Anybody see the movie The Island. Don't deny it, Scarlet Johanson in a jumpsuit... 'nuff said. Yeah that is what I thought. Ohh and maybe the lady gadget lovers like that guy. But anyway I digress. This concept was used as the head guy's desk. Someone want to do the research whether the ancient Microsoft announcement or the movie came first. I know I'm being lazy.

What? MS pushes a product out the door to keep up with their own premature hype without really nailing down the technology yet?

MS: Check this out - it'll be out in a couple years.

Apple: Check this out - it's fuckin' done, son.

@fragglepac:
dude, what in the name of fuck are you babeling about?

Good, I was afraid they were going to release a product that worked. Although this being Microsoft, I should have known my fears were unfounded.

@fragglepac: And even in the Island, the Surface-like desk that Dr. Merrick used was for business application, not for home use.

What we have here is a computer that, while cool overall, is still woefully limited based solely on the fact that it's also a big ass piece of furniture, is mondo expensive for the kit, and can't be used for much else than fiddling around with images and syncing cameras. It's place is in some futuristic electronics store, at least for now. The only way I'd use something like this is if it was a flat tablet that was hooked up to another computer and use it as a drawing tab for my artwork. Oh, I could always just get the Cintiq for that.

@nutbastard:

haha!

@Empire: How quickly we forget about BOB?

[www.youtube.com]

@nutbastard

I've never heard a more accurate statement about M$ and Apple in my life. Thank you.

Yay! One more crap-tastic product premature and un-finished out the door_

The chick in the pic is hot. But in my head the dude is her little brother, 'cause any other relationship kills the fantasy.

Steve Ballmer Rules!

[www.youtube.com]

dude! I hope this joint runs Vista Ultimate!

"We're going to follow our nose"???
Since when was the Surface part of our balanced breakfast?
Thanks Toucan Steve!

@Zlevee:

wouldnt it work if he is her pimp?

So far, I have yet to see anything more than rotating and moving pictures. Is there value to this things?

all of you bastards that use windows and office daily complaining all the way, should be forced to go back to a typewriter and pencil. wtf!?!?!?!?

Haters... all of you.

I just like the idea of the guy trying to impress her with his surface table, and failing miserably.

@mtopper: Some of us use Macs and iWork, even at the office.

"There's a lot of consumer demand for this whole touchscreen/surface computing thing"

Says who? I can't tell that was meant to be a sarcastic comment or not. Anyways, I'll admit that the table is kinda cool, but even if someone offered it to me for free I'd probably hesitate to accept it. It seems like the kind of thing that loses it's charm fast. And then you have a big stupid table in your way.

If you could run board games on this thing, that might be kind of cool. It's Risk, but without the dice! It's Axis and Allies, but without the soul-crushing monotony!

@Zlevee: Sorry dude: Their kid is the red-headed omen baby here [gizmodo.com] If you look real close, you can just see his hand starting to come out of the screen in the lower right....

@ Otterking

even if someone offered it too you for free, you would be hesitant to accept it? Wow, that makes you stupid AND ignorant

your computer + one IR camera + one short throw projector > MS Surface

HP makes the TouchSmart line with a 19" widescreen touch enabled LCD - a bit bulky - but I guess that's old news.

@rizzuh: I wouldn't want it that's for sure.

I would look pathetic next to other installations of multi-touch goodness around the house.

I thought Apple already released this in a handheld unit... Or does the iPhone not have "Paint" yet?

@Sihanouk-s-Poodle: But that's pretty much true of any touch tablet. Where companies like MS are failing is the same place that all the 3D desktop efforts have failed. They are too keen on the hardware/implementation without thinking too much of what problem the software is really supposed to solve. And, no, scattering around my photo library just so I am forced to rotate and scale them is not a "solution" that interests me, just like walking down a hall to follow a 3D web link isn't a big time saver in my book. I'm just amazed that these corporate officers hold on to their jobs when they completely fail to capitalize on the technology their geeks develop. It's just sad to see the "leadership" at MS too worried about external threats to focus on creating the most of the internal assets.

