Microsoft to show off spherical Surface next week

During Microsoft's annual Research Faculty Summit in Redmond, the company will finally show off semi-publicly the spherical Surface computer that has been rumored for the past few months.

Microsoft listed its "multi-touch Spherical display" as one of the demos that the company will show off during its DemoFest for conference attendees next week. It seems Microsoft has pulled the references to the spherical Surface from the list of DemoFest exhibits since it first published the agenda for the show.

But the Redmondians forgot to expunge references to the multi-touch Sphere from the DemoFest floor plan. So if you're among those invited to the conference next week, check out Booth 110. I'll be curious to see/hear what the Softies are pushing as possible applications for the Sphere.

Here this week at the Financial Analyst Meeting, Microsoft is showing off the coffee-table-sized Surface, but not the Sphere. Also, still no update from the Microsoft managers here about when Microsoft will be ready to roll out smaller, cheaper, consumer-focused versions of the Surface.

CEO Steve Ballmer & other presenters did play up Microsoft's plan to bring a multi-touch, natural user interface to a variety of form factors -- everything from mobile to PC to TV. Ballmer told FAM attendees that as computing platforms take the form of everything from ultralight PCs that are more like sheets of paper than traditional computing devices, to walls that are touch-enabled, users will become a "window" to the online world, with access to search, advertising and more.