Michael is at the D6 conference in Carlsbad, California where Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates are set to take the stage this opening night and preview the user interface of Microsoft’s next operating system, known as Windows 7. It is expected to be released in 2010 and to replace Vista.

During the keynote, Corporate VP Julie Larson-Green demoed new multi-touch functionality based on the same principles as Surface. Microsoft is working with OEMs to get the multi-touch feature on at least some new machines once Windows 7 is released in 18 months or so. See a demo below and more info here.

For more coverage of Microsoft’s efforts in touch computing, see our recent coverage of TouchWall.

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Video: Multi-Touch in Windows 7