MS Surface: breathtaking or boring?

Posted May 22, 2008 at 01:35 AM by JG Mason

Section: Computers, Software / Applications, Wireless, Originals

I do not know Emil Protalinski, of ars fame.  Outside of one danceclub scuffle in Philly, we don’t know each other; and that may or may not have been him.  But I couldn’t disagree more with his take on how Microsoft is getting it right with Surface.

I don’t think you can argue that the Surface is a very cool product/project.  Is it the future of computing?  Darned if I know.  But what I do know (along with the fact that you should never, ever start a sentence with but) is in typical Microsoft fashion well become interested and time will suck the excitement right out of us like a pool vacuum.  It happens all the time and is happening right now.  Bill, please tell us more about Windows 7 as I bunker down here keeping XP going, praying I won’t have to move to Vista… Check the numbers man, customers are jumping ship to Macs, who four years ago we were all making fun of.

Emil is spot on when he says Microsoft should be investigating and innovating in this new niche.  But keeping the conversation as, “hey we are just software guys, someone else should make this” is great if you’ve got someone you’ve brought in and is ready to sell.  Doesn’t seem to be the case.

Look at Apple.  Did they wave the iPhone concept around one year, two years, three years (good God can you imagine?) in advance?  No.  They are a public company with the same shareholder responsibilities and they were able to keep the numbers looking ok and the investors somewhat happy.  Why can’t Microsoft?

Can you imagine a Microsoft press event where they introduced the Surface and said, “OK, these are available now at Microsoft.com”.  Just the very fact that it is real and not in the ether makes for a very different game.  When we can touch, feel, taste and for some of us, pants a gadget, it becomes real as does our passion for it.  That is something you can quantify and it spreads.  Heck, google iPhone if you want proof of that.

Read [ars technica]