Surface HQ

Touchtable is one of the many Microsoft Surface look-alike’s trying to earn a spot in the touch screen business. Like every good product should, it has some aspects that distinguish it from its competition, but at the same time, some parts of that aren’t so good. I’m going to compare the two products in different categories to see if Microsoft Surface is all that or if it is just getting more attention because it is a big company product.

Lag/Touchability: Basically this is how well the touch table’s interface reacts with touch. The questions asked here would be, Does the screen do what I want? Is it easy to navigate the programs through touch? Does it recognize my touch every time? Since I don’t have either of the products to compare this hands on, I watched two videos. For Microsoft Surface: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxk_WywMTzc and for Touchtable: http://www.touchtable.com/technology-videos.php?videoId=2 . I noticed that very rarely in the Surface demo did the person on video have to retouch because it wouldn’t read the first time, and flicks seemed realistic. Compared to Touchtable, it seemed fast, because the simple swipe on Touchtable didn’t seem to move the data on screen enough. On the contrary, a pinch on the Touchtable did too much.

I would say that Microsoft Surface won hands down on this one. Surface: 1. Touchtable: 0.

Screen Size/Resolution: The specs for Surface can be seen here and for Touchtable, here. It’s no doubt that Touchtable won this one. It has a screen resolution of 1920×1080, much higher than Surface’s 1280×720. It also has a bigger screen size at 46″.

Touchtable ties it up at 1 each!

Size: This was a close one but Touchtable came out on top by a little bit. Microsoft Surface is a little bit smaller in width and length, but since it uses cameras, it has to be taller. The thing is, this doesn’t really matter, because unless you are laying down, and have your thousand dollar touch screen just sitting on the ground, having lower height doesn’t really matter. In fact, we found only one way that low height is a good thing, and that is if you would want to put a touch screen up on a wall, like you do with a flat screen tv. Other than that, it doesn’t really matter, but it was enough to get a win for Touchtable.

Surface: 1. Touchtable: 2.

Usability: Factors in this rating include How many applications are available for it, How many applications are expected to be made, and in general how useful the product is. I can only guess at this, but I think that Surface wins this category. First of all, as of now Surface has many more applications than Touchtable. Touchtable, according to its website, seems to be more of a government tool for controlling crowds and security rather than an all round tool. And second, Surface has a huge team of developers behind it. Right now, just Microsoft (which is huge by itself), but soon, when the SDK is released, many more developers will be a part.

Tied at 2.

Price: The determining category! I know that Microsoft Surface is pretty expensive, so Touchtable could possibly take this category for the win…

But after some googling (I couldn’t find the price on the website), I found how much a Touchtable costs, and the winner (and cheaper) touch screen IS!!…

Microsoft Surface!

A Touchtable is a jaw dropping $59,000 according to PBS.org! How’s that for expensive. It makes Surface look cheap…

I will hopefully be doing a similar article on Ideum MT2 in the future as well, if everyone likes this one. Make sure to leave comments.

Edit: Please note that the TouchTable isn’t the same as Surface on all levels. The TouchTable simply allows you to use your finger as the mouse (no gestures).

Popularity: 8% [?]

Microsoft Surface really does cut the distance between technology and real world, and the Natural User Interface proves that. There’s no more mouse, and everything is hands on. Objects are even recognized uniquely.

Well, wait! If Surface can read a byte tag.. does that mean that the cameras can image the screen? As in, if there was a paper with words on top of the screen, It could take a picture, and have that picture pulled up later to be read digitallly?

Well, I think you know where I’m going with this… if I’m not mistaken, the new Microsoft Surface Killer App could be a scanner. It’s simple, yet powerful.

Popularity: 4% [?]

My next app idea is in the public sector – in homes – and has to do with television. I figured that if I were to get a Surface table, the best spot for it would be in the living room, and I’m guessing that’s where most people would put it. Since most households have their main television in the living room, this opened up lots of ideas for communication between Surface and the T.V.

First off, a simple remote control probably isn’t a bad idea. It would never get lost, and you could make it bigger for bigger buttons.

Second, you could play any movies you have on your Surface computer right on your television. A good way to share a video with a big crowd.

And lastly, in partner with idea #2, you could rent movies right from the Surface computer and then play them on your T.V. It’s a blockbuster right in your living room!

