The Surface Retail Debate Continues
There are a number of different reasons to love the Microsoft Surface computer. The innovative technological nature of the device comes to mind, as does the fact that it can do so many different things that your current desktop computer can not do. Of course, one reason that many companies say they love it is because they think that it will completely revolutionize the way that retail is done.
But stop for a moment; will it really do that?
There are certainly aspects to the Microsoft Surface computer that will completely change how retail is done. The ability to place a product on the computer and get instant information at your fingertips about that product is definitely something that is cool and it is a novelty that many customers will definitely find enriching.
But at the same time, what happens when the novelty wears off? Customers are likely to see higher prices because of the added cost of purchasing and maintaining the energy guzzling, extremely expensive Surface machine. Will those customers consider the added cost as palatable because of the excellent increase in service they get from the Surface? That seems to be the main question surrounding the debate as to whether or not the Microsoft Surface has the ability to change retail fundamentally.
AT&T tried out the Surface in five of their stores and so far it has been a smashing success, but a lot of that admittedly has to do with the novelty factor. While the use of Multitouch technology, when it becomes affordable universally in the future, will definitely change the way retail stores operate, it is difficult to say with certainty right now whether it will be the Surface that makes the breakthrough or else a later Multitouch machine.
Is Microsoft’s Multitouch Already Obsolete?
Multitouch technology has really inspired the modern world and ever since the implementation of Multitouch both on the iPhone by Apple and on the Surface by Microsoft, Multitouch technology has really been all that the world can talk about. Whether you look on blogs or within the electronic magazines of the day, Multitouch appears to be the technology of choice that is worth discussing across the electronic sphere of influence.
Oddly enough however, Multitouch technology, arguably developed first by Microsoft, appears to already be at a time when it is getting obsolete. While we love to joke about the computer that you buy being obsolete by the time you leave the store with it, strange things in computer labs appear to be giving a shred of truth to this notion as far as the Microsoft Surface computer is concerned.
And interestingly enough, these strange things are from a Microsoft computer lab!
A lab that Microsoft has in Cambridge has just reported that they have created a system that not only allows touch interaction like Multitouch technology, but it also happens to allow you to twist, bend, pull and squeeze different parts of the interface in order to make certain things happen. As one person put it, this is almost like Multitouch on steroids.
While this is something that should make many people excited, a word of caution is necessary because this is not even in the prototype stage yet. Eyes need to be kept on further developments to see if anything more comes from this Multitouch on steroids technology.
Operating System a Threat to Microsoft
The two biggest companies as far as Multitouch technology is concerned are Microsoft and Apple, both of which have products that are either already on the market or else are coming to the market that utilize Multitouch technology in order to create an overall electronic experience that is far beyond anything that the average user has presently in their computer setup.
However, what was once a big strength of Microsoft has become a hindrance according to many analysts, since the operating system code for Windows has become so large and bulky that changing it to adapt to any piece of hardware is something that takes a very long time to do. By contrast, Apple’s refined OS X is something that can be changed almost at will for mobile computing, desktop interfaces and everything that happens in between.
Why is this important? It’s important because Multitouch technology is as close as it is possible to come to a round two in terms of computer markets. Microsoft and their PC machines really smoked Apple in round one, reducing the Macintosh Corporation to something that was little more than a joke to the vast majority of computer users around.
However, with the advent of Multitouch technology, Apple has already proven that their refined operating system code allows them to target markets with Multitouch extremely quickly. They have already introduced phone and notebook products that work on Multitouch before Microsoft’s Surface Computer has even hit the market. The largest reason for that is the fact that Microsoft’s operating system is bulky and hard to control; Vista users saw that firsthand when they bought their new computers.
Microsoft Surface Here at Last reports AT&T
When people have been thinking about Multitouch technology, it is really the Surface Computer that has challenged the boundaries of modern era technology. While the Apple iPhone has already been on the market for some time, it is the Surface that people have been talking about because of all of the extra features that Surface has over the iPhone. Well, while the Surface’s extra features have resulted in a price tag that is really the same thing practically as not even sending the Surface to the market, stores like AT&Tare starting to take advantage of things by reporting that they will be placing Surface computers in their stores.
AT&Thas stores all around the United States and on April 17th they will be conducting an experiment by placing twenty-two different Surface Computers in four of their stores in the country. These Surface Computers will operate as they were always envisioned to do. When people place products on the Surface, information regarding the product will come on the screen. The customer can then directly interact with the Surface in order to change the information that is being shown or to bring up additional information regarding the product on the screen. The customer can even put two products on screen at the same time in order to do an on the spot comparison between the two products before choosing which one they want to purchase.
