If you’re in the market for a new coffee table or a
really neat gadget … or both … check out the brand new Microsoft Surface. This piece of “digital furniture” boasts a
30-inch screen embedded in an acrylic tabletop, and it’s controlled simply by touching the display.
The Surface has incorporated a few unique touches that Microsoft hopes will turn it into a multibillion-dollar category:
- It allows you to sort through photos, music and more the way you would in everyday life -- with your hands.
- You can download photos and video clips simply by setting a digital camera with Wi-Fi capabilities on the display, and touching a button.
- The touch-screen can handle multiple touches at the same time, so several people can use it at once.
- The Surface can read bar codes, membership cards and more.
The first uses for the Surface will be commercial, but Microsoft envisions it one day being a household item on everything from
tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror.
If you want a first-hand account of how the Surface works, Gizmodo.com has a
video of Bill Gates "showing off his fancy new table." Technology just keeps getting better and better!
The New York Times May 30, 2007