Microsoft's Multitouch Coffee Table Display

longacre writes "Popular Mechanics takes the Microsoft Surface system for a hands-on video test drive. To be announced at today's D5 conference, the coffee-table-esqe device allows manipulation from multiple touch points, while infrared, WiFi and Bluetooth team up to allow wireless transfers between devices placed on top of it, such as cameras and cell phones. Expected to launch before the end of the year in the $5,000-$10,000 range, the devices might not make their way under many Christmas trees, but will find the insides of Starwood hotels, Harrah's casinos and T-Mobile shops."

Credit where due department

[smittyoneeach]

Props to MS for coming up with a more-or-less unprecedented product.
The emacs users will quickly be shaking from key withdrawal, of course. ;)

Re:Credit where due department

[CrackedButter]

I think it is really a great product, very interesting, everything in the demo seems to simple to use, very Apple like. Microsoft has taken a clue because it seems something like Apple would do when it comes to ease of use. Just placing a memory stick on the table downloads its contents? Brilliant! I'm really happy that something like this is coming out, lets just hope it gets to us mere mortals sooner rather than later.

Re:Kudos

[Anonymous Coward]

You are very correct! The concept has been toyed with, in idea and a few tests, but Microsoft is getting this out of concept phase and bringing what looks to be a usable product to market. The comparisons (slams) I am seeing to touchscreens is unwarranted and simply ignorant of what this product is, does and could potentially do. I am so tired of the constant Microsoft bashing - even though I am certainly no fan myself.

The size of the table top screen itself is intriguing to me...

Inductive charger?

[Colin Smith]

No? Pfft...

 

vaperware to steal Apple's press

[boxlight]

Microsoft has a long history of announcing new technologies long before they really exist in order to prevent a competitor from gaining marketing hype and momentum. This strategy goes right back to the earliest Windows versions -- you can read lots about this from an MS programmer's perspective in Barbarians [amazon.ca].

Since Apple is about to announce their "top secret" features in Leopard, it seems obvious it will be this sort of touch screen technology and that Microsoft is trying to steal Apple's thunder by announcing this vaperware.

boxlight

Imagine the possibilities for tabletop gaming ...

[SABME]

Back in 1980, when I was a hardcore high school AD&D player, my friends and I used to talk about how great it would be to have a table, with a computer inside, for gaming.

At the time, there were some utilities that could help with housekeeping in the game, but it was really clunky to have a whole computer there behind the DM's screen. Imagine, your character sheet and virtual dice right in front of you; automated tracking for dice rolls, combat and spell recovery; fancy graphics for your map, characters, and monsters; maybe even a soundtrack and audio effects.

And yes, WoW has all the features I just described, and more, but the element of everyone getting together around a table and playing face-to-face cannot be replaced.

Needless to say, I want one of these, especially for when I retire and go back to gaming full-time :-).

I suspect

[KKlaus]

this emerged at least partially out of their previous efforts with "media pcs." On of the obvious (but largely unspoken) problem they ran into there is that the PC with mouse and keyboard is just a shitty way to interact with media. Touchscreens, on the other hand, obviously aren't. So I think that despite the fact that they are initially of course selling this only to businesses, that will be the ultimate placement of this technology. It finally allows people to look at video, music, photos, etc, on a living room computer in a way that doesn't clash immensely with the intended atmosphere of the room. So bravo to Microsoft for making an appealing product, it'll be interesting to see what Apple's response is if this table ultimately becomes successful, as media is one of Apple's important domains. But either way, it's one of the few times MS may not be lying when they say a new paradigm is arriving. Should be fun to watch.

Re:Credit where due department

[GreggBz]

Oh Cripes, throw me a technology idea that no one else has thought of first. I challenge you. It's likely that I can name some obscure program on my Amiga or find a Star Trek gadget that did the same thing. Computer software and hardware is evolutionary, and ideas that come to market are almost never ever completely original. The point is, who can polish the idea, make it usable and find a market willing to pay the price for it first.

A Chiropractor's dream

[lastchance_000]

My neck hurts just thinking about it.

Re:Credit where due department (Yeah To Jeff Han)

[glindsey]

Yeah MS added some fluff by making it interact with devices placed on top the the basic idea is not some new "Top Secret" project

True, but the "fluff" is exactly the point. There are always two parts to a successful project: implementation and presentation. Geeks are going to flip out over the implementation, but if it is going to be presented to the general public, it has to be in a slick package, and it has to have the bells and whistles -- the "fluff" -- that make people go "oooooohhhh". Consider the iPod, which was absolutely nothing new (as witnessed by CmdrTaco's infamous offhand comment). But Apple took an existing technology and wrapped it in a shiny case and interface, and sales exploded.

