Microsoft Unveils "Surface"

[Modular]

WoW

Since the whole thing interacts through the screen I figured I'd post it here.

Amazing.

 

[fern420]

i wonder what the BSOD looks like........

 

[Modular]

Hi I'm a MAC...

And I'm a table.

 

[Blurry]

i just soiled my pants...

 

[KeithTalent]

Yeah there is a long discussion on it here: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=2053326&enterthread=y

Looks pretty amazing in my opinion and some of the applications look extremely useful.

KT

 

[fern420]

i didnt want to start a new thread for this but has anyone seen this new HDTV that NHK is working on, 7680x4320 resolution.

http://www.dailytech.com/NHK+Demonstrat...Times+Better+Than+HDTV/article7466.htm

yea, like hollywood would ever let it hit mainstream, they are having a hard enough time getting people to switch over to HDDVD and blue ray.

 

[Cabages]

Wow, both the surface and that ultra resolution TV look amazing. 22.2 surround sound!

One minute at that res=194GB:Q

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: Cabages
One minute at that res=194GB:Q

Buffer, anyone? lol

 

[sandorski]

hmm, will wait to try before having an opinion. Might be cool, but will it be practical?

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: sandorski
hmm, will wait to try before having an opinion. Might be cool, but will it be practical?

You should watch the full 20 minute video that is linked in the thread I referenced above. After watching that I can see many extremely useful applications coming out of it.

Completely awesome IMO!

KT

 

[TanisHalfElven]

Originally posted by: Cabages
Wow, both the surface and that ultra resolution TV look amazing. 22.2 surround sound!

One minute at that res=194GB:Q

uncompressed. with compression it'll probably come down to 20gb or so. still a lot but in 20 years our cache's will be 1gb.

 

[effee]

ooooooh.

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

I'm looking forward to this.

 

[Borealis7]

Chess will never be the same again.

 

[yacoub]

oh yeah that's what i want to do while i'm in a restaurant ordering each course - touch a giant public screen thousands of other peoples' fingers will be touching

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: yacoub
oh yeah that's what i want to do while i'm in a restaurant ordering each course - touch a giant public screen thousands of other peoples' fingers will be touching

Ever seen the TV show "Monk"? Is that you?

 

[SunnyD]

And the next logical step will be to make Surface holographic. Damn, the days of Stargate, Babylon 5 and Star Trek are right around the corner!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Yeah, but when playing CoD 2 do I just tap on someones head for an instant kill ? And can I like tap 4 or 5 people on the head at once for multiple kills?

Looks fine for a very very few people in the world but wheres the conventionalism ?

 

[Modular]

Originally posted by: yacoub
oh yeah that's what i want to do while i'm in a restaurant ordering each course - touch a giant public screen thousands of other peoples' fingers will be touching

I totally agree. And even further, I'd love to just drop my CC onto a non-secure table and have everyone be able to pay their bills from it. Or have anyone obtain access to my pictures etc.

This thing is really cool and all, but it's "public" usage will never be safe enough to get me to use it. As we all know, there's no such thing as a completely secure internet/public computer.

Edit: Not to mention the fact that people will now have no reason to have meaningful conversation at dinner... they can just stay tethered to their entertainment, no reason to make friends! :disgust:

 

[ryanmw2002]

Originally posted by: Modular

Originally posted by: yacoub
oh yeah that's what i want to do while i'm in a restaurant ordering each course - touch a giant public screen thousands of other peoples' fingers will be touching

I totally agree. And even further, I'd love to just drop my CC onto a non-secure table and have everyone be able to pay their bills from it. Or have anyone obtain access to my pictures etc.

This thing is really cool and all, but it's "public" usage will never be safe enough to get me to use it. As we all know, there's no such thing as a completely secure internet/public computer.

Edit: Not to mention the fact that people will now have no reason to have meaningful conversation at dinner... they can just stay tethered to their entertainment, no reason to make friends! :disgust:

Actually, you would be very supprised at the amount of conversation it would generate.

For my senior design project, my teamates and I designed a flash animation based touch screen ordering system. It had games, music,doodle pad, internet, and a lifelike moving menu. The touch screen was mounted on a movable arm and retracted out.