All of these nifty things will make decisions easier for the customer from a shopping around point of view, although it might also make the lives of AT&Tsales agents a bit harder over the first week as people are expected to come into the store in order to get a chance to play with AT&T’s new Surface Computers.
AT&TStore Locations (Links lead to Maps.Live.com):
· New York: 381 Madison Ave. or 350 Park Ave.
· San Francisco area: 1206 El Camino Real, San Bruno
· San Antonio: 13127 San Pedro Ave.
· Atlanta: 3429 Lenox Road N.E.
AT&T Store Locations microsoft surface at AT&T stores Multi Touch multi touch technology surface computer Surface In Action Surface News surface computer Sphere: Related ContentPotential Microsoft Multitouch Mistakes
When Microsoft initially came out with their Multitouch technology, there were a number of people that were extremely excited. While there is still some debate as to who exactly came up with Multitouch technology in the end, the enthusiasm for Multitouch products was felt for all of the companies that came out with them. This is why both the Apple iPhone and the Microsoft Surface were well received within the framework of the technology community.
However, as time has passed and Microsoft has gone on to develop their Surface family of products and propose newer and better hardware with each passing press conference, a number of Redmond strategists and other technology buffs have begun to comment on the fact that Microsoft might be shooting themselves in the foot in the future when all of the chips were on the table.
They cite as a reference for this the comparison between the iPhone and the Surface. In the case of the former, not only did Apple create a product for mass consumption, but at the same time they created a number of applications suited for that product that people could actually use far better with Multitouch than they could in any other way.
The Surface Computer on the other hand, is not a product that can be mass produced and mass purchased at the moment. The first incarnations of the Surface were tens of thousands of dollars and even many larger companies balked at using them in industries like hospitality where they would be very welcome indeed. Surface is still a problem in terms of price and unless Microsoft pulls off a miracle in the upcoming months, it is likely to remain that way for awhile.
And instead of developing applications that can use Surface’s advanced hardware in the way that Apple did for the iPhone, Microsoft has instead continued to allow their hardware development to leave their software development in the dust, creating excellent pieces of technology that are extremely under-utilized in terms of what they can do because of a lack of software. Surface, for example, uses the same Windows Vista operating system that conventional PCs use. This makes many Surface products little more than normal PC monitors with touch-screen capabilities; novelty items that do not really bring anything that big to the table.
These are concerns that Microsoft will very likely have to address if they want Multitouch to work for them and for their customers and seeing how they address these concerns in the upcoming weeks, months and even years will be interesting to watch.
LucidTouch Advancing Rapidly?
A few weeks ago, Microsoft came out with an original idea that was somewhat based on their Multitouch designs but at the same time took a view of Multitouch that was quite different from the one they had been preaching up to that point. This view of Multitouch was one that called for both sides of a particular screen to have that kind of touch capability so that people using the products could manipulate the screen and the hardware by touching the back of the screen and in doing so not interfering with the view that was on the screen at that time. The small screen combined with Multitouch was seen as the main weakness for this type of material and therefore Microsoft’s announcement regarding LucidTouch was one that sparked a lot of interest within the technology community.
While this LucidTouch technology did debut at a technology exhibit and a press conference a few weeks ago and in spite of Microsoft’s claims that they are advancing rapidly in terms of the progress of development, at the same time most technology experts believe that it will be some time before LucidTouch products actually debut in a format that can be purchased by the average person.
If you want evidence that LucidTouch still has a long way to go, then consider the predecessor Multitouch technology. While Multitouch is currently available in the form of the Surface Computer, the Microsoft Surface at the same time is ridiculously expensive and the Multitouch at this stage is not really practical enough in terms of working with most applications on the market that the extra price is justified. With Microsoft’s development of LucidTouch being less in earnest than with Multitouch (considering that most of their resources are still focused on the Multitouch and Surface Generation products), it is quite obvious that LucidTouch products will not be on the market anytime soon.
Surface News Sphere: Related ContentPatent Problems with Multitouch
Every now and then something big happens in the world of technology and over the last few months the big things that have been happening almost all have to do with multitouch in some way, shape or form. From the release of the Surface computer and the iPhone all the way to the current companies that are looking to release multitouch products, this technology has become the big thing in gadgets today.
However, Apple has the power within their grasp to bring all non-Apple multitouch products screaming to a halt if they are granted a number of different patents for their iPhone product. These patents, while a long way away from being accepted and having no guarantee of acceptance even when they are reviewed, are perhaps the most powerful patents to be filed in technology in recent memory.
