Entelligence: Will Surface ever surface?
By Michael Gartenberg 
posted March 18th 2010 7:00PM
posted March 18th 2010 7:00PM
Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he'll explore where our industry is and where it's going -- on both micro and macro levels -- with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.
The Surface concept was great. It was a Windows PC inside a table with a 30" touchscreen on top, and cameras that could sense what's happening on screen. The result is you could use a Surface device just by touching the screen with your finger -- but unlike other large touch screens at the time, Surface was multitouch, so you could use all your fingers at the same time. More importantly, multiple users could engage with each other. It was a PC but didn't look or run like a PC, which was genius -- you'd never know it was running Windows, but there was no development learning curve. It was totally optimized for that big honking touch surface area, and applications that worked with it -- I'm sure it could run Office, but that's not something it's was ever likely to do. Surface was PC evolution happening in real time. It's really something you needed to see up close and in thirty seconds before the light bulb went on. Sadly, most people have never seen or worked with a Surface unit. Beyond a small retail rollout at AT&T stores in NY that seems to have ended, the last time I saw one was the Edelman PR offices, where it sat like a large coffee table and did pretty much nothing.
Surface could have been an extremely important product for Microsoft. First, it showed innovation was alive and well in Redmond. Second, it showed the market in a clear and concrete way that Microsoft can still take conceptual ideas and turn them into
Sadly, Surface ultimately showed that Microsoft still can't figure out markets and how to get products into the hands of real users. |
This is exactly the type of thing Microsoft should do well. Five years ago, you couldn't build this type of unit for any price. Today, it's cost effective for business and pretty soon, it could be consumer-ready. By leveraging their expertise in software, Microsoft should be able to take the concept of personal computing to the next level. Forget Windows 8 and one more evolutionary OS play. Surface could change the way people can interact with a computer; it offers a very compelling vision of the future. Personally, I can't wait to get this stuff built into my next desk. Unfortunately, I doubt I ever will. Maybe I'm wrong and Surface will eventually re-surface, but right now it looks like another big idea gone abandoned.
Michael Gartenberg is a partner at Altimeter Group. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net. Contact him at gartenberg AT gmail DOT com. Views expressed here are his own.
That's been Microsoft's MO for many years now. Develop the coolest shit on earth, and release exactly none of it. I'm surprised they released Windows 7 and the Zune HD - both symbols that maybe things are starting to change... but alas, I doubt we'll have a Surface in our homes anytime soon.
@smakus
Exactly, they created this iconic table that if priced right (
@smakus They have released it, but not to consumers. Consumers will get this thing as soon as the cost for it slouches. I can't fathom paying over 5k unless this is the best-and-last computer I own.
@N900
hell Id buy one for 20,000 if I had that kind of money lying around.
@N900
See, the thing is, I don't think people really want to sit straight up and stare down at their PCs, or hunch over them. People are used to looking straight ahead at their screens, and what can you really do as a consumer with a table, other than using it maybe to sift through pictures or play board games. You can't use it for movies unless you can find some way to get comfortable while staring straight down. Same goes for corporate use - how can you be comfortable working while leaning over a table?
@Sad Sack
Why couldn't you use it for movies? Sure, I wouldn't want to look down at my table for long viewing experiences. However, a projector could always be built into the table, or included as an accessory so it could be positioned to the user's liking. The table could have built in connections (and maybe shelving?) for your set top box, consoles, etc.
Theoretically if done correctly one Surface table could be your PC, coffee table, AND entertainment center in one. Sure, it might up the cost of it, but you wouldn't be spending any extra on an HDTV, etc.
@Mohulis A projector is not a replacement for an HDTV.
What problem does it solve? What daily task or job is made better by it's use?
@Sad Sack Standing and hunching over a table is painful and not all that great for various tendons.
@Sad Sack
Umm... Actually, people have been working with desktops for years. In fact, it's such a successful paradigm that the personal computer has used this name (desktops) to get people comfortable with the new paradigm of working on a panel that sits straight up in front of you. Couple the surface with a pen (and obviously a virtual keyboard), and you've got yourself the ultimate computer.
We just gotta make sure the progs we write for it are suitable for a /real/ desktop.
@smakus
It's not the collest shit on the earth, that's pure fanboy talk. We have one here at work, it's cool the first 10 minutes, then it becomes another Wii device as the wow factor turns boring. Might work where businesses want attractions for their consumers but at $15K or so, it's a bad investment like most MSFT product ideas.
@Invader Par
That's what I was saying - it's hunching over "coffee-table" computers that people aren't used to doing. Pair a surface PC with a vertical display, however, then you have a killer product. Like a keyboard and mouse on steroids, with all the benefits of a full-fledged PC in addition to the vertical display.
@smakus "Sadly, Surface ultimately showed that Microsoft still can't figure out markets and how to get products into the hands of real users."
Just wait, That is way too cool. Seems much more responsive than the touch screens currently available from companies like HP, especially with the multitouch ability.