People were so amazed and suprised that the entire table could interact and play against each other that nobody wanted to get up from the table.

This system would make the perfect restaurant ordering system. Just from my experience alone, I know there would be plenty of conversation going on and not just "hey, its my turn to play"

Plus, with this you can add a touch based keyboard (something we wanted to do but scrapped last minute). Think of friends you could meet with an inter-restaurant chat room.

Table 32: "Hey girls, me and my friend cant get over how cute you two are. Want to come join us for lunch?"
Table 23: "Tee Hee, sure we'll be right over."

 

[Modular]

Originally posted by: ryanmw2002
Actually, you would be very supprised at the amount of conversation it would generate.

For my senior design project, my teamates and I designed a flash animation based touch screen ordering system. It had games, music,doodle pad, internet, and a lifelike moving menu. The touch screen was mounted on a movable arm and retracted out.

People were so amazed and suprised that the entire table could interact and play against each other that nobody wanted to get up from the table.

This system would make the perfect restaurant ordering system. Just from my experience alone, I know there would be plenty of conversation going on and not just "hey, its my turn to play"

Plus, with this you can add a touch based keyboard (something we wanted to do but scrapped last minute). Think of friends you could meet with an inter-restaurant chat room.

Table 32: "Hey girls, me and my friend cant get over how cute you two are. Want to come join us for lunch?"
Table 23: "Tee Hee, sure we'll be right over."

I concur that the initial amount of conversation would increase. The buzz around such a table would be huge and would generate tons of cash for restaurants. The problem is that once this becomes mainstream, people will no longer talk about the device and how amazing it is. Instead, they will begin to expect it.

The idea that the waiter doesn't have to make contact with the patrons to order their food is an example of the decrease in interpersonal communication that this would foster. The waiter is part of the dining out experience IMO, and should add to the "feel" of the establishment. That's how they earn their tip.

The example about people typing to one another is another example of decreased real-world interactivity. Now you no longer need the cajones to walk up to a table of girls that you like, instead you can just IM them from the dimly lit table across the room...

Listen, I'm all for certain aspects of this, and I'm by no means against integration of technology into real world applications. But when technology interferes with necessary skills, such as interpersonal communication and interactivity, then there's something wrong. There are a whole generation of 15-20 year olds right now that are going to get a slap in the face when they get into the real world. It's gonna hurt..

I'm 24 by the way, just so you don't think I'm some 90 year old hermit with nothing better to do than yell at clouds.

 

[fern420]

hehe, just saw them mention this on the local news. they said it will be over $10k to start!!!

 

[ryanmw2002]

Originally posted by: Modular

I concur that the initial amount of conversation would increase. The buzz around such a table would be huge and would generate tons of cash for restaurants. The problem is that once this becomes mainstream, people will no longer talk about the device and how amazing it is. Instead, they will begin to expect it.

The idea that the waiter doesn't have to make contact with the patrons to order their food is an example of the decrease in interpersonal communication that this would foster. The waiter is part of the dining out experience IMO, and should add to the "feel" of the establishment. That's how they earn their tip.

The example about people typing to one another is another example of decreased real-world interactivity. Now you no longer need the cajones to walk up to a table of girls that you like, instead you can just IM them from the dimly lit table across the room...

Listen, I'm all for certain aspects of this, and I'm by no means against integration of technology into real world applications. But when technology interferes with necessary skills, such as interpersonal communication and interactivity, then there's something wrong. There are a whole generation of 15-20 year olds right now that are going to get a slap in the face when they get into the real world. It's gonna hurt..

I'm 24 by the way, just so you don't think I'm some 90 year old hermit with nothing better to do than yell at clouds.

I personally dont really see how a restaurant novelty will hinder interpersonal communication?

The point of using it in a restaurant is to create a niche market and to attract tech savvy and the like customers. Ive been to the ESPN Zone restaurant in Las Vegas and each table has a touch screen monitor in front of them that you can switch back and forth to different sports games. Its the same thing here. Thats the allure. People want to have fun when they go out to eat. Whether that be talking to a waiter, watching the football game, or playing games on your table, its basically all the same.

If your really worried about how 15-20 year olds are going to get a slap in the face, dont blame technology, blame education and public schools.