It is those little stupid things, like the soft glowing ring around a drink set on the table, or the little ripple effect when a finger hits it, or the way the pictures "explode" out of the camera when it is set down, that will make Joe Six-Pack sit up and pull out his wallet.

And honestly, you think having the Surface interact with devices set on it is "fluff"? As I said above, the little graphical flourishes that happen are definitely fluff, but the concept of merely having to set a device down on the table for them to communicate is utterly simple and intuitive. I'd say that's a huge point in Surface's favor.

Re:Expect Apple to unleash the Legal Nazgul

[Poromenos1]

owns most of the concepts

Am I the only one who finds this sentence disturbing?

Re:Its a coffee table

[dfghjk]

MS is developing a product that uses multitouch, among other things, that offers an entirely new means of user interaction. Apple, on the other hand, is using multitouch as a buzzword to create the image of revolutionary technology, despite the fact that it's barely multitouch (two inputs rather than one) and it does nothing new for the user. Frankly, it doesn't matter whether the MS gestures are copied or not, Apple's are too, because MS's device performs an entirely new function. I don't see how this can possibly be seen as "FUD'ing Apple" except in the eyes of a hopeless cheerleader. You did watch the video, didn't you?

How do you know all the gestures are copied? Where are all the gestures documented?

Bitching and moaning

[DaveCBio]

I love to complain as much as the next guy, but sometimes Slashdotters come off as the worst kind of internet poser that isn't impressed by anything. Sure there have been examples of this inthe past. The difference is a company like Microsoft takes the idea and makes a commercial product with it. Taking an idea out of the academic world and actually making something useful is the whole idea research like this. If Apple did this there would be a line a couple kms long on this site to fellate Jobs.

Re:Bitching and moaning

[Anonymous Coward]

You are correct. This point has been made over and over, and is ignored by many who feel the constant need to bash Microsoft. Most (outside of this kind of environment) could care less where the technology comes from - they simply are interested in technology they can use. This brief demonstration shows real-world, useful applications - and frankly inspires a plethora of additional ideas.

And so many comments as to this being vaporware... For a pototype, it looks like the fundamental technology is already working pretty well. Any developer could easily recognize that with this and a decent API - they could write anything they imagined to exploit the potential of a device like this.

Can it be made smaller? Of course! Or larger, or rounder or more 3D.... Use your imaginations for a change rather than sitting around complaining what others are accomplishing.

Now back to my coding - slightly more inspired now as well :)

You're kidding, right?

[KH2002]

[MS uses] a screen larger than a postage stamp (as opposed to the iPhone, for example).

Apple is using multitouch as a gimmick to create buzz. It doesn't actually do anything useful.

Nothing like some facile Apple-bashing. Watch the Apple demos to see how useful multitouch is for a cell phone. And Apple's "postage stamp"-size screen will be something I can own myself & use every day, as opposed to the MS display, which costs $5k-$10k.

Brilliant? No. PR gimmick? Why yes, it is!

[blueZ3]

Unless the memory stick or other flash media has some sort of wireless built in, there's no way that the "Blue screen of coffee tables" is going to "download" the contents into the PC running the display on the table. It might be able to get your contacts off your phone via bluetooth (but note that this won't be the demo's automagic version either, as most phones require user interaction to do transfers).

The fact that the whole media card "spilling" images onto the surface was reported as such a "Wow! Brilliant! The BEST thing EVAR!" just goes to show the poor state of technology journalism today.

And the demo of this particular feature isn't very Apple-like. An Apple interface wouldn't "spill" a random pile of crap onto the desktop. As for providing links to cell phone plans when you put your phone down on the table, that's such a bad idea it's hard to know where to start the critique. New from Microsoft! Spam on your coffee table! Yes, Bill, whenever I put my phone down I want to be bombarded with ads. Thanks so much! Most folks who have a plan (in the US) are locked in because that's how they got the cheap phone. Which shows the deep thought put into this product. And on, and on, and on.

As for the bar codes on everyday products, that sounds suspiciously like the CueCat business plan.

Not really fluff at all

[StreetStealth]

Each little touch you mentioned, while contributing its own degrees of wow-factor to the package, also contributes functionality.

The glowing ring -- confirmation of an established connection. Ripple effect -- an interstitial "sandbox" to ease users into this mode of interaction. Exploding pictures -- making it clear that the photos aren't being simply triggered by the phone's contact with the surface, obviously establishing their source as the phone itself.

