Surface computing surfaces for real in the Samsung SUR40

We’re all one step closer to a Star Trek future of sliding doors, teleporters, tricorders and big table-sized computers that you touch and gesture and wave at. We saw the first generation of “Surface” from Microsoft a few years back – now it is ready to go large with a hardware partner, Samsung. The SUR40 will go into full production in December and shipping first thing in 2012.

It features the second generation of Microsoft’s “Surface” software platform, built on Windows 7, with the PixelSense technology that allows the surface itself to be a distance-sensing element. The OS shows itself via a 1920×1080 40” flat screen.

The new generation unit is much slimmed down at 4” thick (although it still weighs upwards of fifty kilograms), and has been revised to need no external keyboard or mouse to do initial configuration (a problem with the first gen unit). There should also be a lot more for it in the application way, as Microsoft has been setting up stronger software development programmes to inspire coders to come to the party.

Units are available for pre-order now (although not for most developing markets, excluding the tiny Gulf countries that always seem to get cool stuff early).