Microsoft Surface

If you haven't heard, Microsoft has announced a new tablet-PC-like table called the Surface. You can check out some demos here: Microsoft Surface

I first heard about the Surface from digg articles and I watched the demos on Microsoft's site, but I wanted to see it for myself. Luckily, the one open-to-the-public demonstration was in New York and even luckier, it was on my way to pick up my tux for the Tonys.

For those of you who don't know, the Surface is really a tablet-PC embedded in a table top. It tracks movement like a normal tablet, but also utilizes cameras so that it can spot "optical identifiers." As of now, these identifiers are the only way that the Surface can interact with things.

This is the optical identifier on the back of a demo credit card. The idea is that you can place any object with one of these stickers onto the Surface and instantly be able to interact with it. As far as the demos went, it worked, but I have to wonder if this is going to work in the real world. I asked a Microsoft employee if they were going to add bluetooth or RFID support in addition to the optical stickers and he said that they were, but he couldn't give me any details about how it would actually work. I'm a bit skeptical.

For demo purposes, they had stickers on credit cards, a smart phone, a sidekick, a drinking glass, etc. They worked really well, but it was a demonstration, so of course they did. When they placed their Zune onto the Surface, their music popped up. When they placed their sidekick onto the Surface, their ringtones and contacts popped up.

There isn't a whole lot to say about the Surface beyond what you can see in the demos online. I was hoping that they would be showing off some functionality beyond what I had already seen, but alas, they did not. There were three Surface tables set up in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel and each one was cycling through the same stuff.

The one feature they seem to love the most is what I'll call the "pile of pictures." When you want to access your photos, instead of bringing up a directory of picture files, you are presented with a stack of photos. You can then use your fingers to move them around, resize them, rotate them, etc. I played around with it, and it's cool, but totally useless. While I like the idea of being able to resize an image by grabbing it and pulling it apart, I like being able to find my pictures more. If you want to see the bottom picture on the pile, you have to drag every other picture off of it first. Beyond the initial "wow, how cool factor," the picture functionality seems to be a bit of a bust. The Microsoft guy showed how you can add a picture to a virtual postcard for emailing, but it was ridiculous.
Look, you can email a picture with a 5 letter message. Awesome!!!

One feature that's actually pretty cool is the ability to use the Surface table in a restaurant and order right from your table. The idea is that it's linked to the kitchen and you can select your items and send it directly to the chef without having to wait around for your waiter. That's cool, but could probably be accomplished with a $100 PDA as opposed to a $10,000 table. The really neat restaurant feature is being able to pay from your table. The Microsoft guy showed an example where he placed two credit cards onto the Surface. It read the cards and then brought up pictures and prices of all the items ordered. He then just dragged each item to the various credit cards and pointed to "pay." Since no one seems to use cash anymore, that would be pretty handy. I suppose the waiter would still have to bring you a receipt though.

This was a demo that I was looking forward to seeing. I had seen these little squares before, but I didn't understand what they were. Each one had a translucent optical identifier on it and the Surface played a bit of video under each one. The idea is that it's a video puzzle. As you move them around, the video follows the pieces. You can even flip the square over and the video will do the same. The two guys in the picture never did solve the puzzle, but it was entertaining to watch.

My thoughts overall is that the Surface is a really cool concept, and it might have practical purposes in the future, but for now, it's not worth the price tag. The Microsoft guy said that they will start appearing within the next year in Harrah's Casinos, T-Mobile stores, and Sheraton Hotels. He said that they wouldn't be ready for the average consumer for at least 3 more years. And that's probably for the best...