1st-June-2007
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Microsoft brings touch screens to home computers, called Surface | |
Quote: Microsoft brings touch screens to home computers
by GamePro Staff | 05/30/2007 | 1:46:28 PM PST
Boasting touch screen capabilities better than any other machine before it, Microsoft unveils the "Surface", the first-ever commercially available touch screen computer.
By Eugene Huang
It seems like most companies with deep roots in the tech industry are worried about the same thing: how does one improve on technology without alienating the average user? While Nintendo may have figured it out with the Wii and the DS, it might be Microsoft's turn to bring ease-of-use back to the PC sector. Enter the Microsoft Surface, a new line of computers that introduces the touch screen as the primary input device.
These new computers contain a 30-inch display just big enough to allow small groups of people to gather around the screen. What's more, unlike touch screens of the past that could support only one input at a time, the Surface's technology can recognize several points of contact simultaneously.
In addition to recognizing taps from a stylus or fingertip, the Surface is also capable of reading information from authorized electronic devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, and digital cameras. Devices would only need to be placed onto the screen, and data would be transferred to and from these devices by simply touching, manipulating, and dragging the data through the system's GUI.
Furthermore, any object can be recognized by the machine as long as it bears an identification tag (possibly one of these?). So hypothetically, should a tagged wine glass be placed on the screen, the computer would automatically direct the user to a site offering specific information about the wine itself.
Microsoft plans on distributing these new computers mostly to companies related to the leisure industry, including hotels, retail stores, and various entertainment venues. So far, the company has announced agreements with Harrah's Entertainment, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, and T-Mobile USA, which would allow customers to tinker with these new Surface machines in locations across the country. Microsoft expects these new machines to be open to the public by the end of this year.
For the development and distribution of these Surface units, Microsoft has announced a deal with International Game Technology, a company that specializes in computerized gaming machines. Can it be safely assumed that these machines would also be adapted for use in the arcade industry as well? No formal announcements have been made yet, but for the sake of America's long-suffering arcades, we can only hope that will be the case.
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