Want to Read E-Mail with Your Feet? Microsoft is working on it From: Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 03/01/2006 By: Todd Bishop Microsoft Research's annual TechFest gets underway Wednesday at the company's campus in Redmond, WA, when scientists in the research unit will present prototypes to product teams during the internal event. Microsoft Research, which has approximately 700 people in the unit, has researchers working on very technical computer initiatives involving machine learning and artificial intelligence, but many are also focusing on more mundane projects such as using common surfaces as computer screens. During a news conference on Tuesday, researchers showed a prototype software program that allows people to view emails and digital photos by moving and stomping their feet on a floor pad. Microsoft researcher Brian Meyers deleted spam, scrolled through mail, opened messages and viewed them on a large screen, and used a double-footed move to flag a message that would require a response when he returned to the office. "It's just amazing to stomp your email out," says A.J. Brush, another researcher considering the use of feet as a way to interact with a PC. In addition to the StepMail program, the Step User Interface prototypes included StepPhoto. The researchers involved in the Step User Interface Project Group view the programs as supplemental tools that could potentially provide some relief from repetitive stress conditions, and not necessarily as replacements for the keyboard or mouse. Read the entire article at: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/261213_msftresearch01.html Photo caption: Brian Meyers, a Microsoft research developer, steps on colored squares to delete e-mail from his mailbox during a demonstration in Redmond. Links: Brian Meyers http://research.microsoft.com/~brianme/default.htm A.J. Bernheim Brush http://research.microsoft.com/~ajbrush/ Fun physical interfaces for everyday tasks http://research.microsoft.com/vibe/projects/stepUI.aspx Microsoft sees Dance Dance Revolution in e-mail http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9593_22-6043904.html Stepping Through Your Inbox http://www.wreg.com/Global/story.asp?S=4564889