Today, newspapers around the world announced the death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, 90, one of the truly great science fiction writers. It was surely one of his books I pulled off the shelf in the library as a child that first introduced me to the possibilities and wonders of science and technology - and imagination. I don’t know whether to thank him or blame him for my fascination with the rapidly evolving communication technology surrounding us now.

As you can tell, I’m just a little excited about the evolution of touch technology, and somehow I managed to miss the Microsoft Surface. Yes, I read about the “interactive table top” and thought of it as a bar scene “cutesy” application. Sorry, Bill, I was wrong.

The transparent wall - à la MinorityReport - that was shown at CeBIT this year was spectacular, but in its own quiet way, the Surface “table” has some pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve. The Surface even takes Jeff Han’s multi-touch interface a step further - the table top recognizes an external object like a cell phone, pda, or tablet, and lets you transfer information with the flick of a finger.

The original presentation of the Surface was in a “cocktail table” look-alike, with people sitting around it as if in a restaurant or lounge. Had it been presented as part of a work table - perhaps at standing height - it might have had the appearance of a business application. But now I get it!

Love to know where this is going next! I’m going to head across the lake to Redmond, knock on a few doors and see what I can learn.