Now, I would normally discount the entire thing just because Microsoft is behind it, but this looked very cool. Check it out for yourself.
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ (or http://www.surface.com).
They both land at the same site, so use either url. I had some trouble with the site functioning in my copy of Firefox. It worked perfectly on my Mac version and the PC at my office, but not on my PC at home. I suggest you just use Internet Explorer in this case (I know I am not a big IE fan, but sometimes, it is a necessary evil).
Anyway, I went through all the flash presentations and I have to say that this is pretty slick.
What is Microsoft Surface? The official statement is
Microsoft Surface™, the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft Corp., turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that’s easy for individuals or small groups to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world. In essence, it’s a surface that comes to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more. Soon to be available in restaurants, hotels, retail establishments and public entertainment venues, this experience will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live.This is basically a tabletop fully touch screen 30" computer screen. It has no keyboard of mouse. You just use your hands (or sticky little fingers) to navigate the computer. What is really cool is that if you lay your camera, ipod, cell phone, etc on the computer surface, it recognizes it (via cameras to sense objects) and launches the appropriate application or action (showing all photos, music, etc). I am unsure if it requires bluetooth or Wi-Fi to communicate with the device. However, if it does require that, you can throw away all your old cameras, mp3 players and phones that are NOT bluetooth or Wi-Fi compatible. If this became popular, I would be in a computer fantasy dream.
My big concern is the price tag. I hear that this is going for $5,000-$10,000 per unit. OUCH!! The other thing that concerns me is Microsoft's habit of sending out software riddled with bugs. This leaves the consumer (you and me) to beta test a product that we (quite frankly) paid too much for and when we need tech support, we have to call Microsoft and pay them $4.95/minute to troubleshoot problems that should not have been there in the first place.
However, this is a hardware and software product so it is probably fine (yeah, right!). I really hope that this item takes off. I would love to see it in my favorite restaurant, music store, etc. If it turns out to be a solid, well thought out device (my hopes are not high), I just might buy one myself (providing the price drops a bit).
Here is a direct link to the search results for "Microsoft Surface" on blogsearch.gooogle.com
AM I WRONG?
Feel free to comment on any information that is flat-out incorrect and I will make modifications to this article.
