The researchers at HP Labs are a serious bunch working on ways to create the data centers and transistors of the future–but the company sees no harm in going after the gaming-table market on the side. During an open house Tuesday celebrating its 40th anniversary, HP Labs showed off Misto, the hybrid of coffee table and tablet PC that promises to either entertain or rile up family members next Thanksgiving. HP has been working on Misto as a slightly different take on the home entertainment PC. Misto is a coffee table with a large touch-screen display built into the top of the table. The idea is to allow a group to congregate around the table and share pictures, play board games, or peruse a map. Misto uses a standard desktop PC as its engine, but comes with some specialized HP software for managing the interface.