Thread: Microsoft Surface

So i saw this thing a while back and was like bullshit.. that is not going to work... then ATT says hey where going to use it
so now iam like hell yea!
2 monopoly's working together
Well anway Microsoft surface is like a interactive lcd screen.. that is like a table or desk... u can touch it to do things or u can put devices like cell phones or other things made to interact with it... its pretty cool
take a look at it
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

dude that sounds like perfect use... **COPYRIGHT**
i just watched a video on how to make a program and one dude made a program in 1 min...
i bet that would be soon. just need a stylist

$10,000

"Such sweet tech comes at a price, naturally, with the units running $10,000 a pop. But, Microsoft expects prices to plummet over the next three to five years to the point they'll be in your homes. In the meantime you'll be able to play with them at T-Mobile stores, Harrah's and Sheraton hotels." <---- From GIZMODO


Ouch!

My calculus teacher had something like this when it first came out around 2005. We use to use it in class connected to a projector. Thing was dam cool, and dam expensive too.

Apple is going to die.

Originally Posted by asianator365

Apple is going to die.

That's a pretty bold claim.

That technology was hyped to death a year ago, is only now getting off the ground and released, and there still isnt' a real good reason to have one yet (the "it's cool" factor doesn't count here).

Microsoft has a habbit of making tech-demos, that while they look cool, don't actually do anything that solves real problems.

Lets pragmatically look at the "restaurant" use case of moving items from a bill to specific credit cards. First off trying to solve this problem is great, because it's always been a paint to itemize bills. So if a company like Microsoft is able to solve it, then that's awsome.

But lets look at what defines a solution:
1) It must be easier to perform than the previous method
2a) It's either cheaper than before
2b) OR if it's more expensive than before, you can make a solid business case for why spending extra money is justified (you gain more branding, marketing, market-share, mind-share, etc)

Using the surface technology for restaurants doesn't accomplish either of these (1+2a OR 1+2b). First, it's only meant for customers to use, because staff can do their job without it. So if it's meant for customers, then you're going to need to replace every table you have with this, which you cannot justify as a reasonable extra cost (2b). (It doesn't give you anything but a "this is cool" factor, which wears off after a month). The restaurants that could afford to do this won't do it because they are classy, and tech like this is not classy. So basically if a restaurant had one, it would just be one or two, which doesn't really serve a useful purpose.


With reasoning like the above in mind, I don't think surface is going to do much of a dent anywhere. It needs to be cheap first, or it has no market. It ain't cheap by any means, and I don't see it getting cheap anytime soon.