We didn't have much of an eye on Microsoft's Build 2014 developer conference last week, but one of the presentations made there might just have pointed towards a new kind of music-making device.
As you can see in the video above, it seems that, thanks to the company's Windows Embedded technology (which enables developers to run a version of Windows in devices that you wouldn't think of as computers), Akai has come up with a prototype of a standalone MPC device that has Microsoft's OS at its heart.
Akai's current flagship MPC Renaissance, of course, is effectively a controller that relies on its companion Mac/PC software in order to run, so going back out of the box would be an interesting move for the company to make.
And this isn't just pie in the sky: Create Digital Music reports that an MPC with an Intel processor running Windows is a very real possibility, with a Numark DJing device supporting similar technology also on the cards.
What this doesn't mean is that you'll have a piece of pad-based hardware that can also run your DAW and plugins, but it does suggest that all-in-one, standalone products might soon represent a viable alternative to the 'hybrid' software/hardware solutions that are currently so popular.
