@LegacyCrono: This isn't a real product. And knowing Microsoft, they'll probably can it after getting everybody's hopes up.

@Les Mikesell: I'm confused. How is this at all like an iPad? This is merely an input device for your computer. It allows for the flexibility of a soft keyboard (changing key layouts, shortcuts, etc) with the comfort and accuracy of a physical keyboard.

Yeah, this is a brilliant idea. Even after all those examples they showed in the video, I can only think of how awesome it would be for MMOs, which are notorious for having a bajillion keyboard shortcuts.

@PN - goopplesoft: The latter.

5-10 years from now most phones will be smartphones. When the majority of 1.2 billion phones are smartphones, even at 15% market share, Apple will continue to make a crapload of money. The mobile handset market is so big (4 times bigger than the PC market) that there's room for at least 3 big players in the space.

@Drummertist v.2: Steve Jobs was quoting Picasso. Picasso may have said it sarcastically. But of course it's such a famous line to use when rationalizing a justification for blatant rip-offs.

@Chon: Lol. Indeed. I HATED that show, yet couldn't stop watching to find out what would happen next (30 episodes later).

@certifiedfryguy: I thought so too. I don't like how it looks, either way.

@vinod1978: They didn't have the capital to release internationally. They needed a hit in the US in order to move overseas.

@vinod1978: To be fair to Jon, the company was failed already when he took the helm... Under his leadership they came up with their last gasping attempt at relevance, and it would've been successful had it not been for a few key mistakes regarding marketing and choice of carrier.

Could Jon Rubinstein become CEO?

@Robotronic: Interesting. If it's a question of whether it's ASL or just signed words, my guess is the latter.

@taniquetil: It's not $100/year for Xbox Live. It's $50 if you buy it through MS... A ton of places like Amazon offer a year at a discounted price though (usually $34.99).

@KaneRobot: Kindly RTFA. It's MS's future because its vision transcends the gaming console into other areas of MS's domain.

@Kaiser-Machead v.2.1.1: Microsoft Research was showcasing a smaller, more portable version the other day... One that allows you to use pen and touch input at the same time. I don't remember the name they gave it and I'm too lazy to look it up.

@magius: That doesn't mean it wouldn't hurt them to have to rely only on search results for ad targetting.

Hmm, I wonder how this would've affected Google, their main competitor on the web, whose only source of real revenue is web advertising. Like it or not, IE still has a majority share in the browser market.

Microsoft does not sell Tablet PCs. But you knew that already.

@talkingstove: Yep. Why is this news? Because it mentions Apple and Microsoft, that's why.

@Eustace Silly: Indeed. I never cease to be amazed at JD's ability to read into things.