One can just see the legal problems cropping up around the use of Multitouch technology, as Microsoft is another company that could very well lay claim to the multitouch patents that could allow them to control the development of this technology for the near future. After all, the Microsoft Surface computer predates the launch of the iPhone and Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) even admits that Microsoft’s multitouch technology was used as a basis for the construction of an improved version in the iPhone.
Apple’s counter-claim however can also be understood, since the Apple iPhone is easily the first mainstream product to carry multitouch technology on it. It is not clear when the patents will be decided and who will get them, but people that are actively following the multitouch market should be aware of the legal battles going on behind the scenes.
Surface News Sphere: Related ContentMicrosoft’s New LucidTouch
With the Multitouch revolution already in full swing, a number of different companies have been coming out with multitouch devices that have made the people that purchase them very happy indeed. Microsoft has of course come out with the Surface and now they have come out with LucidTouch, something that addresses a very real logistical problem with a lot of handheld multitouch devices.
While multitouch devices are great because of their high functionality, they all do have one inherent problem to them. If a person needs to very quickly interact with the touch screen, then a problem that arises in many multitouch products or demos is the person not being able to see the different areas of the touch sensitive screen to press. In other words, if a person were typing on a virtual keyboard through pressing the screen, on many smaller devices the very act of pressing the button on screen can serve to diminish their view of the other keys and therefore it can cause a lot of frustration amongst different users.
Well, Microsoft’s solution to this very real problem was the development of LucidTouch, which many news organizations have referred to as being a pseudo transparent device. The use of a webcam in this device allows the monitoring of finger positions on the back of the device, thereby allowing you to place your fingers on the back of the device and still use them to activate the commands. LucidTouch has multitouch technology on both the front and the back of the device, meaning that you can learn how to manipulate controls from the back of the device and in doing so still be able to see all of the commands which are now not blocked by your fingers.
lucidtouch Microsoft Multi touch Tech sensitive screen Surface News touch screen virtual keyboard Sphere: Related ContentTech Fest 2008 has Multitouch
Redmond, Washington is of course the headquarters of Microsoft as well as where the gigantic multi-national computer corporation got its head start. And every year researchers for the corporation head to this global headquarters in order to participate in Tech Fest. Tech Fest is a yearly occurrence where said researchers can show off the projects they are working on and generally swap stories about the fascinating world of computer research as they meet friends and associates from all over the world.
In 2008, a number of things are expected to take place and already have taken place as the fair officially started on Tuesday morning with keynote addresses from two of the top dogs in the Microsoft organization vis-à-vis the research department. After these two keynote addresses, the sky officially became the limit for presentations by the researchers at the conference.
Part of what is expected to be presented is a series of applications that deal with online security, but graphics and mobile applications are popular as well as they seem to be every year. Of course, one place in which all three of these things converge is Multitouch technology and that in turn is expected to get a big part of the attention at the fair. New and interesting ideas regarding the next stage of evolution for the Surface computer will be on the table and in addition to that the application of Multitouch technology to areas aside from advertisement and personal computing are expected to be discussed.
Microsoft is looking to milk all that they can from Multitouch technology, which really just shows their excellent business sense.
interaction technique interactive surface Multi Touch Multi touch Tech Sphere: Related ContentThe Redefinition of Microsoft Surface
Microsoft Surface is the handy Multitouch unit that everyone has come to know and love and in many ways has really started to overshadow the Apple iPhone because of the extreme relevance that the Surface has to the future of desktop computing that the iPhone simply can not match up to.
But now, Microsoft has decided to take things even further and they are looking at making changes to the Surface in order to bring forth a horde of different products in the near future. According to a source from Microsoft, the first thing that the company has planned is to change the shape of the computer from something that occupies a Surface to more traditional shapes like a monitor so that it can be used in the creation of desktop computers that have Multitouch technology but are not that different from what people are used to dealing with now.
In addition to that, product lines of mobile products as well as things like desks in the kitchens and studies are already being planned by the computer giant. One rumour actually has a sphere-shaped Surface computer as part of it and while it is difficult to verify the truthfulness of that particular rumour, a sphere-shaped Microsoft Surface computer would definitely have a cult interest behind it. It would also be very useful in a place like the family room and that factor of functionality may be the eventual deciding factor in the creation of a sphere-shaped Microsoft Surface computer.
MS Surface Multi touch Tech multi touch technology MultiTouch rumour shape of the computer sphere Surface News traditional shapes Sphere: Related Content
