Reg hack runs Windows 8 on 82-inch touchscreen
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TechEd Australia Back in July, Microsoft acquired a company called Perceptive Pixel which makes 82-inch capacitative multi-touch screens.
Here at TechEd Australia, there are a couple on display running Windows 8.
We couldn't resist the chance to have a play with one, to see what The Interface Formerly Known as Metro feels like when running on a colossal screen.
The visual and audible results, shot by a very helpful Microserf on a Californian telephone that as of today is two generations out of date, are not stellar.
Because the quality of the vid is so moderate, it's worth explaining what's going on.
I start with The Reg on-screen in IE10, then reach across the left hand side of the screen to open what Microsoft calls the “Charm Bar”, a persistent navigation toolbar that's always just one poke away.
The tricky thing about the Charm Bar is that you need to hit one of the pixels in the right-most column on the screen. That's easy on a tablet or conventional touch screen if you swipe in from the left, but tricky to get right on the 82-incher because it has a thick bezel that makes it hard to get a finger in to find that single column of pixels .
Luckily I got it right first time, bringing me into The Interface Formerly Known as Metro (TIFKAM). From there it's a simple matter to mash on an icon and get down to some serious slicing in the Australian-made game Fruit Ninja.
From there, another tug produces the Charm Bar again, which takes us back to TIFKAM where a mash of the Desktop icon brings us back into the familiar Windows desktop.
The screen draws lovely big dots around each finger, which is pretty if not very useful.
That's a rough guide description that, when matched to the video, will hopefully give you an idea of what it's like to use a monitor the size of a child's bed.
If the video above has you salivating at the prospect of a monitor with these colossal dimensions, prepare to shell out US$80,000.
Prepare also for Microsoft to talk unified communications to you, as the acquisition of Perceptive Pixel was initiated by its Lync division rather than by a desire to run Windows 8 on colossal scale. ®
COMMENTS
Oh!! The horror!
It reminds me of the (old) joke about the tourist seeing the soilder outside buckingham palace In full highland kit. She turns to her husband and says "You know they can't react to you no matter what you do, and I've always wondered what they wear under the kilt".
As she lifted the Scotsmans kilt she let out a cry of horror' "Oh my god, its gruesome!"
As they walked away they heard a heavy scots accent "have another look lassie, it's gruesomemore"
Great vid
But am left wondering what the hell a 'Beezil' is at 00:30
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