Microsoft Coffee Table

Posted on May 30, 2007 by Alvin Trusty

At midnight last night, Microsoft announced something that looks more like an Apple technology than anything I have seen come out of Redmond in a while. It’s called Surface Computing and I still can’t find anything about it on the MS web site.

Here is a Popular Mechanics video showing the “coffee table” in action.

Using wireless and other “invisible” technologies, the user can easily move files from device to device. The video shows how a photo can go from the camera, to the table and then to a PDA all with no wires using an interface that doesn’t require training.

Here is a TED video from last year showing Jeff Han, one of the developers of multi-touch screens. As the speaker emphasizes over and over… the interface disappears.

This entry was posted in edtech and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Microsoft Coffee Table

  1. Mark Myers says:
    May 30, 2007 at 2:58 pm

    Alvin,

    The MS website is located here:

    http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

    Bill Gates showed it on the Today Show (http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=ed66be57-9a6b-4c96-85ae-fb263443de9c&f=05&fg=rss) this morning, of course it has all the features showed in the video from Popular Mechanics as well has the ability to separate a restaurant check between to credit cards. How it accomplishes this I’m not certain yet because all thats mentioned in all the videos is that it works with wireless devices (not bluetooth that I’m aware of yet but Wifi) like camera’s, PDA’s & the Zune. Interesting piece of technology as it will get released in the business world first projecting winter 2007 for the household.

    Thanks for you post Alvin!

  2. alvin says:
    May 30, 2007 at 6:03 pm

    Thanks for the link.

    There is still nothing on the Microsoft main web page. If this were an Apple product there would be a million people subscribing to a list for more information on pre-orders.

    At the MS site I did a search for “surface computing” and nothing came up. Finally, when I did a search for “surface” the link given by Mark is the first on the list.

    The /surface page does show some cool stuff. They show the bit on ordering and paying with separate credit cards.

    Image some of the games that could come out of this technology.

  3. Debbie says:
    May 31, 2007 at 5:00 pm

    Is this so radical? I could be proven wrong in the future, but I don’t see much practical application here for the common user in the form the product is now. Any horizonal surface in MY house gets drinks put (and inevitably spilled) on it or collects papers.

    The infrared touch/manipulation features are useful, but not radically so. And I don’t see that technology moving to a vertical flat screen anytime soon.

    With Alvin’s love of the keyboard, moving hands up to the screen would be even worse than moving them to a mouse, so the TSPY has to be negative. (-:

  4. Padron says:
    June 4, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    nonsense miss debbie, there are seemingly endless domestic and commercial applications . with micro technologies interfaced with a screen giving:

    caloric and transfatty feedback (better hide those kripy kremes!)

    at your place of exercise (for those doughnuts you hid), screen plays music, news, video, pulse, blood pressure, and how much alvin is clogging his arteries given his daily intake of krispy kreme and coffee

    this is only the start. imagination is the limit.
    Go Capitalism, go !

    next step, which is now .. in some cases

    infared detection of hands on a virtual keyboard-spill all you want on your desk, then wipe it up and continue typing (these are already in use)