Recently, Intel posted an extremely interesting ad for the second generation Core processors that shows off the power of multi-tasking in an exciting and fun way.

Using a combination of applications on the Windows 7 desktop, including (in sequence) Windows Media Player, Quicktime, Office 2010 Word, Excel, Internet Explorer 8, iTunes, Windows Live Messenger, Adobe Photoshop CS5, a custom game, Google Earth, Google Chrome and PowerPoint, the ad illustrates a short 2-minute action-packed story involving some bandits chasing a female agent.

Although some of the graphics and animations appear to be simulated, most of the sequences appear somewhat practical for the applications they are shown in. After all, a real OSX desktop and applications has been demonstrated to make a similar movie in the past.

As demand for more energy efficient cars has driven the development of car technologies in the past several years, another aspect of the driving experience, infotainment, is also rapidly changing and Microsoft with partners like Ford is clearly leading the way.

Ford’s second-generation SYNC with MyFord Touch included in the newly announced Focus Electric, originally based on top of the Microsoft Auto platform, offers an impressive range of functionality presented with a futuristic user interface both inside the instrument panel and center console. Specific to EVs are numerous customizations that inform the driver of their driving habits and energy usage.

Microsoft’s early investments into a platform optimized for the automotive industry as early as 1998 might pay off very well in the near future as more car companies will leverage more functional and better designed infotainment systems as a differentiator in the marketplace.

The latest release, Windows Embedded Automotive 7, offers an impressive range of features including support for Silverlight UIs, flawless voice recognition via Tellme, connectivity to a wide range of mobile devices and comprehensive media management features.

No matter how foolishly easy it is to make a joke about blue screens in a car, the reality is Microsoft clearly leads the industry and might very well show up in your next car.

Disclosure: Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Driving Green Technology event.

At the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, Ford, among many car companies are revealing and showing off their next generation vehicles. Amidst all the hot rods, the Kinect makes a somewhat undercover appearance at the Ford booth as part of an interactive display installation, spotted by my Australian colleague Jason Cartwright.

Although Ford didn’t use the Kinect to its full potential – it’s only function appears to be to take a photo where the rest of the interaction is still touch-based, the reason they used a Kinect instead of a normal webcam seems to be because the photo they take of a person has the background substituted for a waterfall – easily possible with Kinect’s depth sensors and people-identifying algorithms. The picture is then turned into a puzzle for users to solve.

What’s interesting is that this might be one of the first examples of Kinect used outside of its official gaming functionality in a public manner and I suspect will be a trend for digital displays in the years to come as more companies experiment with interactive signage.

On a similar note, Ford’s direct competitor, General Motors, is also at the show with a Kinect and the Joyride game which features the Chevrolet Volt.

Disclosure: Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Driving Green Technology event.

The Surface 2.0 is easily Microsoft’s hat trick for CES 2011. When all the attention and expectations were on Windows, a brand new version of Surface surprised and impressed most people I’ve spoken to. Earlier today, I got the chance to have a very quick hands-on demo of the mesmerizing Samsung SUR40.

The device demoed, still in preproduction, is an impressive piece of hardware engineering and industrial design, in development for approximately the last year and a half. In collaboration with Samsung, Microsoft has turned the “big table” on its head into an object of desire. Interestingly, it actually supports custom table stands (this demo unit has a curved wood stand vs. metallic poles used in keynote).

As a compliment, the gorgeous all-gloss frame and Gorilla Glass screen resembles a giant iPad. Although the new-ratio 16:9 screen is not flush like the previous version, Microsoft actually designed drain channels for water spillage. The Microsoft representative insisted we don’t test it. Having said that, the team is still looking into a flush option.

The OS software has also been drastically improved. Blurry-looking graphics has been replaced with high-fidelity counterparts to compliment the higher resolution screen. For Metro fans, there’s also a splash of solid colored blocks and focus on text in the UI controls and bundled Microsoft applications.

Of course, the star of the show, Microsoft’s proprietary PixelSense technology in development for more than two years is borderline magic. An infrared and optical sensor sits besides each display pixel without sacrificing display quality. In combination with some post-processing software, it is able to detect fingers and objects at the same 60 frames per second as the display, not only does it recognizes object tags from the previous version but also allows for “scanning” of flat objects like documents.

Although Microsoft won’t reveal much about future plans, they did indicate they’re looking at different screen-size options, as the SUR40 model name suggests, to give customers more choice. On a similar note, the Surface 2.0 will only support the landscape orientation when mounted; a decision made from user research.

With further hardware firmware and software optimizations to make, Microsoft anticipates general availability later this year. The now more affordable device will actually be sold through Samsung’s distribution channels (instead of Microsoft) to further broaden its appeal.

Disclosure: I am attending CES 2011 as a guest of Microsoft Australia.

At the Microsoft Special Press Conference ahead of CES 2011 where Steven Sinofsky first revealed information about the next version of Windows with native ARM support, one journalist asked a great question – since Windows Phone is ARM-centric, whether the next version of Windows will also power the next major release of Windows Phone? Sinofsky avoided to answer the question entirely.

If you think about Steve Ballmer’s quote from Microsoft’s keynote, “Windows will be everywhere”, desktops, laptops, slates/tablets, phones and even Surfaces could all be considered form factors of a Windows PC, running the same operating system across x86 and ARM.

Although the exact definition of a kernel is highly contentious, for the purpose of this discussion I’m looking at it in the perspective of the engineering efforts where the functionality enabled by a single codebase can be used to empower every device running Windows.

Bearing in mind a unified kernel does not necessarily mean the same 10GB+ OS footprint and the same UI for every variation of Windows, what it should mean is faster and more consistent adoption of newer technologies and standards across the Windows family. At the very least, basic needs like high performance, connectivity and long battery life is applicable for all devices.

For a higher level example, the Windows 7 kernel introduced native framework support for biometric devices like fingerprint scanners. This removed the need for vendors to provide their own drivers, applications and SDKs for users and developers to take advantage of them.

Whereas biometrics might make its way into embedded devices and phones running a WinCE-based system (like Windows Phone 7), OEMs would currently have to wait for a different WinCE update cycle to introduce support for biometrics too, if they’re even considering it for the next version.

In an environment with a unified OS, such kernel-level features would be instantly available to all Windows devices at the same time delivering a much more consistent experience across form factors.

Disclosure: I am attending CES 2011 as a guest of Microsoft Australia.

Even though the Windows Home Server team didn’t dare to make an appearance at Microsoft CES 2011 booth, I did spot a single Windows Home Server product featured in the Windows PC showcase.

Discretely displayed at the show is the Lacie 5BIG Back Up Server. On closer inspection of information card reveals an interesting tidbit, its operating system is Windows 7 Home Server. A Microsoft representative later confirmed this is indeed the official name for the next version otherwise known as codename “Vail”.

Since the server is already on the market with the current version of Windows Home Server, it’s assumed this is at least one model that will also be sold with the new OS when it is available (not that anyone should buy it).

No availability or pricing information was provided.

Update: Andrew Edney was able to get Microsoft to reconfirm their display at CES and the information card’s “Windows 7 Home Server” turns out to be a mistake. It has since been edited to “Windows Home Server”. The official names is suggested to be Windows Home Server 2011 instead.

Disclosure: I am attending CES 2011 as a guest of Microsoft Australia.