14 DAY TRIAL // One day, your computer will be a big-a*s table, with pictures of other people's kids all over it... Sounds fascinating right? And hilarious. Well, for your viewing pleasure only I have embedded at the bottom a video poking fun at Microsoft's first example of surface computing. The video is virtually the same as the one Microsoft used to promote Suface, but the added commentary is much more fun. With Microsoft Surface in its current form, the Redmond Company is addressing corporate environments exclusively. The spoof at the bottom envisions the tabletop making it to your homes in its current form.
This is of course not the case, which by no means manages to diminish the humor of the piece. Microsoft's vision of Surface is limited as of yet, but the future brings endless possibilities to surface computing. Traditional interaction tools such as the keyboard and the mouse will be replaced by object recognition, gestural and touch interfaces. "We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision," Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer stated at the time of Surface's unveiling.
Since its introduction, and mainly because of the multi-touch capabilities, Surface was compared with the iPhone. This is of course far fetched. Essentially, the two products use the same general principles of interaction and similar technologies, but this is about where the similitudes stop.
Microsoft's first commercially available surface computer is based on Windows Vista. This alone hints at the Redmond Company's plans to replace classic models of interaction with variations of surface computing. However, the video below does not do Microsoft justice, but it does manage to emphasize the main caveats of the tabletop computer compared to Microsoft's own vision.