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Yeah! Do you remember Minority Report? [H]
Totally Minority Report! When I first saw them talking of it at MS Labs I couldn't have thought that one day it would be so real, leave alone that the day would come so soon. This is big!
Now waiting for "M$ bloatjunkhardware! PC-DOS in a 1980 beige dektop rulz" and "stole it from Apple iSurface" comments, right?
Geez, I thought exactly the same, LOL.
I want one for xmas!!! [:D] I do wonder the hardware below that... eight P4 with 2TB of RAM and 4GB of video? [8-)]
Oh, who cares how many Core 2 Duos with how many TBytes of hyperspeed RAM and the array of GPUs, it is wild!
Seriously though, I'm not sure it must be a monster-machine under the hood, it looks like the entire architecture is different. Like Xbox is much weaker than your standard gamer-geek-zillion-pound overclocked burning hot Alienware, yet the gaming performance is nearly equal. I may be wrong in precise details, I just try illustrating my point.
I totally want one... I dunno why... That and the levitating car thingy...
It's nothing fancy guys, it's just a Vista powered PC, not some multicpu mosnter with more ram than a server. It doesn't have to be super powerful to run the types of apps they demoed.
The tech is in the chameras that pick up UV light from your fingers or other objects and then the projection device. That's probably where the real cost is. oh, and the screen itself is also alot.
A friend of mine works for this team... I couldn't wait for them to go public so he could finally talk about it. As a former Microsoft employee, I knew about the project when it was in the black, but for obvious reasons after I left, I couldn't discuss details with him about his work. It was torture not knowing where the project stood since it sounded really interesting.
For me, the thing to watch will be to see how they eventually sell this to consumers. Microsoft has rarely manufactured gizmos on this scale. Mice and keyboards, sure, but their joysticks and network gear has folded. The closest thing to this would be the XBox line... which is significantly different.. Unfortunately relying on OEMs to deliver has often been a point of failure too.
To be successful, I can see Microsoft manufacturing a Surface as a first party product, but I would think you'd want integration into different cabinets and housings to match home decor. That just doesn't sound like anything they've tried so far.
Johnny Mnemonic was using VR gloves and goggles over a sensor table-thingy, cantsandya, Minority Report is the closest match as people interact with a glove, yes, but over a glass display that is physically there...
Chinpokomon, I find it so spectacular (and IMO, without exaggerating, revolutionary), that even if Microsoft suddenly fire all the marketing people and have all the technical staff do the commercial strategies, Surface will surface (bad pun, couldn't resist nevertheless :P). It is darn hot, I somehow feel this is a first step into something huge...
Well, you all have to keep in mind that the first people to get and use this is big business. As the demo video says, casinos, resorts and other shops etc. Many of the demos are made to that area. It won't be a year or probably even longer than that before you start to see surface tables etc made for the home.
And even then, you'll have to really think about what type of task in the home you'd use this for. Some have said that it could be used in the kitchen to start off. And probably later on in the living room where the family can use it to play games or do other things.
All in all, great tech and I can't wait to see how far they can take it.
Yeah I know, made a second comment that I spoke to soon but it seems to have dissapeared into cyberspace.
Sure its a nice concept that can be made ultra-user-friendly. But I fail to see any real use of this unless they come up with a standing display rather then a "table". Then it could very well be the next giant leap forward, that and voice commands would make it a great experiance.
I couldn't agree more RanMay. Those of us that stay on top of trends in tech could see this coming from a mile away. It was/is going to happen. Heck, I still see the Segway as a step in that direction (the future) even if there isn't one on every sidewalk yet. Think about the interactivity that the Wiimotes have suddenly introduced to millions of impressionable youth.
A generation from now, I expect this type of system to be common place... I'm more interested in the immediate. How will Microsoft expose the masses to this technology and at the same time make it profitable or at least a money loosing endevour that is still worth taking a slight loss. The cell phone kiosk demo seems like a wonderful first step. The rewards system in hotels also seems like a good way to introduce this technology to a lot of different people. GP007, the big businesses may have the tech first, but they are customer facing solutions.
Having key product placement will drive exposure, but when it comes to consumer driven space, I don't know what direction Microsoft will go... based on past devices and scenarios, I don't know what will be successful for them.