[flv:officelabsmontage.flv 600 400]

When Microsoft decides to imagine the future, it never fails to impress. Not only do you have some of the smartest people envisioning what’s possible, but they also invest so much into communicating these ideas through sights and sounds which the production value can be compared to most blockbuster sci-fi films.

Today at the Wharton Business Technology Conference, Microsoft’s Business Division president Stephen Elop unveiled the latest production from Microsoft Office Labs called “2019”, starring stock photo men, women and children playing with the next-generation of communication, collaboration and production technologies. (via Steve Clayton)

Those with a keen eye and a good memory might recognize a few familiar concepts in this video already shown in earlier videos of the “envisioning” series, for example the future of personal health, having said that, I believe there’s still a couple of new never-before-seen concepts sliced between. Please correct me if I’m wrong. And I’m not wrong. Update below.

Update: I’ve been able to get my hands on the new “2019” video in its full glory. This 5-minute long spectacle is available separately below. Some of the new technologies demoed including a “transparent wall” between two classrooms around the world, animated drawings, realtime conversation translations, surface displays, electronic boarding cards, transparent displays, mini projectors among many others. The electronic newspaper is definitely my favorite.

[flv:msofficelabs2019.flv 600 360]

And for those who like to analyze every pixel as much as I do, here’s a couple screenshots I extracted from Stephen’s PowerPoint deck. An interesting future indeed.