Surface to hit consumerdom in 2011, maybe sooner
By Nilay Patel 
posted March 27th 2008 10:29PM
posted March 27th 2008 10:29PM
posted March 27th 2008 10:29PM
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That's one heck of an expensive coffee table.
i'd like to see what apple does when it gets its hands on this technology...
like an iphone, bigger!
*macbook touch, anyone?*
do we speak here about future problems? I rather would be busy solving our problems to get at all to this future. But nevertheless I like to have future news too!
Look, you can all tell me if I'm wrong, but would it really be that difficult for me to make something like this on my own? I certainly don't think it would cost me 10,000 dollars! I just don't like feeling as if Microsoft is holding this great tech over my head and telling me that "one day it'll be ubiquitous and cheap but for right now you'll just have to drool." (my words not theirs) I suppose it's like when a guy wants a really fast sports car but doesn't feel like paying a 100k for a great car, so he just builds it himself for less and it's faster.
I've actually played with Surface (Microsoft Building 19 has one), but it's definitely not ready for prime time.
I got a chance to finally play with one of these recently. These tables are really not all that. Infact the touch at times can be not as responsive as you would like (definitely not iphone responsive)..it's an ok idea ..but after having a full hour to play with it and the photo, video, map, and game apps they had on the table...just felt like a big gimic. This has a very niche uses that are actually useful outside of standard ways today (the idea of paying on the table is cool, though I'm doubtful anyone is really going to do it with this).
I wouldn't put one in my home..really they need to switch from a projector and move to an LCD screen...the contrast was not the greatest.
too bad this is just an extremely poor copy of the iphone. yes that's right, $urface does nothing that the iphone can't, and the iphone won't be made my micro$haft so it isn't morally wrong to use it.
Yeah, not like you're comparing two completely differ-
oh wait.
Hate, hate, and more hate. Why must there be people like this in our world?
Surface, a poor copy? Are you kidding? One thing, one's suppose to be a whole computer desktop-like table, the other is for mobility. And Surface was started in 2001. What year was the iPhone being developed?
So can the iPhone use WiFi to pull photos or music out of devices? Get multi-touch from many sources of input besides fingers? Can the iPhone work with multi-users, or just one per person?
Oh, and putting the $ sign in Microsoft shows how childish you are. Isn't it amazing that MS is actually a company, and that all companies make profits, no matter what? And if it's morally wrong to use MS stuff, then I guess I could say the same for all the other tech companies out there. So if you're suggesting to go tech-free, then maybe it's best for you.
im pretty sure you cant physically place objects on the iPhone and have it recognize it and be able to upload/download information from it. you should probably learn about the stuff your trashing before you do it. the only common factor in surface and the iPhone is multitouch, which apple didn't invent either.
I never knew the surface was started back in 2001 - what the hell have they been doing for all these years, Microsoft really need to pull their fingers out lol :D
I think the surface has some good points like how it integrates with other devices and the touch capabilities, but i can't see people needing/wanting a device like this for some years to come. It's simply not affordable or desirable to have a huge table computer i think :)
And "a poster" your comment couldn't have sounded any more fanboyish if you tried XD
@Quikboy
except Surface isn't real, right now it's just a big ass table that can pull $#!%.
It's really fascinating to watch this troll just devour you guys.
I really can't wait to see what that would look like. Certainly it wouldn't be the "exact" same Surface in the videos they've post (web browsing, Office programs, etc.?), but I would love to see a "real" desktop OS, done Surface-style.
Hopefully there won't be mess ups or anything. Though if MS is making their own hardware, maybe the experience will be better and easier for MS to handle.
Though I really hope they could make a thinner, smaller, and maybe portable version worth going for. I don't like the idea of buying a whole table.
Top Ten Proposed prototype's code names:
10. "MegaZune Touch™"
9. "T-Cubed--The Table Thingy™"
8. "Minority Report--Millenium Edition™"
7. "Bloated Rodent Input-a-tron"
6. "Plane Crazy"
5. "Wacom 2011"
4. .....
3. .....
2. .....
1. .....
Um, are you in late 90's? Not to say MS never had crappy long ridiculous product names, but aren't those days kind of over? It used to be a funny joke, but I don't think it's very current to talk about ancient history, do you?
Um, are you in late 90's? Not to say MS never had crappy long ridiculous product names, but aren't those days kind of over? It used to be a funny joke, but I don't think it's very current to talk about ancient history, do you?
Oh wait, stupid question, brain sex of course.
So everyone seems to be knocking this thing.
Personally, I think it's very cool.
I would love this build into my kitchen bench.
Give it a hard surface to protect it.
While I'm making dinner, bring up recipes, my schedule for the day, play a TV show, chat with someone... flicking things around like on my iPod Touch. Who cares if Apple did it first. It's a good UI. If MS steals the idea and does it well, then great.
Flush mount a touchscreen laptop into your kitchen counter then. Why wait?
I can't wait for the day that my computer is a big ass table.
