As Microsoft prepares for the upcoming Windows 8 launch, they are also provided us a glimpse of what the future of computer use — this includes software and hardware — with a nifty video that not only gives us a forward thinking look at what lies ahead in the world of computer use, it also gives you an idea concerning Microsoft’s strategy going forward.

After watching the video, one thing’s for sure, if Microsoft’s vision comes to pass, there’s going to be an awful lot of touch technology coming down the pipe. In fact, if you fast forward to the three minute mark, you’ll see the user’s entire desk has been designed around touchscreen technology, only in this vision, it’s so much more robust. Even the keyboard the actor is using has a touchscreen function that allows him to move the incoming communication to his primary monitor.

The fact is, Microsoft’s vision for future computer use looks a lot like what Steven Spielberg showed us in Minority Report. Via touch, users would be able to control which content is displayed and how user’s interact with it. Take a look at Microsoft’s creation because regardless of your feelings on touch technology, the future envisioned by the company looks rather impressive:

All of the ideas in the video are based on real technology. Some of the capabilities, such as speech recognition, real time collaboration and data visualization already exist today. Others are not yet available in specific products, but represent active research and development happening at Microsoft and other companies.

As indicated, whether or not you are a fan of touch technology, you should check out Microsoft’s vision of the future. As a person who isn’t the biggest adopter of touch technology, I must say I’m happy the keyboard exists in Microsoft’s future, and the way it’s integrated with touch is pretty damn cool.

H/t to the WinRumors blog for pointing this out.