The New Table Top System: Microsoft's Surface computer
The first example of Microsoft Surface is a table, just short of two feet high, with a 21-by-42-inch top. Under a sheet of acrylic is a 30-inch hi-res horizontal display. That's all you see—the five camera-sensors, the DLP light engine, and the Vista computer that makes it all run are hidden, encased in the body of what looks like a more-fashionable version of the original Pong game. (Presumably, the device runs a version of Vista that doesn't ask you all the time if you're sure you want to proceed.) But the impact of all that hardware is evident as soon as you touch the "massively multi-touch" surface. The machine can process dozens of inputs at once, from one person or a group. Whether you're doing virtual finger painting, moving digital images around like physical pieces of paper, or pointing to something on a map and getting information on that spot, it's clear that the standard sci-fi movie vision of having people interact with virtual surfaces as if they're real (see "Tron," “Minority Report” and many other flicks) has now arrived.
What's more, Microsoft Surface can suck in data from the physical world, either by near-range wireless technologies like Bluetooth, object recognition (for example, the cameras can figure out if you're placing a camera or phone on the surface), or by reading special codes on stuff you put on the table. Credit cards, for instance, could have a bar-code-like tattoo that opens up your Internet account to the surface computer. Your photos could automatically be imported to the table, and you could grab the ones you like by simply touching it and moving it where you want. By putting two fingers on a photo and spreading them apart, the photo gets bigger; pinching two fingers on a photo makes it smaller. The same can be done with documents, and the same techniques could navigate a map in Microsoft's Virtual Earth.
And then there are things that are just plain fun, like a program that makes the surface look like a shallow pool of water—touch it and you make ripples as if you're skimming a real pond. The most clever trick so far is a demo program that uses seemingly transparent tiles as puzzle pieces. When you put the tiles on the table, the computer reads hidden codes and lights each of them up with a section of a video image. It's quite a kick to physically manipulate those puzzle tiles to complete a picture in motion.
Over four years in the making, Microsoft's quest for surface computing isn't the first example of a tabletop where you can digitally (as in, with your fingers) manipulate documents and images without use of prostheses like mouse or keyboard. Jeff Han of New York University, for one, has been showing a similar multi-touch drafting table for some time. But Microsoft wants to make a splash in the marketplace now, and its plans are ambitious, with hopes for a multibillion dollar business. Like Xbox and Zune, surface computing comes out of the division of Microsoft where the company makes its own hardware and supplies the services, allowing more control of what the user experiences.
Because the units are relatively expensive (about $9,000) and probably will need expert tending--who you gonna call when your table shows the blue screen of death?--Microsoft initially won't be selling these to the general public or even inviting developers to concoct their own software for surface computing. Instead it will sell complete units to a few commercial customers. Each of these early adopters will have specially tailored software applications. Sheraton Hotels will have surface devices in lounges; people will order drinks and snacks from them (menus, in the food sense of the word, show up on screen), choose songs for the jukebox, and share pictures. T-Mobile will use surface computing displays to help explain their hopelessly complicated billing plans (put a phone on the surface and the display will instantly show you the features). Harrah's will use them as virtual concierges. And gaming company IGT will use them for as-yet unannounced gambling applications.
When prices come down in a few years, though—Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates figures it will eventually dip beneath $1000—the company wants to go much broader. "Use in the business environment will come next," he says. "Not a computer on every desk, but a computer in every desk! Then again, there are people who like to have great, high-end things in their home."
People like Gates. Currently he has equipped the elaborate entertainment system in his $100 million home with exotic touch-screen control panels that, he says, "aren't nearly as good" as this new technology. "I'm planning right now how I'm going to take the combination of surface computing, and our Media Center, and build the next generation," he says. For Microsoft, the surface is suddenly very deep.
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