There are many more possibilities, but what would be the fun if I did all the work for you? If you think of some more ideas tell me about them.

Popularity: 72% [?]

Windows 7 will be open to the public in just over a month (October 22). Many of the techies have heard a lot about it, and know whether or not they’re interested. However, some people may still be unsure.

Personally, I think that Windows 7 is worth upgrading too myself. Here are seven reasons Windows 7 will be a success (and is worth the purchase).

1. Taskbar Improvements: The taskbar has improved so dramatically that developers call it the Superbar. This is probably because of the way Microsoft combined applications that are open with ones that aren’t (as if they took the quick launch and merged it with the taskbar). And in order to tell if an application is running, there is a small glare/glow on the corner of open applications, which will then turn orange (without an annoying flash like before) if the application requires attention.

Also, the “Aero Peek”, which allows users to hover the mouse over a Superbar Application and see a small thumbnail of that app, goes a step further. It will now also temporarily hide all other apps and show the selected app as it is on the desktop, full sized.

Lastly, there is now an easy way to open files through applications on the Superbar. You simply drag and drop an icon onto the app that you want to open the file with, while holding shift. This is nice because it speeds up the process of opening a file with a non-default app.

2. Cheap: Microsoft must be doing some price testing, because they have some great deals going on. If you preorder Windows 7 in US, Canada, Japan, UK, France, or Germany, you can get up to 75% off! It is only $49.99 for the Home Premium version and $99.99 for the Professional version in the US.

In addition, anybody that bought a new computer running Vista after June 26th can upgrade for free to the similar Windows 7 version.

3. Lightweight – Competition in Net book Market: With netbooks now outselling desktops, Microsoft knew windows 7 had to be strong in that particular market. In order for that to happen, it needed to be lightweight.

Lightweight means that it uses low amounts processing, memory, and energy. First, Windows 7 doesn’t add as much memory usage when you open new windows as before. Second, background processes, such as multi-touch, only run when necessary. These and more lets Windows 7 run on low end machines, such as netbooks.

In addition, Windows 7 increases security, and makes networking much easier for when you are on the go and constantly changing your wireless access point.

4. Performance Improvements: As mentioned above, Windows 7 is a lot more lightweight, and runs on netbooks very well. This also means that the performance for high end machines is even better.

Windows 7 is even better than XP in terms of performance, which is a big accomplishment on Microsoft’s end. Usually, newer OS’s require more memory/power than the one’s before it. zdnet.com did a performance test and recorded the data on a nice chart. As you can see, Windows 7’s score is much lower than all the other OS’s, including XP and vista, making it much faster.

5. Aero not just for looks anymore: As previously mentioned in point #1 (Superbar), Aero is no longer just for looks; there is actually a reason for it. The Aero Peek lets you easily find an app by hiding all other windows and bringing the one you’re interested in to the top, and the Superbar allows for files to be dragged onto app icons to be opened.

Another neat Aero feature new to windows 7 is Shake. Do you ever find that there are too many windows open and it is causing eye clutter? Or you only want the window you are using to be displayed? By clicking the title bar of a window and shaking it, all other windows will be minimized. To get all those windows showing again, just shake one more time.

There is also Aero Snap. Aero snap helps neatly organize your windows. When you drag a window to the edge, it will snap and reshape the window to take up that edge of the screen. Do it on the otherside to take the other half, all neatly and easily.

I would suggest watching this playlist for a complete array of videos on windows 7 aero.

6. Multi-touch support: The future of computers is touch screens, and although it’s hard to believe, they are already here. That’s why it is important that Windows 7 has touch abilities.

Many of the applications in Windows 7 already have touch support built in. For example, the icons on a Windows 7 desktop are purposely bigger so that they can be dragged. There is also a touch supported keyboard that glows when you touch a key for better UI feedback.

The multi-touch aspect will get developers thrilled and will spark the interest of customers.

7. Unsure consumers have XP option: This is the most important reason by far. Lots of consumers, especially small businesses, are still running windows XP. To them, it’s not worth the risk of upgrading and not having programs work, plus it is a lot of money for something not a necessity.

By Windows 7 having XP mode, consumers will be more willing to upgrade, having the blanket of security that their programs will work, and decide that with all the other reasons, it is time to upgrade.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Microsoft Surface Sphere is certainly unique. In fact, you may even think of it as a joke before realizing that it is completely real. It uses the same technology as the table that is its brother, just in a sphere. Because of the shape, some applications, such as the AT&T phone comparer, become practically useless, however, some applications gain interest.