I got to use it at MIX08 in Vegas. I was trying to think of the little guy, the developers who'd have to implement this in order to make it widespread. For those who don't know, it is a cabinet that uses a projector, an infrared camera and frosted glass. It figured out what the items were (setting the cell phone or credit card down) by little dominoes-style stickers. I can't think of a single way to get it to work on a massive scale without configuring the surface each time.
I DID like how it used new WPF physics / shader programming model to make realistic water. You didn't have to touch the glass, you could get close to it and the IR cam would sense your hand being close enough and it would ever so slightly affect it.
Very cool shit. I want to develop on it bad.
Uh oh, it looks awesome. Better start finding ways to make fun of it.
It does look like it can do some cool stuff.
i can see in a short time apple will
make a smaller white surface table
with rounded edges....!
and it will be a revolution in
touch and wifi technology
and all the haters here will
say thats a new thing!!
not true, I hate Microsoft and Apple equally!!
let the battle of hand-greased screens -- BEGIN! :)
{maybe if we all drink screen cleaner, then our graceful sweaty touches might clean the screens?}
[WARNING: DON'T ACTUALLY DRINK SCREEN CLEANER]
and hate is such a strong word, more like derision. :)
@ CosterMonger mate
shut it your patter is pish!!!
look man i come on this site
to check new stuff thats out and...
people like you think your funny......
talkin gibberish blah blah blah..
about this and that.!!
you all sound like retards man
wingin about who did this and
what it does for you and others!!!!!
as if your sum sort of better
person than the rest...!!
i just laugh sumtimes wen
you lot rant on about shit!!
what a bunch of geeky virgin pricks..!
git it up yaes..!
"geeky virgin pricks..!"
starters, you reading and summiting on the comments...
whom are these "geeky virgin pricks" you type of, could it be yourself that you are referring to?
Trust me, longhorn is funny when you are in 9th grade, and it is told to you by a mate whose dad works for MS.
Yeah, seems pretty sad looking back.
(that was supposed to be in response to quikboy's reply, but obviously that didn't work so well)
so in 2011 Microsoft has finally stopped trying to lease their software,
you'll have get a "Surface" loan.
So.. I'll be able to pay for my pizza and Pac-Man game at the same time? And,where do the quarters go, banks won't give me "credit"
There is a prototype Surface unit in the recruiting building at MS, building 19.
I should clarify: it's in the lobby, so you can just walk in and check it out if you want, no badge required.
It will be available to play with at 6 AT&T stores next Wednesday. Sanfran, San Antonio, New york, and 3 others. How funny will that be to demo the I-Phone on the MS Surface?...8)
That don't sound like a bad device but a hefty price tag like that, I wouldn't buy it. I really don't think it has much to offer (could be wrong) but someone don't just fork out cash like that.
Just add the "Call Manager" button for when the waitress was a bitch and I am all for it.
yeah like...
thats funny......
erm
no....
dear engadget users: AS SOMEONE WHO HAS ACTUALLY USED SURFACE, allow me to put my 2 cents in.
i too was skeptical. but let me assure you this device is so freakin' revolutionary it's beyond description. seeing as how desktops are being phased out ( in lieu of powerful laptops and mobile devices ), this is beyond question the future of stationary computing.
the UI has a really awesome physics model where if you have an object and you touch it on its edge, it will move, and also very slightly rotate as well. you can flick things across. you can grab and stretch and zoom and move. the coolest application of this is the Maps application, as well as the photos and videos browser.
my other favorite part is the many group-based, team-based touch games that you play by touching areas of the screen. the lightbug game is simply amazing.
to me, there is no question that this is going to be the centerpiece of future livingrooms.
whoever said this is a glorified iphone has it backwards. actually surface has been in development since 2001, and theorized and described by microsoft research internally in the mid 90's. when Minority Report had that interface in it, it was actually based on surface prototypes and was designed with heavy consultation from microsoft. the reason it's taking so long is a. little bit of bureaucracy and b. a lot of hardware limitations that are just now being resolved.
it is not simply an LCD, it's a projector that projects from underneath on a special infrared-sensitive plastic material. that's how the multi-touch works; it senses heat. if you lay your whole palm down, that will be one big touch point. if you lay just one finger, that will be one tiny touch point. oh also, this thing uses some really intense graphics processing to render so many videos and 3d elements at such a high-res that smooth operation was just not available until very recently.
p.s. they also have a piano application - that needs some work :) it's not responsive enough.
so how does this thing know what drink you put on it? or a plastic credit card for that matter
The software and hardware is already available, and if you don't/can't build your own, you can request a system to be built.
If you're waiting for the surface to surface, you have a lot more faith than me.
For anyone interested in touch based or light detection based input methodologies, please visit the sites below to get an idea of how much work has already been done.
http://nuigroup.com/touchlib/
http://reactable.iua.upf.edu/?software
Let's not try to push them to go fast when what we want is something that's GOOD.