Future tech: Next at Microsoft podcast

Microsoft recently launched a new podcast that explores how future technology may change our Lumia smartphones and other devices.

The Next at Microsoft blog offers a “director’s cut” of some of the cool stuff that Microsoft is working on, from improving artificial intelligence to helping blind people better navigate city streets to creating tools to unlock the power of living cells.

Some of this technology may someday help speed the evolution and enhance the usability of our Lumias, tablets or other devices.

It’s always a great read, and now you have another way to digest the blog: Earlier this month, the blog recently launched its first podcast series, the Next at Microsoft Podcast.

In each episode, Microsoft hosts “conversations with those who have been out there with us, creating and innovating.” The podcast’s first guest was actor and activist George Takei, well-known as Sulu in the original “Star Trek” science-fiction television series and now host of “Takei’s Take,” a Web series by AARP.

Check out this video preview of the podcast to find out Takei’s take on tech at Microsoft (say that three times fast!):

Host David Chen spoke with George about the Microsoft Garage (which we’ll feature soon here on Conversations) and about how Microsoft is helping former NFL athlete Steve Gleason–paralyzed from the neck down–to independently move his wheelchair and communicate through a Surface tablet and new “eye-gaze” technology.

Click play to listen to the podcast:

On your Lumia, you can also download the Audiocloud app, a terrific, free Soundcloud client for Windows Phone, to subscribe to the Next at Microsoft podcast. That way, you can listen whenever you need to get your technology booster shot!