What's Better Than a Tablet? A Computer That Doesn't Need a Screen

Posted by Alex_Pasternack

From: http://www.motherboard.tv/

Now that our future has been revolutionized, at least for today, with a Moses-like tablet that will change how we publish, read, think and watch NSFW videos in public spaces, it’s easy to forget about the real future of computers — the one that involves no physical screen, and no real gadget, at all.

It’s been the stuff of the future in science fiction before, most recently as the gear used in the Syfy’s Battlestar prequel Caprica. But dudes, we’re living in the future. Using laser-based projection technology, one of those “phase modulating spatial light modulators” and other tech tucked into a tiny box, this computer by a UK company called Light Blue Optics projects a touch screen on any surface with relatively low power. The company’s co-founder, Dr. Adrian Cable, visited gadget geek Robert Scoble yesterday at his house, leading to a homemade, touch-heavy video with a gently voiced cameraman that might be best be called softcore amateur future gadget porn.

To see the thing in action,

Want an excuse to write something on some of your old monogramed stationary? You could type it. Ordering another enchilada right on your table cloth? Check. Want to mix your afternoon Bloody Mary on top of your Google Docs page? Does your e-reader or your fat belly need more music videos on it? It’s coming. Googling on your steering wheel? You so crazy. Wanna take multitasking to the next dimension? Project this hologram screen on top of your iPad. Yup, straight on top of it.

Alright, maybe we’re not ready for that just yet. And while the prototype is already being manufactured by Foxconn, the big company that makes Apple’s products, and the company has heard lots of interest since it made a splash at CES, we’re probably not going to start using any surface as our computers for another couple of years.

But I can’t wait for a future when we don’t have to lug around screens everywhere (and, for that matter, don’t tweet-drool over things like over-hyped oversized iPhones.)