Sure, you could pop up a centered Windows dialog for the first, have a guided tutorial for the second, and just draw in the photos starting in the upper left for the last. But the animated flourishes actually carry information, improving the interface's functionality.

Re:Mr Blobby

[TheNetAvenger]

Surely a flat-screen technology (TFT, Plasma, whatever) coupled with one of the newer multi-touch sensitive technologies would be better?


Um, not really.

First thing to note is that it is not 'multi-touch', but image sensing input, so it can distiguish all aspects of a hand, pen, or recognize items placed on the surface, this is far far beyond a multi-point touch screen technology.

This also means that with work, barcodes on the items will not always be necessary, as the system will eventually be able to image recognize devices, however this will be an evolution, just like developing drivers for every device.

The second thing is they are using DLP for imaging. DLP has features over Plasma and LCD in both refresh speed, contrast ratios, etc.(Anyone that owns a projector for watching movies and using their computer in the last 5 years knows the benefits of DLP.)

I don't know how thin this specific device will get, but a rear projected image can get fairly thin using a distorted directional optical system, so they could make the display a couple of inches thick if needed. Go look up some of the new DLP display technologies that are being pushed for mobile devices, because they can get the size down to smaller than most people expect.

Re:Not really fluff at all

[Tickletaint]

Thank you. You're the ONLY person I've seen on Slashdot who gets it. Even if the moderators don't notice, this is a point that needs hammering home to the hordes of geeks who thumb their noses at "eye candy" and yet are responsible, somehow, for designing the shit interfaces to which we're subjected, Every. Fucking. Day.

Re:Bitching and moaning

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, we love bashing Microsoft.

We actually want to know how stuff works, share what we know in exchange for what someone else knows. Pure curiosity - often applied to what we do for other people.

However, to Microsoft, we are hackers and pirates. Both said with a strong negative connotation.

I do not think any of us have anything against embrace and extend....its the embrace, extend, and patent part that really annoys us - the "patent" part meaning they won't play with others - its gotta be the Microsoft Way, or the highway. Then they have the temerity to launch legal attacks with the money used to purchase their products to bully anyone else in the playground out of their ball, using the legal powers vested in our government to make sure nobody else can play unless Microsoft licenses it.

Microsoft teams up with highly paid and supported executives of other businesses to force their licensed expireware on the rest of us. I can't do business with SCE, Fidelity Investments, Merrill Lynch, or even see my grades at the local College without being forced into a Microsoft product, so I end up withdrawing all my retirement funds from the brokers who will not use standard communication protocols, and do business orally over the phone or in person with the other businesses.

Business may place "teamwork" and being able to work with others high on the list for their HUMAN employees, but these attributes seem to rank dead last when dealing with their web presence. If their customer fails to come in with a Microsoft product, its quite acceptable to slam the door in his face. Customers are a dime a dozen anyway, who really cares if their business server is dishing out blank pages?

These businesses are large and customers are a dime a dozen. Business will pay for people to tell us we have to snap to attention and obey their demand we use a certain OS to talk to them. Business will pay even more for the people who hire people who think that way. When executives get paid what they do, why the hell do they need customers?

What business does Microsoft Technology Partners have dealing with lowly Non-Microsoft people such as Mac and Linux users anyway?

To me, building with proprietary Microsoft products becomes a major litigation risk if I try to get it to play with others. Besides, when my customers have one flavor of client, Microsoft will only support another flavor of development tools so they can use my usage of them to force my customers into another round of licenses). To me a Microsoft Business is like a Tent City, here today, obsolete tomorrow. Its not at all like building a Cathedral designed to last for centuries.

I see this table, its something to be thrown away in a couple of years. Just like all those other wonderful Microsoft products who died an early death by the combined approach of lack of support and legal methods of keeping anyone else from picking up the reins. I would not have it. Building my infrastructure out of this stuff is like building house foundations from untreated lumber. Great if it only has to last for a couple of years or so, but I do not like having to build my infrastructures over and over and over again. I am like that old bartender that still uses his old National cash register - the big mechanical brass one. Fifty years later, it still does what it was designed to do. Microsoft is like plumbing that won't stay fixed. Big pain in the arse.

Many of us still use public standards, have communicated effectively for years using it, and will do so for the forseeable future. We can still make the iron, bricks, glass, and mortar used to build even the oldest cathedrals. But we may not legally do things if their implementation is prohibited by IP law.

Can anyone really tell me where plain old HTML, coupled with .MP3, .AVI(DivX,XviD), .BMP(Image Maps), .GIF, and .JPG fall short for damn near ANY