M&M Holzmann

On Nov 23, 2006, I wrote “Touchscreen On Steroids: Interfaces Gone Wild” in reference to ‘new’ technology for interfaces. The technology has been used in Apple’s iPhone for image resizing and menu manipulation. But now – an I HATE to say this – Microsoft has stepped up with the Surface.

This thing gets 5 gold stars for cool. I wish I could be on the sales team for this thing. The Surface is a table with a 30″ touchscreen that interacts with multiple inputs from multiple users, devices & objects that are placed on the screen, and potentially even payment methods on the tabletop. Users can set down a Bluetooth enabled camera, which automatically syncs, drops the photos for immediate display & manipulation onto the Surface, and then permits multiple users to sort, edit, and share photos to other devices – i.e. PDA. Alternately, the table could be used commercially as a cocktail table that permits guests to order food & beverages, (of course) receive advertisements, and split the bill by pulling their items to their credit/debit cards that are placed on the table. – very cool. The tabletop tool can also used to plan waypoints for a trip and then have them submitted to a PDA for later recall. With a GPS enabled device, the PDA could direct users through their day.

Popular Mechanics had a great video review of the product and the supporting technology.