I love that the people in that picture are sitting on $5000 Herman Miller Barcelona chairs while playing with their $10,000 surface. Is placing the device next to pretentiously overpriced furniture supposed to make it appear less prohibitively-expensive?

@WorkingOnYourInvoice:

Some of us use Macs and iWork, even at the office.

Use iWork at the office? Must not be a job that pays well or cares about their communication with clients.

@nutbastard:

MS: Check this out - it may take a while, but it'll work.

Apple: Check this out - it's fuckin' done, but doesn't work. wait for the next update, then the next, and the next....

I know it's so much fun to remain in the dank closets of self-imposed ignorance ... and hey- it's a crowded closet with lots of applets to keep me company. Following some of the links (gasp!) you can see that it was not MS's original though to offer this as a consumer device. That idea gained some cachet after a whole bunch of stupid people and stupid companies and stupid developers got really enthusiastic about the stupid thing.

What Microsoft originally conceived of this as being, initially, was a touch-screen kiosk that could handle a variety of time/labor saving activities, as well as internet connectivity at places like Sheraton hotels, Harrah's casinos, and T-Mobile retail locations. Part of program development includes both hardware/software customization for the various enterprises. It's not being developed as a "one size fits all" device.

I know the very name MS keeps many of you applets in the closet, but geniuses like Jeff Han are driving this reconceptualization which has influenced design from the iPhone to the Surface.

Gate's vision, if you will, was looking at all sorts of horizontal surfaces and seeing them as settings for a variety of different interfaces/capabilities. You could go from a flat glass top to an actual working surface. He's operating from a given: the cost has to decrease exponentially in addition to design being extended and expanded. What did the first blu-ray recorders cost? What do they cost now? Look at shiny toys. They initially cost an arm and a leg. Now you can keep your leg.

@Type-E: good question. If the "Surface" was just a matter of moving/sizing/rotating pictures, it'd be just as limited a gimmick as the proverbial multi-touch trackpads and touch screens floating around. It has much more functionality and interactivity like wireless/contact transfers of cameras, pda's etc. There's a slew of white papers and videos out there if you're interested in more details.

It's not meant, at the consumer level to be a "big stupid table." It's meant to be a piece of furniture you'd have anyway. A countertop. An end table. A dining table. These are initial prototypes, suitable for kiosk/type implementation.

The problem with this thing is that it's still a table that doesn't go anywhere (and, no, putting wheels on the table doesn't count). I mean, seriously, what makes it any different from using a desktop PC?

Now if it was a picoprojector that tracks your movements....

...Am I the only one who likes the idea of picoprojectors?

@lianna_g: "It's not meant, at the consumer level to be a "big stupid table." It's meant to be a piece of furniture you'd have anyway. A countertop. An end table. A dining table. These are initial prototypes, suitable for kiosk/type implementation"

After, as you say, it has already become ubiquitous through commercial implementation -- which will also allow the pricing to become at least low enough to be semi-palatable in the consumer space -- and more importantly (given the MS reliance on the 3rd-party development ecosphere), for there to be a critical mass of applications that consumers will find compelling. It would be really dumb to try to sell it to consumers ahead of that. "I just spent $10,000 on this cool new surface computer!" "Oh yeah, what can you do with it?" "Umm, play Solitaire?"

@lianna_g:

"Gate's vision, if you will, was looking at all sorts of horizontal surfaces and seeing them as settings for a variety of different interfaces/capabilities."

And that pretty much sums up why Surface is Stupid. Leave it to the obscenely rich to hire an interior decorator to fill a mansion with furniture they never use. The rest of the world uses their horizontal surfaces already. What the hell use is a screen on the table if it's covered with my keys, wallet, the remote, a stack of magazines, a couple bills, a pizza box, a drink, and my feet?

"It has much more functionality and interactivity like wireless/contact transfers of cameras, pda's etc."

News flash: you don't need to obscure the screen to accomplish that. Where is this wireless utopia in the OS they're shipping today? If they can't supply the underlying technology, why am I supposed to believe they'll also have a reliable new skin on top of it? This simply isn't a credible product, and rushing it out the door is no way to instill confidence.

@Gujustud: Is that you Ballmer?