Latest: http://bit.ly/microsoft-surface-reactions-examined
@N900
Surface wasn't released in any capacity. Only WPF and Silverlight. They are not the same. You could write a surface alternative yourself easily enough using WPF and multi-touch support, but, it's not even a commercial product.
Hopefully soon in a product we like to call Courier.
@aimran
Those are pretty different products: Surface and Courier.
@aimran courier will be my xmas present. i hope xmas comes in october at the latest. *drool*
@chispito
What I meant is implement the technology of Surface into the Courier. That way, it is much more affordable than a table PC.
@aimran Yeah but the technology in that concept is ever-budding as well. If you want them to implement that, you might have to wait even longer until it comes to fruition.
@aimran I really don't mean to sound negative, but Courier is not the savior of anything.
Heck, at least Surface actually exists. Courier is just a concept video that they trotted out in an effort to prevent the iPad from becoming a runaway train.
I suppose the tactic has worked, given all the comments about "Wait until Courier!" I read here and on Giz, but come on -- Courier is Duke Nukem Forever for the hardware set.
@RidleyGriff You read Gizmodo. You're argument is invalid.
@aimran
Not sure where they would house the camera's that are used to capture gesture input in the courier.
@RidleyGriff and yet we were given the implication that the courier actually may exist several months before the ipad
@RidleyGriff
The real threat to the iPad is, not Courier (which is a real product due to be released later this year, by the way), but the HP Slate. The reason is that the Slate will run the full Windows 7 OS, meaning you can use it for all your iTunes content (except apps, of course), full-blown PC apps, and Zune/Amazon/AnyOtherMediaStore content.
@Sad Sack That means nothing if the hardware isn't that great. Why do you think Microsoft is buiding courier with a mobile OS and not win 7. Becaaus they know win 7 isn't built for a tablet and won't work quite well. Sadly, a product is only as good as the OS that runs on it, and if Microsoft doesn't see the need to inpliment their own software that should be the biggest clue.
@aimran
As of this moment.. the courier is vapor. I love how everyone screamed that the iphone lacked this.. and sucks at that.. blah blah blah.. and then became the runaway hit that it is... love it or hate it you can't argue that its a force in the market. And all that this or that came after the hardware demo...not some mockup demo concept video. MS release this concept video and all the MS fanboy/zealots start having non stop wet techno dreams.. and yell courier in every useless war they comment into. I saw avatar to but that doesnt mean I'm looking for tall blue aliens in the trees out back.
My opinion is that MS is making big changes in an attempt to become relevant again. Windows 7 shows hope.....WP7 looks interesting and their tone has changed on many levels... and good for them.. finally changing after the market has forced it to move. But the Courier aint nothing but a video until we see the thing demo'd
@Sad Sack -- "The real threat to the iPad is the HP Slate. The reason is that the Slate will run the full Windows 7 OS..."
The iPad is a "gadget" that will do exactly what the wildly popular iPod Touch and iPhone can do. Not many people will mind its limitations.
The HP Slate is a full Windows 7 netbook... but it's missing a keyboard. Remember the "why get an iPad when you can get a netbook that does so much more" comments? If that's the case... why not get a real Windows 7 netbook instead of an HP Slate? There's the competition...
People will buy an iPad because it's an iPad. Trying to decide between an Asus netbook and the HP Slate will be trickier.
So... while the HP Slate makes more sense on paper as a tablet because it is able to do so much more than the iPad... I still don't see it as a serious threat to the iPad.
@p0p0 Your grammar is horrible. Your argument is invalid.
@angermeans and Kunta Kinte,
It appears that the HP Slate will run an Atom processor with a Broadcom CrystalHD graphic accelerator. The article can be found here: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/08/hp-slate-makes-an-appearance-to-show-off-flash-stays-for-a-rock/
The hardware should be enough to support Windows 7.
@Michael Scrip
The difference between the HP Slate and netbooks: multitouch capacitive touch screen, perfect for curling up in your favorite chair or couch away from the TV room, and watching your movies and TV shows, be they in iTunes, Zune, Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix Watch Instantly, Hulu, etc.
The reason why Windows tablets have failed in the past: poor touchscreen relied on stylus, mostly a niche product for business, and no one thought to use it for entertainment (to be fair, there weren't really any entertainment options without a CD/DVD drive back then).
@Sad Sack -- "The difference between the HP Slate and netbooks: multitouch capacitive touch screen, perfect for curling up in your favorite chair or couch away from the TV room, and watching your movies and TV shows, be they in iTunes, Zune, Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix Watch Instantly, Hulu, etc."
A netbook and the HP Slate both have pluses and minuses. A netbook is a traditional Windows laptop that will do pretty much anything a real laptop can do… but it’s hard to use in bed or on the couch. The HP Slate also runs Windows… but because of its tablet form factor… it probably won’t get much use outside of a web browser and for watching video on the couch.
