I panned and zoomed around coverage maps easily, best when I relaxed my touch, as pressing too hard made the table less responsive. Placing a specially-tagged phone on the Surface brought up information about it, including service plans, accessories, and the ability to see it in different colors. When two phones are placed on the table, a side-by-side comparison chart appears. The actions available on the AT&T Store table include flick, zoom in/out, flip, drag and the object-sensing ability.

My favorite part of the Surface is that it has lots of touch points; one person can zoom in on an object while another person flicks a different object. At one point, we had 30 fingers on the table, and they were all registering. The ability to collaborate in a physical way (group painting or photo sharing come to mind) will definitely be a big draw. Inevitable comparisons to the iPhone—curiously unavailable to place on the table—are warranted: It's basically the same feel, but 10x bigger.

Don't expect this to replace AT&T reps just yet, as purchasing still can't be done directly on the Surface. Still, it's definitely one cool tool that we look forward to seeing in other arenas. It's at five AT&T locations starting today (two in NYC, one each in San Fransisco, San Antonio, and Atlanta), and it will be in 12 stores by next month. [Microsoft Surface]

The tables will be set up so that when you place a phone on it, it'll automagically pull up info on that particular model. You'll also be able to buy crap like ringtones, graphics and videos by slapping your phone on it. It's not coming to every AT&T store, however; only residents of NYC, SF, Atlanta and San Antonio will have the privilege of using Microsoft's $10,000 toy to buy that ironic Mister Mister ringtone you've been thinking about getting. [Tech Digest]

The game is called Firefly, though the good ship Serenity is nowhere in sight. Instead, you grab fireflies as they flit around the screen, pulling them into your glass jar. The graphics are beautiful, and the interface looks very organic, so we have no doubt Surface will eventually lead to some sweet gaming. But this appears to take the "anyone can play" theme a little too far, to the nursery-schoolish "anyone can win."

As Doc from SarcasticGamer says, "Anyone can herd fireflies." True, but most people would probably choose not to. [SarcasticGamer.com]

DUN DUN DUN! [Surface Blog]

Bill appears and after a brief state-of-the-industry intro, notes that this is his final CES appearance. He'll look back on some of his previous experiences, noting how far we've progressed since he declared the "Digital Decade" in 2001 for three reasons:
1. The promulgation of lower-cost HD displays and soon interactive surfaces.
2. Mobile intelligence - cellular and GPS enabled products that help us get through the day
3. Interaction with technology increasingly mirroring the way we interact with people

First announcement: NBC Universal is making MSN the exclusive home for NBC's coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. It's the first "long tail" Olympics: there will be thousands of hours of content available at nbcolympics.com, ranging from the most popular sports to the most obscure—from basketball to badminton. The video will be both live and on demand, with over 30 simultaneous live broadcasts; 2,200 hours of live broacasting and 3,000 hours of on-demand content. All of the video will be shared in Silverlight format in "near HD" quality.

Hands-on: Never-before-seen demo of the Surface table. In this demo, Bill designs a snowboard for himself—yes, a snowboard—using multitouch technology to try out different designs, then save them to his Windows Mobile phone and share with his friends. I only wonder what his insurance company thinks about his snowboarding plans.

Robbie Bach, Microsoft's President of Entertainment & Devices Division, will take the stage to cover the bulk of the presentation, talking about:

• Xbox's banner year - 17.7 million Xbox 360 units sold; 7 titles surpassing 1 million sales mark; U.S. users spent more on Xbox 360 in 2007 than more on any other game console ever

• TV show deal with ABC Television and Disney Channel for Xbox Live programming, available for direct download to Xbox 360. It includes 500 hours of content, in standard and high def, available at the end of the month, with shows such as Desperate Housewives, Lost, Grey's Anatomy, plus Disney shows including Hannah Montana.

• Movie deal with MGM - Xbox will offer MGM films in standard def and high def including the entire Rocky series, Terminator, Dances With Wolves, Silence of the Lambs, Legally Blond, Barber Shop and the Bond franchise.

• New application for Microsoft's Media Room IPTV, distributed by AT&T U-Verse: On TNT, NASCAR fans can choose a view of the race from the camera inside their favorite driver's car via their set-top box; Showtime boxing will let you choose camera angle and audio feeds from the trainer, ref, or the commentators; in CNN's coverage of US presidential campaign, viewers can vote on issues, gauging voter opinion in realtime.

• Media Center Extender support is growing in the consumer-electronics industry, led by Samsung, which will be working on a connected TV with MCE capability.

• Zune 2 off to a good start, with 1.5 million people starting Zune social fan pages since the service began in November. Bach will announce the availability of the Zune in Canada, the first distribution outside the US.

When Bill takes the stage again, he will demonstrate a "device of the future," something that won't necessarily become a product sold by Microsoft, but still a good glimpse of things to come. The device will ostensibly store and catalog all of Bill's memories so that he can pull up a reel of all his past CES keynotes. At one point, he will snap a picture of the Venetian auditorium and the gadget will recognize the venue, proposing various recreational activities he might enjoy after the keynote.

