Bennett L. Rouse

What is Microsoft Surface?

My group in STS 302H recently evaluated Microsoft Surface in a 15 minute podcast. By relying on nothing more than our mere knowledge of the subject for 15 minutes (minus a minute long audio clip we included- no visual effects, no music, no interludes, etc.), it definitely called for us to examine the technology inside-out and figure out where it’s been, where it is, and where it’s going.

Microsoft Surface is essentially a two-by-four foot tabletop with touch technology all over it. Users interact with Surface by using natural hand gestures to navigate through the screens and manipulating the images displayed on the screen. Devices such as cameras, mp3 players, GPS systems, and cell phones can be placed on the screen and their contents will be poured out. I could spend all day talking about the hundreds of uses this technology has, but I’ll limit Surface to a simple concept. If you can imagine all the services that your personal computer performs for you on a daily basis, except only now these services will be performed on a touch-sensitive screen rather than a keyboard and mouse, that’s Surface.

 Microsoft Surface is mainly being used by businesses right now. For example, AT&T brilliantly uses the technology so that customers can choose the best phone plan for them by placing different combinations of phones on Surface, allowing comparative information to be displayed on the screen, contrasting the different phone plans. However, while uses like this are convenient, they do not establish Surface as a successful technology. Bill Gates (remember, the word “Microsoft” is involved) made computer technology a booming success after decades of limited business interaction. However, when he drove manufacturing costs down so that the average American could afford a personal computer, he made computers a worldwide success. Likewise, unless Gates can find a way to drive the costs of Surface down to a reasonable level (Surface right now is an unparalleled $10,000 per unit), Surface will be a relatively unknown and failing technology.

Posted at 10:57PM Dec 06, 2008 by Bennett L. Rouse in General  |  Comments[0]