Microsoft has released its Surface Software Development Kit (SDK) Workstation Edition in a bid to get more developers writing applications for the gizmo. The SDK is being shipped to anyone who wants it for free and is being seen as a sign that Redmond is keen to get as much Surface software out to the market as possible.

As you would expect, there is a slight catch. While the 144.2 MB software is free, developers will still have splash out and buy a Microsoft Surface machine if you want to deploy anything you write, however, the SDK still lets you use a PC to develop, and a PC-based simulator to test, applications. Redmond is proud of the fact that it has more than 250 active partners in the project which it expects to grow like Topsy.

While the Surface has been popular among the tech magazine reviewers it has yet to see any major deployment. Currently the only version of the machine we have seen in action has been on Italian telly where it is used by a presenter on a news show, same story at CNN. The Surface is also featured in the CBS series CSI: Miami and EXTRA! Entertainment news.