At a glitzy Los Angeles event Microsoft unveils its next big step as a hardware maker-- Microsoft Surface, a family of 2 Microsoft-branded Windows tablets complete with clever keyboard covers.

The purpose of the Surface tablets is to "prime the pump" for the imminent Windows 8 release, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says.

The Surface comes in 2 varieties-- one running Windows 8 on Intel 22nm Ivy Bridge chips, and the other running Windows RT using an ARM chipset.

The Windows 8 Surface is 13.5mm thick, weighs 860g has a 10.6-inch "ClearType HD" display of unknown resolution and comes inside vapor-deposited (PVD) magnesium case. It carries USB 3.0 and DisplayPort ports and supports stylus input.

The Windows RT version nearly identical in size, only slightly thinner (9.3mm) and lighter (6.6g). It has microSD, USB 2.0 and Micro HD ports and also comes with either 32 or 64GB of storage.

Both tablets carry front- and back-mounted cameras, an integrated kickstand (also made in PVD magnesium), full-size USB ports and dual wifi antennas.

TV remote inventor Eugene Polley passed away age 96 from natural causes at a Chicago hospital.

Polley invented the TV remote-- making life a lot more comfortable for coach potatoes everywhere-- back in 1955 with the gun-like "Flash-Matic" It fired a light beam at 4 photo cells on each corner of the TV screen in order to turn switch between channels.

Original adverts described it as a "flash of magic light" that "you have to see to believe it." It wasn't perfect, mind-- sunlight affected the photo cells, changing channels at unexpected moments.

Polley was born in Chicago in 1915, and started his engineering career in 1935. His career with Flash-Matic makers Zenith Electronics lasted 47 years, earning him 18 US patents.

In 1997 Polley received an Emmy for his work together with fellow Zenith engineer Robert Adler.

Go TV Remote Control Inventor Eugene Polley Dies at 96 (BBC)

Smart grid, smart cities, smart homes, smart roads…how do you research these mega-projects?

You build a $1 billion city in the desert. You model the fake town after a real city (Rock Hill, South Carolina in USA, population 66,000) and build it complete with highways, houses and commercial buildings—even some old buildings mixed in with new ones just like in the real city. No one will live there, but each and every house will include appliances, plumbing, and other necessities.

This built-to-order town lets researchers test new infrastructure without interfering in anyone’s everyday life…because there isn’t anyone.

It’s a research facility but it’s also an empty city, a veritable ghost town. They call this CITE project “a first-of-its kind” smart city but given its cost and mission, it may just be “a one-of-a kind.”

Thankfully it’s not taxpayer money but a private firm building this city-as-a lab, the CITE (Center for Innovation, Technology and Evaluation).

In "What About Bob?" a smug Richard Dreyfuss tells a phobia-ridden Bill Murray to always take "baby steps." The Video-on-Demand (VOD) industry follows that same strategy in Europe... with most steps taking place in the UK.

Now the UK gets a new a new VOD platform-- Curzon on Demand, offering day-and-date digital distribution of major independent releases.

The success of Curzon on Demand (or lack of it) might help progress for VOD feature films in W. Europe, a market worth $900m in 2011 according to IHS Screen Digest. In contrast the 2011 N. American market totals $1.8 billion.

A major obstacle for VOD in Europe is exhibitors, who still hold great power-- France even has a law blocking a day-and-date VOD and theatrical model, Variety says. European companies are also less entrepreneurial than their British counterparts, while cable and telcom infrastructures remain primitive.