This is a rough sketch of the proceedings, one that's bound to change considerably. I'm told there will be some surprises—maybe a celebrity guest or some farewell treat. Who knows? That's why we plan to catch the whole event, and fill in any gaps that may be missing from this otherwise thorough digest. (You're welcome.) [Microsoft at CES]

I will say that if you are impressed by the "touch features" in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7. Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales.

Multi-touch is obviously a given—it's actually possible in Vista, anyway. We're probably talking about way more in-depth input options and other more complicated interactions using multi-touch (versus the iPhone). However, more complex doesn't necessarily translate to more intuitive or better, and touch interfaces might be a case where less is more. How much of a "step up" from the iPhone or say, Microsoft's Surface venture is really a step forward before it turns into a stumbling block? [TabBlogger via ZDNet via Electronista]

Partners who need Microsoft's help to build custom apps to fit Harrah's, Sheraton and T-Mobile needs for gambling, sleeping and phone choosing. Beyond the delay, Microsoft also has some interesting plans to expand from just the retail and hospitality industry to government, education and enterprise businesses to eventually, as Gates predicts, be on "every table," "every whiteboard," "every mirror" within 5 to 10 years. [News.com]

Some of those we saw before in the Surface announcement, some of them—like the water app—are new, and quite neat. Besides the water app, which you can swish your hand around on to make waves, there's the video puzzle, a finger paint program, a music app, photo app, casino app, a T-Mobile demo app that lets you see specs of any phone, and the dining app.

The machine itself is actually quite similar to Windows Media Center and runs on top of standard Windows Vista, which itself runs on top of an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, and a "moderately-powerful graphics card."

The final price is still undecided, but it looks like somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000 will get you one of these to use in your business. What's most interesting is that Microsoft is using the XNA development environment so that people can create custom applications for the Surface. XNA is supported, but most of the Surface software is written for WPF. [Ars Technica]

While we have no specifics on hardware, the ROSIE claims to have "integration and interaction" with iTunes content. And it will also perform functions like downloading content from digital cameras, and supporting business card readers. And...there's not much more there.

Yes, it all sounds a bit fishy at the moment. So for now, we see the product as a glorified box around some Apple product featuring a fancy display and third-party OS. Hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this at CEDIA. And hopefully it's actually a super cool device that makes our lives perfect and beautiful and unicorns and flowers and free porn. [cepro]

So what would the Jobs restaurant be like? I'm seeing calamari, finger bowls...and a Meizu knockoff next door. [flickr via crunchgear]

Looks like a great way to improve your tech knowledge and get geeky for a purpose. If nothing else your giant swiveling board/webcam combo will make a great conversation starter at your next shindig. [Interactive Multitouch Display]

Sarcastic Gamer

Painting with surface sounds particularly intuitive (and fun): you can use a paint brush or simply dip your fingers into virtual paint cups. Photo resizing and stacking works much like the iPhone's zoom gestures. Also cool is the capacity for multiple users.

Such sweet tech comes at a price, naturally, with the units running $10,000 a pop. But, Microsoft expects prices to plummet over the next three to five years to the point they'll be in your homes. In the meantime you'll be able to play with them at T-Mobile stores, Harrah's and Sheraton hotels. Got more questions? Hit the jump for a FAQ and (naturally) a boatload of pictures. Update: And a video!

What is Microsoft Surface? Microsoft Surface™, the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft Corp., turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that's easy for individuals or small groups to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world. In essence, it's a surface that comes to life for exploring, learning, sharing, creating, buying and much more. Soon to be available in restaurants, hotels, retail establishments and public entertainment venues, this experience will transform the way people shop, dine, entertain and live.

How does Surface work?
At a high level, Surface uses cameras to sense objects, hand gestures and touch. This user input is then processed and the result is displayed on the surface using rear projection.

What is surface computing?
Surface computing is a new way of working with computers that moves beyond the traditional mouse-and-keyboard experience. It is a natural user interface that allows people to interact with digital content the same way they have interacted with everyday items such as photos, paintbrushes and music their entire life: with their hands, with gestures and by putting real-world objects on the surface. Surface computing opens up a whole new category of products for users to interact with.

What are the key attributes of surface computing?
Surface computing has four key attributes:
• Direct interaction. Users can actually "grab" digital information with their hands and interact with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
• Multi-touch contact. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger, as with a typical touch screen, but up to dozens and dozens of items at once.
• Multi-user experience. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.
• Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.
How does Surface benefit consumers?
Surface breaks down the traditional barriers between people and technology, providing effortless interaction with digital content. Similar to the way ATMs changed how people got money from the bank, Microsoft is changing the way people will interact with all kinds of everyday content, including photos, music, a virtual concierge and games. Common, everyday tasks become entertaining, enjoyable and engaging, alone or face-to-face with family, friends or co-workers.

Microsoft Surface [Microsoft]
Microsoft hopes 'Milan' table PC has magic touch [CNET]