Microsoft Surface SP1 Released; Promise Of Windows 7 & WM7 Integration

Microsoft have released Service Pack 1 for users of their Surface multitouch table, and while that may not affect many readers of SlashGear it comes with some news that likely will.  The Surface team have been tasked with developing a set of standardized gestures and motion controls, that will be used not only on their own multitouch computer but in Windows 7 and Windows Mobile 7; that means better integration between Surface, gestures, multitouch and touch across all of Microsoft's platforms.Video demo of the new features after the cut

As for the Service Pack specifically, that rolls out 128-bit identifier tags as you can see on the back of the card in the image above.  That card is a physical photo – the same as is currently on-screen – which was recognized when it was placed onto the Surface, and a shortcut to the photo viewer offered.  Check out the full demo in the video below.

There's also support for Windows Update, stress tests for developers – which include testing to make sure apps won't get overloaded by dozens of contact points at any one time – and better optimization for background processes so that cross-app notifications are handled more smoothly.  Hopefully we'll see more of Surface's technology cross over into Windows 7 as it edges toward launch.