Full FeedIs Microsoft just skimming the Surface of multi-touch?
FROM APPLETELL - Microsoft is really good at dreaming about the future; their track record on delivering it is not quite so shining. It begs the question: what impact, if any, will Microsoft’s Surface have on everyday computing?
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Aaron, this was a beautifully written piece. It was very refreshing to have read what amounted to an essay that clearly entailed critical thinking and focused evaluation on a specific facet of technology. In an ocean of uninspired, shoot-from-the-hip blog-oriented smatterings, it’s nice to see an instance of solid writing being published. Thank you for reaching out with your insight!
on June 30, 2009 at 10:25 PM - LINKAll of Zune, Windows Mobile phones and Xbox 360 run a form of Windows CE (a basic embedded form of Windows (mostly a kernel plus basic API stuff), which can be adapted to many devices. But they do have a diferent code base from the Windows NT based desktop OS’es. But who knows, they might converge them later…..
on June 30, 2009 at 11:21 PM - LINKI don’t know…this reminds me of the high tech stuff you see on shows like CSI Miami
stuff that is obviously staged…and even tho it would be a great idea the cost of something like this would be way out of the average persons budgets…especially in the economical climate we are enduring now…
I just don’t see this be something that revolutionizes the computer market just for the fact that something is revolutionary like the iphone has been…has to be something that can be marketed to the masses
and I don’t see that being something that will happen any time soon
now I get that technology comes down in price regularly and at some point it could become mainstream…but having a coffee table like the picture at the top shows…takes the entire sense of the coffee table away…and doesn’t Apple have the multi-touch patented?
so I would expect something like this, that is so amazing coming from the brainiacs in Cupertino and not from the idiots at windows…they still don’t get that we need our computers to just work and not have to concentrate on protecting it 24/7…and that’s what we have with Macs they just work and we don’t have to stress about if something is going to happen to it just from using it.
we do have to worry about criminals trying to take them from us…but I can deal with a human interaction…it’s just surfing the net and being scared all the time that I just don’t get!
I have macs that are almost 10 years old that are still running as good as when they were new…and my mothers HP Media Center 17 inch Laptop just died on her for no apparent reason…she is having nothing but problems using a borrowed laptop because she can’t afford to get a new one…this is just wrong…hers is 3-4 years old maybe…and down for the count…it’s very unfair
my youngest macs right now are 2006 models that still run strong and do what needs to be done with no hassles…and that is how it should be…we should have to replace a computer because we want something new…not because it just dies with no reason
I have ranted long enough…I just don’t think something that great can be affordable and done right by Microsoft…do you?
on July 1, 2009 at 01:04 AM - LINK@Nikitas: Many thanks! Always nice to know somebody enjoys reading as much as I enjoy writing. And kudos on Vinikitas - vinterviews has made it into my bookmarks folder!
@ Henno: I think the real problem that MS encounters with their CE devices is sprawl - the platforms are so varied that it is difficult to create a cohesive strategy (think about pinching an image on the iPhone and MacBook trackpad). Separate development tracks have led to incompatibilities like Zune Marketplace and XBOX Live. Converging the code base would definitely be easier, but would signal a major shift in backwards compatibility - maybe Steve Ballmer will be bold enough to lead that change?
@Boca Boi: Wow! I know how you feel - I’ve got a Mac Plus from 1987 that still runs like a dream (albeit a very limited, pixelated, greyscale dream). Your mother’s situation makes me want to see a follow-up to one of the Laptop Hunter ads showing the same users two years after purchase: is the computer still running as well as a Mac would, or does it need replacing (effectively doubling the cost of the computer)?
on July 1, 2009 at 11:09 AM - LINKHi Aaron,
This is an excellent article. In a way Surface is going to be a footnote in the history of human-computer interaction, not because large multi-touch surfaces don’t have a future but because Microsoft Surface has too high of a price point for mass consumers and not high enough for custom installations (you can make some real money putting up things like the multi-touch wall at Cannes).
I’m a multi-touch developer who has done both Surface and iPhone work professionally. I love working on the Surface but I do understand that its a stepping stone not an end itself. I think the Surface provides an excellent platform on which Microsoft can launch its focus on multi-touch in Windows 7. Multi-touch on the desktop has rather dubious value but in other form factors multi-touch for larger devices makes a lot of sense. For example, multi-touch screens on everything from home entertainment systems to the walls of office lobbies and drafting tables of artists and engineers will become pretty common (I believe) in the next 10 years. You won’t need to buy an expensive surface computer to make that happen - Windows 7 will provide all the power you need and can scale from medium size devices (tablets, netbooks) to very large installations (walls and tables).
Surface is probably not going to last longer than 2012 as a product, but Windows 7 will being what I believe will be a new era in human-computer interaction. What I find really disappointing is that Apple didn’t introduce multi-touch screens this summer. Perhaps they will in time for the x-mass season. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a tablet.
All the best,
Richard
on July 1, 2009 at 11:52 PM - LINKREALLY IT SEEMS REAL AS MICROSOFT DEVELOPED THIS ONE.
THIS IS WHAT SURPRISE THAT WHEN WE USE TO KEEP PICTURES ON THE TABLE AND THEN MAKE COLLECTION SERIALLY ON BY ONE. IS REAL ALL WE KNOW.
BUT MICROSOFT HAS CHALLENGED THIS ONE BY DEVELOPING THIS TYPE OF SCREEN OR TABLET PC.
REALLY SEEMS REAL WORKING.
I AM VERY VERY THANKFUL TO L FOR YOUR KIND INFORMATION.
on July 2, 2009 at 06:33 AM - LINK