Microsoft surface computing

[petree08]

okay so you may of may not have heard about this.

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

i can't wait for this to becomes commercially available

[Mackie]

Microsoft Surfaqce is just a fancy UI, it will not provide any advantages in computeing other than a bulky alternative to an already excellent method of user input.

This is is a novelty, there is no need for somethign like this when we have multitouch screens, that can do what it does better. Why have it in a clunky proprietary box. Well, maybe if I want a new couch I'll consider getting it.

There is also no way to make it smaller, because it uses five camera's that need to be spaced ibn a certain way. It's a dead end.

[rdrake]

I don't see one of these in every home, but it sounds rather interesting if businesses were to adopt it. Customers could learn about their products, view demos, etc..

Mackie, have you actually seen any of the demo videos? There's demos up there about mobile phone customers being able to place a phone on top of the table and learn all about that particular model -- very practical.

[nastynika]

it looks amazing i dont care wut mackie says i would love to have one of those

[rizzix]

Yea surface computing is amazing.

[apomb]

Apple is going to do it first, and better. (I.E. iPhone/iPod touch) ... only on a larger scale.

[wtd]

I think you meant to write: is doing it first and better and on a scale that is several orders of magnitude larger than what Microsoft hopes in their wildest dreams to do with Surface.

[apomb]

wtd @ Fri May 23, 2008 2:52 pm wrote:

I think you meant to write: is doing it first and better and on a scale that is several orders of magnitude larger than what Microsoft hopes in their wildest dreams to do with Surface.

i was trying to be modest...

[rdrake]

wtd @ Fri May 23, 2008 2:52 pm wrote:

I think you meant to write: is doing it first and better and on a scale that is several orders of magnitude larger than what Microsoft hopes in their wildest dreams to do with Surface.

Apple is doing this first? No. Even Microsoft wasn't first to do this, Apple hasn't even shown any product that does this on such a large scale.

Apple doesn't seem interested in creating anything with a touch interface past the size of a small portable device.

[rizzix]

Yep, I agree with rdrake.

[MihaiG]

yup, agreed i find microsoft thinks stuff through a lot better than apple does, plus i have a zune and its x10000 than an iPod
though it seems really far away in terms of mass production i hope it comes soon, ill definetly buy one

[rizzix]

MihaiG @ Fri May 23, 2008 8:49 pm wrote:

i find microsoft thinks stuff through a lot better than apple does

I don't necessarily agree on this.

[wtd]

rdrake @ Sat May 24, 2008 7:08 am wrote:

wtd @ Fri May 23, 2008 2:52 pm wrote:

I think you meant to write: is doing it first and better and on a scale that is several orders of magnitude larger than what Microsoft hopes in their wildest dreams to do with Surface.

Apple is doing this first? No. Even Microsoft wasn't first to do this, Apple hasn't even shown any product that does this on such a large scale.

Apple doesn't seem interested in creating anything with a touch interface past the size of a small portable device.

I wouldn't count on that. Seems in keeping with Apple's strategy over the last few years to put out a working multi-touch device in a size that's feasible to sell for a profit at a price that allows pretty much anyone (even poor software developers) to obtain one. That's what the iPod touch and iPhone are, exactly.

Sell tons of them and you do two things: firstly, you build a developer community. Apple's touch APIs have a large, enthusiastic developer community that is likely to only grow with time; secondly, by selling loads of them you build up a manufacturing base, and get better economies of scale so that larger, more complex implementations can be built and sold at lower prices, making them more easily attainable.

[coreyxjessica]

MihaiG @ Fri May 23, 2008 8:49 pm wrote:

yup, agreed i find microsoft thinks stuff through a lot better than apple does, plus i have a zune and its x10000 than an iPod
though it seems really far away in terms of mass production i hope it comes soon, ill definetly buy one

Give me some examples of Microsoft actually thinking things through.

[rdrake]

coreyxjessica @ Sun Jun 01, 2008 10:45 pm wrote:

MihaiG @ Fri May 23, 2008 8:49 pm wrote:

yup, agreed i find microsoft thinks stuff through a lot better than apple does, plus i have a zune and its x10000 than an iPod
though it seems really far away in terms of mass production i hope it comes soon, ill definetly buy one

Give me some examples of Microsoft actually thinking things through.

Zune, Visual Studio, C#, .NET Framework, etc, etc.. First few that come to my mind.