The WSJ has an article on a series of gadgets that are being previewed this week at the technology conference, D: All Things Digital.

Hewlett-Packard is showing the Misto Table prototype, a touch-screen computer built into a (very ugly) coffee table. Misto has been designed to allow much greater social interaction than a vertical screen. Groups of people would gather around the electronic table to play games, view maps and photos, and more.

Also at the conference, Hillcrest Labs’s new remote control: “The Loop” is in the shape of a circle and has only two buttons and a scroll wheel. You wave it around in the air in front of you to control the TV via icons that appear on the screen.

The interface (called HoME) is highly visual, with images that pop out at you as you select the functions. No training is required. The system will be available this year.

Picture of Misto from the Weston Mercury. More on interactive tables.