Microsoft surface

I agree, way cool
but kind of a extension [rip-off?] of an older swedish prototype called
The Pond

Nonetheless I want one, but they are only available to big corporates for the forseeable future...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(maggieddd @ Jul 12 2007, 06:03 PM) [snapback]477837[/snapback]</div>

Well, it's a start, I guess.

But I'm usually dissappointed by whiz bang technology being used merely to mimic the original analog world. If that thing really does come out as some kind of coffee table people will find their hands and arms getting tired really fast, having to move in real world analog dimensions, and getting backaches from leaning over the thing.

We should be applying the technology in truly novel innovations that REPLACE an awkward analog world with something much cleaner, crisper, effortless that was completely inconceivable until advanced technology made it possible. But I guess the human mind can only handle so much quantum leap at a time. So we get these seemingly "oh wow" simulations of the familiar analog world first (and struggle with them a few years) before finally realizing we should have scrapped the whole analog paradigm at the outset.

So, for example, instead of forcing me to use my arms in full scale dimensional movements to manipulate images as if they were real paper, go ahead and give me a magic wand that will allow a wide variety of rapid manipulations with small, effortless, and fast movements - and from across the room.

Instead of dumping the images onto the screen exactly as if I'd tipped a shoebox of pictures onto the table (how inefficient is that?) give me some kind of rapid indexing interface so I can rapidly locate or group images by any number of criteria.

I shouldn't be so curmudgeonly negative - there's obviously a great deal of promise in that interface. I just wish the minds that can come up with this stuff would stretch their imaginations just a little further, and not just wind up duplicating something that's already tiresome, only now it can be tiresome at 3,000,000ghz!

Thanks for the preview!

Mark Baird
Alameda CA

 

That's pretty cool. I gotta say it though... Doesn't this already exist on the iPhone?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(airportkid @ Jul 13 2007, 01:28 PM) [snapback]477848[/snapback]</div>

Hmm, interesting point of view, but I think I disagree pretty much completely.

We were evolved to live in an analog world. By employing metaphors from the natural world in our designs we can provide user interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use. This sort of "seamless interaction" turns out to be more effective in most cases and definitely more pleasurable to use.

I'd much rather use my hand to manipulate a virtual object rather than having to go through strange gyrations with a wand (or a mouse). B)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLNB90GttX0

 

I only have time to glance over the links provided, but i've seen quite a bit of this already. Microsoft is still in development of their surface computer, and it's not quite ready for sales just yet... When they demo'd it with painting or moving pictures around, that was mostly just for show - something to impress people with it's abilities.

This isn't a device that's going to be entering the home anytime in the near future. They plan to market it initially to businesses. The first real application i've seen for it is designed for restaurants. The menu pops up on the screen. you can get more information for each item, including nutrition information. With small RFID chips implanted in the dishes and glasses, the table can track which items end up at which seat. for paying bills, you can place credit cards down, and if they're RFID enabled (some are already), the table will recognize it - then you just drag which items you want to the credit card and you're done! In the restaurant business, this could help increase productivity and decrease billing mistakes, as it takes it all out of the waiters hands... plus you can throw the painting application on there for the kids