Microsoft’s Andy Wilson demonstrates his videoconferencing device. I drew the head and the hair on my piece of paper, and Andy filled in the rest from across the room on a separate piece of paper. The two projector/camera systems are networked together for bi-directional operation.

Programming in Boku, the teaching tool for kids.

Microsoft’s Andy Wilson drives his virtual car over a real-life construction paper landscape. Andy uses depth-sensing infrared cameras and projectors to render his surface computing applications.

Microsoft’s Tim Regan shows off the Time Mill, a digital mirror that records whatever it sees. Flip back through time by spinning the wheel.

Microsoft Research’s Shoebox digital photo storage device.

The Text2Paper device prints SMS messages onto clear labels, which are then stuck to a calendar. Microsoft Research’s U.K. lab in Cambridge focuses on applications for the modern home.

Microsoft’s Tim Regan stands next to his Cambridge-based team’s Bubble Board, a visual voicemail organizer. Calls are routed through a commercial internet voicemail service, and messages are loaded onto a server via FTP. The Bubble Board client picks up the voicemail and displays it in a Flash-based user interface. Family members can drag messages to the drain (to delete) or to the shelf on the right (to save). There’s even room for good old hand-written notes.

Another project from the Cambridge lab is Postcard, a digital picture frame that displays images and text sent to it from mobile devices. The Postcard can also send messages and photos back out to mobile phones. The interface is based around a touch screen.

The Shoebox puts a digital spin on the familiar “box full of photographs.” A touch-sensitive pad on top lets viewers flip through photos quickly.

One of the few pure hardware innovations on the TechFest demo floor, the Telescopic Pixel is a new display technology. It uses tiny MEMS devices to render pixels on a computer screen. It’s more efficient than an LCD and also much faster. This working model illustrates the concept behind the optics, which resemble those in a telescope.