I guess my question is… what do people want? Will more people buy an HP Slate to use on the couch, and to run the occasional Windows app… or will more people buy a netbook to be used as a small Windows laptop, and to watch the occasional TV show? Like I mentioned before… it’s gonna be real interesting to see the HP Slate sitting next to the netbooks at Best Buy. I can’t wait to hear the sales pitches for each.
We already know that netbooks are hot sellers because you can get one for about $300… and at that price… why the hell not?
Yet… people have pre-ordered 100,000 iPads in only a few days… sight-unseen… fully aware of its limitations. Hmmmmm….
So, what happens if you cram the guts of a Windows netbook into a tablet device, aka the HP Slate? Is that the ultimate device?
Right now, the HP Slate is winning, in theory, because it will run Flash and anything else you want. If the HP Slate is $500, then your original statement is correct... it will be a competitor to the iPad.
There are a million use cases for all these devices. I have a monster desktop I use to edit video… but I don’t have a laptop. I want a netbook for real computing on the road.
I also want an iPad… for web browsing and all those digital magazines we keep seeing demos for.
So for me, the HP Slate is stuck in limbo… it doesn’t have the keyboard I need to be used as a laptop… nor the exclusive magazine content that the iPad will likely get.
Regardless… I’m buying a netbook first… before I even think about buying an iPad.
@Michael Scrip
If I win the PCH sweepstakes or something, I'd get the Slate to function as an iPod Touch with vastly superior capabilities. As far as the public, only time will tell, as you say. If the Slate gets 100,000 pre-orders, I will be absolutely floored. The Slate is a threat to the iPad, but, based on these early results, certainly not an iPad-killer. So the Slate is, like the iPad, an in-betweener - 33% competing with netbooks, 33% competing with laptops, and 33% competing with PMPs like the iPod Touch and Zune HD. The estimated price point of the Slate, according to a more recent Engadget post, is $550, on a par with the iPad.
This thing costs over $5,000. Microsoft would have to market their ass off for average consumers to take out their checkbooks. Quite frankly, I don't imagine this thing in my house anytime soon. It's good where it's at now: retail.
IT'S OVER 5000!1!!1!11one!1!!1!!!
@CaptainPlanet Aww, you're 4000 short...
Honestly I don't think Surface is dead, just on hiatus until MS rights the ship with 7 and now WinMo 7. Plus there has to be a cheaper way to build those tables.
I worked at a studio that had a Surface....it was pretty cool...nothing amazing, but it was cool....and WAY too big for consumers.
Well they did show off that mobile version of surface using a projector/camera recently.
This is one of the only technologies in the past several years I was absolutely waiting for and am really dissapointed didn't evolve.
After watching the demo videos I HAD to have one.
Hopefully it isn't dead as I'd be first in line when these come to market at a reasonable price (I'd even buy in as an early adopter which is a rare thing for someone so bang-for-buck oriented as myself)
Here's to waiting
@Rideless It isn't dead, and it is evolving, just not for the consumers. Lots of retail stores and attractions use it, but this just can't be seen for consumers yet because the price is so high.
@Rideless, I'm sure it will or is evolving internally, they might still be coding it for retail development with a higher business backend. I still liked the idea of using the surface for public use. The stuff for games alone is perfect for those niche groups. Will be interesting when it's released a lot more and the developer tools become open to everyone.
Home use I just don't see catching on.
@Templarian
I guess I should have said "didn't evolve more rapidly"
On a personal scale this is an ideal coffee table for me, I mean ideal as I don't like to be pent up in my office when I want to be casually browing the web and I don't like browing on my TV through an HTPC.
Call me crazy but this fits my needs perfectly (within a home network)
I also believe that if we see these in retail and higher end lounges, bars, etc. it would also fuel the prospective home buyers.
The release of an OS along with movement in the mobile space from MS can only be a good thing for this wonderful project.
@N900
I do hope that the development is working and as my other post suggests I do believe retail development and the service industry is a great launch point into consumers homes.
On your first point however, what retail locations or public spaces are in fact using Surface, or for that matter a competing derivative ?
In particular, as I'd love to go poke one, where in the Great White North ?
This isn't as a condradiction, but as a genuine curiousity because as mentioned the only large scale deployments have been for a limited time at the AT&T stores.
let me know, very interested.
@Rideless Well, as one poster said, they have this at the Hard Rock cafe, and a couple other places in Vegas (frankly where I've seen a majority o.0). And I've heard Starwood/Westins plans to implement as well.
i like the wordplay in the header
I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE
Wasn't there a fabulous SF table like this before Surface? A couple of years back, there were definitely web videos of a demo, from a research lab or University somewhere...
@Alex McKenna Jeff Han NYU) demo'd the idea at a Ted Talk in 2006.
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html
They later spun it off as a for profit company, http://www.perceptivepixel.com/
@retailgeek Exactly. People forget this and now thinks its a MS creation, disappointing!
slow news week huh. this article kinda reminds me of those ones on cnn that are like "and whatever happened to that girl that saved the dolphin's life? well, she's here with us now"
My 2 year old daughter seemed to enjoy the one at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle today.. To me it was kinda blah though.