Nope. It is not natal as in embryo. It is pronounced “nuh-TALL” and it could be in your living rooms in the nearest future.

Microsoft has announced that it will go head-to-head with the Nintendo Wii with its Xbox without any controllers. Instead, it will use a camera to capture the movements of players in a 3-dimensional space. Your entire body becomes your controller. It aims to immerse the player inside the game. It’s a literal “Look Ma! No hands.” deal. Not only that. It recognizes faces and voice commands – technology that is already present today.

“Before, there was a barrier separating video-game players from everyone else. Now, with Natal, everyone can join in using the best controller ever invented: you.” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

The Microsoft Xbox Natal was demonstrated to an audience recently. During the demonstration, players interacted with a soccer/football game using their legs, hand and, practically, their entire body.

None other than acclaimed director Steven Spielberg was in attendance. He even mentioned that this new technology will reach a new audience who are afraid of holding a controller or a joystick.

Microsoft has not announced when the Xbox Natal will be available nor its pricing. However, much anticipation was generated and it seems that the console wars are not yet over.

SOURCES: CNN, INFORMATION WEEK, DEVIN’S ADVOCATE

Contrary to rumors, Microsoft’s highly anticipated Windows 7 Starter edition will not have a three application limit. This means that users can have more than three applications running at the same time. This is good news for netbook owners and potential users who would want Windows 7 for their new operatin system. Microsoft Windows 7 is being positioned as the next Windows operating system for netbooks following a re-surgence of Windows XP.

Here an announcement taken from the Windows 7 Team Blog:

“There of course will also be Windows 7 Starter edition, but based on the feedback we’ve received from partners and customers asking us to enable a richer small notebook PC experience with Windows 7 Starter, we’ve decided to make some changes compared to previous Starter editions. For the first time, we will be making Windows 7 Starter available worldwide on small notebook PCs. We are also going to enable Windows 7 Starter customers the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like, instead of being constricted to the 3 application limit that the previous Starter editions included.”

But don’t expect the Microsoft Windows 7 to be too eye candy and ultra-powerful compared to its Windows Vista counterparts. Windows 7 Starter will not have the Vista Aero graphical user interface but will have the Microsoft Windows Basic theme similar to Microsoft Windows XP. Also missing are features such as DVD playback, multi-monitor support and personalization tools such as changing the desktop wallpaper, colors and sound themes.

According to Michael Cherry (analyst with Directions on Microsoft), “They’re really doing everything they can to remove any barrier to the OS, and by removing these barriers, they really are working to make as smooth a transition as possible into Windows 7.”

The new Microsoft Windows 7 is expected to be released in time for the 2009 holiday season.

SOURCES: ELECTRONISTA, ARSTECHNICA, COMPUTERWORLD

In the immediate future, Asus will launch the Eee PC 1005HA. The newest Netbook from Asus sports a 160GB Hard drive (with 10GB complimentary online Eee Storage), a 10.1-inch LED-backlit display (1,024 x 600 resolution), 1GB of DDR2 RAM, VGA output, three USB 2.0 sockets, a 0.3 or 1.3 megapixel webcam,  Ethernet, 02.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, a multicard reader and audio in / out. The Asus Eee PC 1005HA comes in two models which differ in processing power: model 1005HA-M with Intel Atom N270 or the model 1005-HA-H that comes with the Intel Atom N280. Both units come with Windows XP Home.

However, one of the intriguing parts of the Asus Eee PC 1005HA is the rumored removable battery that lasts for an astonishing 10.5 hours. Should this be true, the unit’s weight will slightly be heavier. However, this should be a small sacrifice to carry for a longer battery life. It remains to be seen.

The ASUS Eee PC 1005HA-M will go on sale for $405 while the Asus Eee PC 1005HA-H at $473.

Asus is aggressively sending out new models and campaigning heavily due to other companies such as HP and Acer that are jogging for position in the netbook industry.

SOURCES: SLASHGEAR, ENGADGET, FUDZILLA, NETBOOKCHOICE, ITPROPORTAL

But, as you know, these organisations will remain spreading the world, and I am sure that they…one day…will finish saying that those consoles can kill us. For God Seek!

Be Happy, and that’s all!

Check the news here:

http://www.crn.com/it-channel/208200254

My favorite part of the Surface is that it has lots of touch points; one person can zoom in on an object while another person flicks a different object. At one point, we had 30 fingers on the table, and they were all registering. The ability to collaborate in a physical way (group painting or photo sharing come to mind) will definitely be a big draw. Inevitable comparisons to the iPhone—curiously unavailable to place on the table—are warranted: It’s basically the same feel, but 10x bigger.

- Benny Goldman – Gizmodo

The advert on Microsoft Surface, followed by it’s parody: