When it comes to Microsoft Surface, there is always talk about natural user interface (NUI). I'd imagine that there are a fair number of people out there who don't understand what NUI is, or maybe have some mis-conceptions about what it is. In the video below, I get our friend's at Stimulant's take on the topic. This isn't a plug for their work, but an open discussion of what NUI means in general and for Surface. Do you agree with the interpretation? What are your thoughts on NUI aside from the buzzword?

I've posted before about some cool physics on Microsoft Surface with a fluid simulation and the Wii balance board mashup. People love touching the water on Surface. I have Crayon Physics Deluxe on my notebook too and it's brilliant. Internally, our devs have created several different physics simulators based on the applications they are working on which always seem to make adults giddy as schoolkids.

If you're remotely like me, you'll also like what Dave Brown has created. Dave works in the UK at one of our Microsoft Technology Centers. His job is to create proof of concepts for organizations working with Microsoft products. He's also a part time wizard. Seriously. Not only is the simulator crazy fun, I'm told his code is very elegant as well. After viewing the video below, head on over to Dave's blog to see more videos. It gets even better with each one.

A little while back I had the good fortune of visiting Stimulant in San Francisco. The visit provided me with two fun demos.. Tone Grid and the Wii balance board mashup. While I was there, I also filmed some casual conversations talking about Microsoft Surface and more. I'm now ready to share them with you. This is for the UX to technical crowd who want to understand why surface computing is different.

Part 1 is really mainly an introduction to Stimulant. Why should you care? I've got to give you a little background on these guys so you know why you should listen when I start asking them about NUI, different form factors and how computing is changing, as you view the other videos.

I'll be posting parts 2-5 over the next several days.
Eric