Microsoft today released something very unexpected, a touch sensitive table, AKA Microsoft Surface. The Microsoft Surface, after watching the videos, is capable of doing anything on earth. You can order your favorite dessert or transfer money to your credit card, which sounds incredibly safe on something that hotels and stores will supposedly be using. The idea of the interactive table isn’t a new one, but now that Microsoft has taken control of the idea it sounds more* reachable.

Now, don’t get me wrong about the table, it’s one of the coolest pieces of furniture I have ever seen, but is it truly realistic? These tables will in no way will be cheap ($10,000 range) and will close out any middle class household who might even think about purchasing one. The table, if ever made, will be for the wealthy people of the world (ie Bill Gates…he probably already has one) and will never become as popular as the iPod or the Xbox 360. In my opinion Microsoft should ax the idea of the table for now, but bring it back in a few years when the price is more consumer friendly.

On one last note, it is good to see Microsoft thinking with innovation, this kind of thinking might lead to a better competition towards Apple and Nintendo, when it comes to innovation and design.

To see videos about the Microsoft Surface, click here.

A few months ago we saw the (much needed) redesign of Engadget.com and just this past week we saw the redesign of Autoblog. Autoblog for those who don’t know, is a blog about cars, duh, which I have become a fan of over the past 2 years I’ve been reading it. What I like about Autoblog, over Jalopnik or any of the other car enthusiast blogs, is it seem to be more placed on newer (and future) cars and designs. Over the past week the site got a visual refresh, which included a new color scheme (red and black), a new blog heading, and a clean-up.

The new color scheme is much more pleasing to look at and creates great contrast with the red, black white. Before the redesign, the site was pretty boring and probably would be skipped over by new readers. It is important to have something on your website or blog that will be eye-catching (and memorable) if you want people to come back.

The blog heading hasn’t changed much other than the addition of more black, which makes it look more modern and interesting.

What Autoblog was really in need for was a clean-up. Over the past year the site has gotten bloated and busy (ads and new features), leading to slow load times. The site is still pretty busy, (especially on the right side) but it has been refined and organized, to speed up the once poor load times.

From this point the site sounds like a perfect one, BUT there is one addition that I do not like, the tags scroll-over buttons at the top of the page. I think they become annoying after scrolling over them a few times, but I personally think tags are useless when it comes to blog posts (leave tags to Flickr).

The new redesign of Autoblog was much need and optimizes the site. The new look 1ups the writing of this car lovers blog. Like cars? Go check out (and try out) the new Autoblog.

Commenting. Either you post them or you don’t, but they have become a must in any form of updated content (blogs, podcasts, videos). I, personally, am not a big commenter because of the comment Nazis who have decided to be the moderator of what people say. I thought comments were a personal opinion on the content you just read.

To make commenting even easier make it possible to comment from the main page. After you read the post or watch the video you can click the “quick comment” button and I little Ajax comment box appears (mock-up below), where you can give your opinion on what you read or saw.

I could see this become very useful in sites like Digg and Slashdot both of which rely heavily on comments. This would in no way replace the old click, read, and comment, type of commenting, but it would allow the lazy or non-commenting people out there to put in their opinion.

In trying to find ways to improve and publicize my blog I decided to add the bookmark button from addthis.com. This button allows anyone to bookmark any of the post to websites like Digg, Technorati, etc.

Thanks to Techcrunch for the idea!

Now, when your online looking for the best deal on that memory card or digital camera, do you tend to look at the big (online) retailers like Amazon and eBay, or do you look for the best deal however shady the site is? I, like most, want the best deal from the less “shadiest” site possible and to do that can be hard.

Dealhack is the first deal finder that will find you some of the best deals on anything technology related. Dealhack doesn’t sell stuff at cheap prices, but finds it and sets it up so you, the customer, get the best deal. What I like the most about Dealhack is the fact that it loads the site (with all of the discounts), so there won’t be any struggle trying to find the deal by going through the seller site itself (if that makes any sense). Dealhack is a great blog-style deal finder for the tech shoppers out there.

Woot, think of it as QVC and how they only have so many of an item. Everyday, the people at Woot post a new “cheap” item that anyone can purchase, but they may run out of stock quick! Unfortunately, most of what they are selling is crap, but it’s cheap crap.

Yes there is more deal finders, but these are the only ones I ever come back to. Both are very different and do well at what they do.

PS - If you’re trying to find the cheapest RAM, try DealRAM. It scours the internet for the best RAM prices.

Are you tired of updating your blog? Do you want to do less work? If yes, I recommend try Tumblr. Tumblr? Yes, think of Tumblr as the lazy man’s blog, you can post as much and/or as little as you want and if you don’t feel like writing, post a video, picture or link.

Tumblr is just a very slimmed down blog which makes it great for those who like to write, but not a lot. My “Tumblog” or “Tumbelog” or whatever its called is here. Instead of writing that (super long) post, just post a video of that skateboarding dog you saw on tv last night. Good Luck!

PS- If you feel Tumblr is still too much, try Twitter. It just a “mini” blog about what you are doing.

Podcasts, the alternative to radio and television, but at a completely free cost (for the most part). Here is a list of my favorite podcasts that I have to listen or watch:

1. Diggnation: Nothing is better than listening to two guys talk about the news (from Digg), especially when Kevin gives his very questionable* opinion.
2. This Week in Tech (TWiT): Leo Laporte does a very good tech podcast that is great to listen to if you are an insomniac. No offense to Leo, but his voice is like listening to a children’s book being read to you. What makes the show even better is John C. Dvorak (”dvorak.org/blog“) and his very different opinions on the tech industry.
3. Macbreak Weekly: Another podcast from the TWiT network, but this one is focused on the Mac side of the world. What makes this podcast great is Merlin Mann and his complete randomness during the cast.
4. Net@Nite: AND another podcast from TWiT.tv with Amber MacArthur (aye). The format of this podcast is much different than any podcast, think of it as The Tonight Show, but Tech related. Leo and Amber interview popular and new internet related peoples.
5. Totally Rad Show: A very new show with Alex Albrecht. Still questioning if I like it or not. Three guys review games and movies, unsure about the chemistry of the show.
6. Tikibar: Probably the best quality podcast I have ever seen. It is hard to describe, but it’s a great watch.
7. Ask a Ninja: The name explains it. I wonder how this guy gets through an airport.
8. Control Alt Chicken: Hilarious cooking show with Heather Stewart and Alex Albrecht. It’s like watching Food Network, but with people who don’t know how to cook.

All of these podcast can be found at their home website or in the podcast section of iTunes.

When looking for a good music service you would expect to pay money to listen to your favorite songs, but that isn’t so with Blogmusik. On Blogmusik (based in France) you can find the newest hit songs (and some of the classics), which are absolutely free to listen to. You might be thinking “What’s the catch?” Well there isn’t one other than the fact that the site is illegal.

Blogmusik won’t replace your library, but it will act as an online music library that you can access from anywhere. The site is well designed and deserves a check-out by any (online) digital music lover.