Microsoft is persistent, and that persistence does pay off with marketable products. But their turn around time sucks. They're too big for their own good sometimes. Apple's "next, next, next" mentality is indicative of a smaller, more nimble company, who can't afford to patiently pound away at competitors. It just demonstrates different business models, Both work. Both have weaknesses

@nutbastard: I thought that dude was a rogue spambot at first.

"It's not meant, at the consumer level to be a "big stupid table." It's meant to be a piece of furniture you'd have anyway. A countertop. An end table. A dining table. These are initial prototypes, suitable for kiosk/type implementation."

This is why I'm really confused that they're trying to "push it out sooner."

I don't see what the big deal is. They've had Surface for like 20 years. I remember when I was a kid they had Surface at the local Jerry's Pizza and you could sit there and play Ms. Pac Man, and Asteroids, and Galaga, it was kick ass. Who would've thought a computer you can eat on!?

Microsoft Bob vs. Apple Newton - Deathmatch...

Whyfor this rubtub?

Go to a trade show where they're showing off the Surface and note the line so long that you can't get to use the thing. People love it.

Now, do I want one in my living room? Not so much, but there are lots of great applications for it. Yes, mostly commercial at this point.

This does not, however, cut down on the shiny, new toy aura around it. Rich people will buy anything if it's shiny enough.

i'm anxious to see if fire-crotch can play his cards right in this scenario...

@wecanfreakit: You win this round dammit! You win this round!

I don't care about having one of these in my house..... but I would LOVE to be able to go to a restaraunt and place my order, ask for a refill and an extra napkin, and then pay when I'm done eating; all without having to wait for some snotty waitor to finally sache' his way over to my table. Now if said restaraunt could get Rosie the Robot to deliver my food to my table, I wouldn't have to deal with any waitors.

@robinandtami: What makes you think that is worth $10K per table to the restaurant? Plus, they'd have to run wires all over the place to power these low, heavy tables. If restaurants (or any business) really wanted wanted to offer interactive technology they could have easily done it in the last 5 years with existing cell phone or WiFi technology for a hell of a lot less. That they haven't done even that, probably owing to the fact many restaurants already barely scrape by, is a pretty good indicator you're not going to see Surface at any establishment you regularly frequent.

I know you like riffing on your point, mistaken though it is, but you got to pick up a few more notes. Check out some of the white papers, some of the videos, bop on over to TED and check out Han. Really. You'll have fun and get schooled. You're raising nescience to an art form.

I'm agreeing YOU probably won't see the technology. YOU won't be staying at a Sheraton or going to a Harrah's casino. It will cost beaucoup bucks at the beginning.

Out of sympathy, I'm gonna give you a couple of clues ... this was meant to demonstrate the kind of hybrid development Gates has been interested in ... ubiquitous digital content appliances. It was NOT meant (except for the business end) to be an ikea-affordable piece of furniture. It was NOT meant to replace your computer. Good luck.

computer + wiimote + IR pen (Up to 4 per wiimote) + projector > M$ Surface!!!!

And as far as I can see it, this cost less than half what the M$ Surface will be..... i think.....

what?? i dont want people's paw prints on my coffee table. sheesh.. got enough problems with people not using coasters! LOL

@lianna_g: Is the "you" you refer to me? Please you the Gizmodo reply system so that some threading is clear. In any case, you're clueless. My complaint is not just about it not being suitable as a desktop replacement, but that it isn't even fit for the purpose it is marketed. I think I've seen pretty much all the multitouch presentations that are out there and the problems they mostly appear to solve are the ones they create. Again, I have never wanted my photo library randomly thrown up on a screen so that I have to manually fiddle with it, yet that is what too often is the "wow" application shown. So you, like the people who demo this technology, need to get a clue yourself and actually give me a real reason to think this is anything other than MS Bob Xtreme.

@Computer_Chef: I'm with you on the function being defeated by the form. When this this gets released, it's only a matter of time before we see one in a movie or some television series, covered in cocaine residue and drinking glass ring stains. This, of course, leading up to the climactic fight scene when someone gets thrown through it.

We won't even get into the unpleasant residues that will result from more...um, adult uses.

/always put a towel on the couch