An interview in Gizmodo is offering the potential for an open source version of the multi-touch user interface software that is key to Microsoft's $10,000 Surface table PC.
Developed by Peter Hutterer, a researcher in the Wearable Computers Lab at the University of South Australia, MPX or Multi-Pointer X is a modification of the X Windows Server that allows multiple input devices to be used at the same time.
The demo (above) links an MPX-enabled Linux system to a Mitsubishi Electric's DiamondTouch display table which can recognize four different unique users. The software is still in its early stages but shows significant promise, as an open source version will open up more application development, which is vital, and bring down the price of such systems, which is even better. Combined with the new touch technology from Hitachi Displays (below) and its ability to make large panels, there is definitely significant potential for this technology.
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