1.Racing game: To take advantage of the unique shape, make a steering wheel go around the sphere and put controls and the view in the middle.

2.Globe: You’re probably thinking “duh”, but come on! This would be the perfect app for a Microsoft Surface Sphere. You could even go further off this idea, and make games out of it, such as Risk.

3.Snow globe Screensaver: What an interesting screensaver that would be?! And it doesn’t have to end there, there could be numerous unique screen savers to Microsoft Surface Sphere.

4.Pong/Blocks: The simple idea of a ball and a gravity towards the top. You have to bounce the ball away from the top and destroy all the blocks with the ball. Or playing against another player, you have a wall going up and down with two blockers.

5.3D modeling: This may be tricky to pull off, or even to imagine, but it would be quite an application. Basically, using the spherical shape, the app would render the image “inside” the sphere, allowing for complete 3D. Does this blow anybody Else’s mind thinking about this?

6.Bowling: You obviously wouldn’t be throwing it, but it might be a fun way to take up time playing a little virtual bowling.

Have any better ideas? Brag about ‘em.

Popularity: 1% [?]

When it came to Virtual Machines, VMware used to be the name of the game. But that may now change. Microsoft Virtualization may be the new way to go, as Microsoft has been working hard lately on new and improved technologies. But at the same time, VMware has what Microsoft doesn’t in the Virtual Machine world: Experience.

Virtual Machines are software applications that allow users to run a separate Operating System inside. For instance, if you were running Windows Vista, and wanted to run XP instead, you would run the Virtual Machine Software (VMWare, VirtualBox, Microsoft Virtualization), and then run a whole new OS from inside the Virtual Machine.

This can be useful on many levels. For one, if you wanted to run Linux from a Windows computer, or vice versa, you can do so without rebooting, dual booting, etc. On a larger scale, hosting companies can host multiple sites on one machine through mass virtualization. All it requires is that each Virtual Machine has its own IP Address. Also, big companies with networks can host or “house” multiple machines on one machine, and each computer that employees use are based off that “house”, helping centralize the network. This is called a hypervisor.

Microsoft argues that it is cheaper, has superior hypervisor features, and has flawless migration. On the other end, VMware argues that it has a cheaper disk footprint (size of program and files), is independent of OS’s (windows), and has drivers that are optimized with hardware vendors.

The floor is open. Who do you think has the best Virtual Machine? Or is there another competitor that you like?

Popularity: unranked [?]

Even Bill Gates has problems once in a while.

Just last year, Bill Gates presented a new technology at the 2008 CEO Summit called the ‘Touch Wall’. Although the technology was still not even close to being complete, Bill decided that he was to anxious to hold it off anymore. From what I see, he might’ve wanted to test and improve a litttle bit more.

“I always like to show something that’s new, because that’s kind of risky,” said Gates before the start of the presentation. The Touch Wall certainly is new. Just presented last year, the Microsoft Touch Wall is a large touch screen that mounts on your wall like a big screen TV. It has similar traits to Microsoft Surface, in the fact that it uses a Natural User Interface.

As Bill Gates walks up to the Wall, he describes how there are “some scanning cameras” and that the software will know when you touch it. Only one thing: it didn’t work. From that point the video is edited to delete out certain parts (who knows what). It picks back up with Gates saying “that makes me a little worried”, and the touch screen finally working.

Now I don’t mean to bash Gates by any means; it isn’t his fault. In fact, It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just a work in progress that the Microsoft team was anxious to get out there to be seen by the world. Lots of times you need that kind of motivation, particularly as a developer, to know that somebody cares.

But next time something goes wrong during your presentation, just remember: Even Bill Gates, the retired Microsoft CEO and one of the most wealthiest man in the world has done the same thing.. in front of the world.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Need to see it for yourself? Here are some videos starring Microsoft Surface for your viewing pleasure! They range all the way from Bill Gates’ unveiling back in 2007 to the new Surface Sphere of July 2008. As you can see from that time period, this is a VERY new technology.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Currently there are two types of Microsoft Surface packages for sale.

