As seen in the “Business” section of The Huffington Post.
My friends over at Popular Mechanics magazine were lucky enough to score a first look at a new device created by Microsoft: A coffee table-sized touchscreen computer that loses the mouse, the keyboard and the reputation that the Redmond, Washington company is running out of ideas.
Talk about an exclusive.
The table, to say the least, is wild. It’s capable of resizing images and transferring them to wireless devices with the user’s fingertips, basically transforming a touchscreen computer as we know it today (a series of pushable “buttons” on a device that’s plugged into the wall) to a dynamic surface capable of adding capability of all sorts of impressive wizardry to a “normal” surface.
Pottery Barn, watch out — Bill Gates is coming for you.
But as cool as this table was — you know, in that geeky oh-my-God-cool kinda way — the most interesting thing to me is that this device further strengthens Microsoft’s foray back into the hardware business.
For sure, Microsoft already cranks out plenty of hardware, including the popular XBOX 360. But in the personal computing wars, not much has changed in 15 years: Macs are still made by Apple alone (and proud of it!), and PCs are made by a revolving group of vendors, including Dell, Compaq and IBM.
But Microsoft’s forte (or weakness, depending on who you talk to) was always its software — Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, and everything else that came preloaded on that shiny new PC of yours. The company owns the lion’s share of the platform market, and was (until now) content to keep on programming.
No more.
The coffee table, called the Microsoft Surface, marks the company’s true parry to Apple’s thrust for dominance. It’s an innovation in both hardware and software — the hardware uses infrared cameras as its “eyes” and wireless technology as its “hands” while users manipulate the acrylic tabletop, and the software is probably the first product in a long time that looked more like a Mac than a PC (and no, I’m not talking about Vista, either). Though the Surface is still very much in development, I saw nary a window nor a start bar on the multitouch device — a sign, at least, that this might be Microsoft’s first big break with its old template.
Instead of your office, Microsoft is going for your living room and your kitchen (just when granite countertops had been all the rage, too!). Effectively, when Apple zigged with its iPhone, Microsoft zagged with this. Interestingly, I just don’t see any direct competition…yet.
Will it be a success? It seems the whole thing is too early to tell, even if the Surface at first glance looks like a refurbished computer from 1976. Whether it manifests itself as proprietary technology or bionic IKEAware, it’s certain that surface computing can further the assist our lives with technology.
To boot, just watching the video, I’m getting serious Minority Report vibes from this machine. It’s a reminder that computers are not just individual devices anymore but integrated with the static objects that surround us. The good news? It’s this kind of computer that won’t have your partner complaining that you’re always on it.
The bad?
Well, the question remains: How will we turn it off?
Surface Computing A Break With The Past
As seen in the “Business” section of The Huffington Post.
My friends over at Popular Mechanics magazine were lucky enough to score a first look at a new device created by Microsoft: A coffee table-sized touchscreen computer that loses the mouse, the keyboard and the reputation that the Redmond, Washington company is running out of ideas.
Talk about an exclusive.
The table, to say the least, is wild. It’s capable of resizing images and transferring them to wireless devices with the user’s fingertips, basically transforming a touchscreen computer as we know it today (a series of pushable “buttons” on a device that’s plugged into the wall) to a dynamic surface capable of adding capability of all sorts of impressive wizardry to a “normal” surface.
Pottery Barn, watch out — Bill Gates is coming for you.
But as cool as this table was — you know, in that geeky oh-my-God-cool kinda way — the most interesting thing to me is that this device further strengthens Microsoft’s foray back into the hardware business.
For sure, Microsoft already cranks out plenty of hardware, including the popular XBOX 360. But in the personal computing wars, not much has changed in 15 years: Macs are still made by Apple alone (and proud of it!), and PCs are made by a revolving group of vendors, including Dell, Compaq and IBM.
But Microsoft’s forte (or weakness, depending on who you talk to) was always its software — Windows, Office, Internet Explorer, and everything else that came preloaded on that shiny new PC of yours. The company owns the lion’s share of the platform market, and was (until now) content to keep on programming.
No more.
The coffee table, called the Microsoft Surface, marks the company’s true parry to Apple’s thrust for dominance. It’s an innovation in both hardware and software — the hardware uses infrared cameras as its “eyes” and wireless technology as its “hands” while users manipulate the acrylic tabletop, and the software is probably the first product in a long time that looked more like a Mac than a PC (and no, I’m not talking about Vista, either). Though the Surface is still very much in development, I saw nary a window nor a start bar on the multitouch device — a sign, at least, that this might be Microsoft’s first big break with its old template.
Instead of your office, Microsoft is going for your living room and your kitchen (just when granite countertops had been all the rage, too!). Effectively, when Apple zigged with its iPhone, Microsoft zagged with this. Interestingly, I just don’t see any direct competition…yet.
Will it be a success? It seems the whole thing is too early to tell, even if the Surface at first glance looks like a refurbished computer from 1976. Whether it manifests itself as proprietary technology or bionic IKEAware, it’s certain that surface computing can further the assist our lives with technology.
To boot, just watching the video, I’m getting serious Minority Report vibes from this machine. It’s a reminder that computers are not just individual devices anymore but integrated with the static objects that surround us. The good news? It’s this kind of computer that won’t have your partner complaining that you’re always on it.
The bad?
Well, the question remains: How will we turn it off?