank Sumrall

4-year-old Everett boy missing, police worried he’s in danger

Police and Search and Rescue crews are looking for a missing four-year-old boy they suspect could be in danger.

18 minutes ago

Image: The awnings of a store advertise the sale of lottery tickets, including Mega Millions and Po...

Steve Coogan

Lottery jackpots update: Powerball prize jumps again after $1.1B Mega Millions win

A lottery jackpots update: The Powerball prize reached an estimated $935 million ahead of Saturday night's drawing.

10 hours ago

Photo: The Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center....

James Lynch

King County’s plan to close youth detention center met with fierce backlash

The King County Law and Justice Committee received a final report on Executive Dow Constantine's plan to close a youth detention center.

11 hours ago

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

13 hours ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

14 hours ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

14 hours ago

Microsoft blogger talks the stuff of geek dreams