By Tim Ferguson, 2 October 2007 11:06
This demo shows how Surface could be used in a restaurant or bar environment.
The glass has a domino tag on the bottom which sends information about what the drink is and potentially how and where it's made. It could even be used to order another tipple.
Microsoft will roll out this Surface concierge app in the US at the end of this year or early 2008 with Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Harrah's Entertainment, which owns Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas.
Photo credit: Tim Ferguson
Comments
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1. David Fletcher
Customer:- "This Martini is stirred"
Waiter:- "I'm sorry Mr Bond, we've run out of glasses with the shaken instruction domino tags"
Seriously, just what the hell do they think they're playing at? Trying to prove that evolution will remove legs if they're not needed to go to the bar to order a drink?
Judging by the photographs it would be impossible to get legs under this ridiculous table anyway. But we still need legs to go for a pee. Or has microsoft now come up with a bar room table with integrated toilet? An itoilet perhaps?
2. Alex Dragoi
This was revealed few months ago; the price is prohibitive to start with. But even so, I have registered my interest on their dedicated website...so far it seems that they are either 1) NOT interested in having customers for this product or 2) the CRM package they are touting ain't workin'. though ;)
3. Graham Coles
Microsoft, as usual, have lost touch with reality.
Nobody in their right mind would pay 10 grand to have a table sitting in their living room having drinks spilled over it.
I can just imagine the legal notices that will undoubtably accompany it since leaning over a table and trying to use it as a computer monitor is hardly going to fit in with health and safety guidelines.
I can just see the new ailment appearing on GPs lists:
'Microsoft Surface Syndrome'
Symptoms: Neck strain, bent back, ...
Like the spoof advert said: 'Microsoft Surface - It's just a big-ass table'
4. Richard
Photo 3: Frying a rasher of bacon?
At last, a "killer app." for those hot-running Vista PCs!
5. Roy Corneloues
It's easy to slag things off. Why is everyone so hung up around it's form factor - this is an example!!!
No reason why the table can't be higher, lower, smaller, larger, at an angle or even vertical.
It is interesting technology and, by its nature, has countless possible uses.
6. David Fletcher
How do you get a Martini to stay in place on a vertical table top?
7. Graham Coles
Why do people slag this off?
Easy.
The notion of a pc embedded in a table is not new. If memory serves me right, the film Tron had an executive desk with a display very elegantly and conveniently embedded in its surface.
About twenty five years later, Microsoft attempt to mock up a similar prototype -- and we've seen the result. If this is supposed to be an example, then why didn't they make it look nice, or useful, or practical ...
It's a really dumb idea to try and sell people on the idea of a prototype that appears to be so very badly designed with so little thought gone into it. It's a big ass table, but apparently nobody at Microsoft understands how tables work in real life. They need to be at the right height, people need to put their legs under it, they need to be able to use it without medical insurance to cover the osteopathy bills ...
If the design is right, maybe it would be a usable / saleable product, even if only as an executives computer.
The geek in me would probably quite like the sort of computer desk illustrated in Tron, but I wouldn't touch something looking like this with a 20 parsec bargepole.
After all, what's the point of releasing videos and pictures of something if it's not the final design, except to get feedback on any mistakes you have made. If this is the finished article, it is indeed finished!
8. anonymous
We had one like this in our pub back in 80's....
... only it was *much* better - it played Asteroids ;-)
9. Karen Challinor
I have one of these already, only cost £50, seems to be stuck on a "wood effect" screensaver but the battery is lasting for aaaaages