Commercial Package -These are for businesses such as hotels and casinos that do not plan to develop. Currently, it is not available to private consumers. It comes with Vista Business and Surface Platform 1.0 software. This does NOT come with the SDK. The price tag on this one is around $10000, depending on how many you buy.

Developers Package – If you plan on developing with the SDK, this is the package for you. This is a little pricier than the commercial package, but comes with a Surface SDK, two seats in a Microsoft Surface Essentials training session, and 5 license’ to the Surface SDK workstation software. It also gives you access to the developers forum where you can download applications. The developer package sells for just over $13000.

Both packages come in either a plain metal or a black frame.

Availabilty – Microsoft Surface is available in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. Prices on this page are based on the U.S. Dollar.

Price to go down – The price is expected to go down as this technology advances, just how the price of computers have gone down significantly since when they started.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Ever wonder what’s inside Microsoft Surface that makes it all possible? Well, here’s your answer.

Since Microsoft Surface sports a Natural User Interface (NUI), it has less input devices than the average and traditional Graphical User Interface (GUI). GUI based computers have a mouse, keyboard, webcam and maybe a microphone while a NUI has only a multi-touch screen.

But although Surface has less hardware in the ‘input device’ category, it has more in the inner workings. It requires more in the core for features such as multi-touch and object recognition capabilities.

Multi-touch: The most important and most noted feature of the Surface table is its multit-touch capabilities. It boasts 5 near-infrared cameras that can recognize when something makes contact on the screen, since contact changes the “invisible lighting” (near-infrared lighting) on the top of the table. The use of five cameras rather than just one adds higher resolutions. It also helps to make the table more compact, as just one camera would have to be far away to be able to “watch” the whole screen, rather than 5 cameras taking a (fifth) small section of the table. Having five cameras also increases the processing speed.

Since the cameras recognize contact on the screen and not heat, electrical resistance, or capacitance, the cameras recognize more than just your finger. For example, you could play air hockey with a real air hockey puck and “player”. Or you could paint with a real paint brush.

The multi in multi-touch is greater than any multi-touch device you’ve ever touched before. It allows for up to 52 interactions at once! That’s 5 people using all 10 fingers plus 2 objects all at once, or 9 people using 5 fingers and 7 objects all at once, or even 26 people using 2 fingers all at once. The greatest part is, it’s not the camera system that limits the amount of interactions allowed at one time, it’s the processing power. That means in the future, we could see bigger numbers far larger than 52, maybe one point in the thousands , or even no limit to the amount of interactions one table can process at once.

Object recognition: The object recognition feature uses the same hardware as multi-touch uses – 5 near-infrared cameras. But I mention object recognition for a different reason.

With object recognition, Microsoft Surface can recognize any object with a byte tag on it. For example, if you were to put a byte tag on a digital camera, Surface would recognize the byte tag as a digital camera, and you would get the photos to spill out to play with.

Since we can put a byte tag on any object, this means that Microsoft Surface, in one way or another, has infinite pieces of hardware. Or, at least up to 52 more than Microsoft Surface has inside (since Surface only recognizes up to 52 touches).

You know how Surface recognizes objects now, but you may be wondering how it transfers data with it? This is where the built in Bluetooth 2.0 comes to play. The Bluetooth 2.0 technology can share photos and music at lightning fast speeds. So when you put that mp3 player down on the table and drag a song from a playlist into the mp3 player, it automatically uploads the song in just a few seconds.

Processing and Memory: Currently, Microsoft Surface has:

• 250 GigaByte Sata Hard Drive
• 2 GigaByte DDR2 RAM
• Intel Core 2Duo @ 2.13GHz

But according to Bill Gates, this is the specs that Microsoft hopes Surface will eventually have:

• 1 TeraByte Hard Drive
• 4 GigaByte DDR2-1066 RAM
• Intel Core Quad Xeon “WoodCrest” @ 2.66GHz

Frame: Microsoft Surface’s dimensions are 42 inches wide x 21 inches deep x 22 inches high with a 30 inch display at a 1280×720. The tabletop is acrylic and the interior is powder coated with steel. It weighs in at 150 pounds.

The Rest: The OS supporting Microsoft Surface, believe it or not, is a custom version of Windows Vista. This may change to Windows 7 once it is released however. For internet connection, there is wired Ethernet 10/100 or wireless 802.11 b/g.

Popularity: 20% [?]