This last Friday, a few of the developers behind Microsoft Surface took some time out of their schedules to meet with us and talk about what’s coming in their Surface Service Pack 1, due to be rolled out today. Now, it’s called a service pack for a reason — as opposed to a fun pack — this update is a response to the requests and concerns of the community using and developing for the Surface, so it’s not about flashy new gizmos and eye candy, but usability.
There are still a few new visible features, and it’s always fun to play with a Surface, so there’s a nice video for you to watch if you’re interested in how the Surface is changing and how Microsoft is responding to developer feedback. It’s easier to show them than explain them at length, so check them out in the video (hope you like my chin, which was all I could fit into the frame while still including the whole Surface surface).
In more prosaic developments, but no less important ones, Surface is now supported by Microsoft Update — and from my talk with them, it seemed like this is just one of many steps they’re taking to really tie in the Surface to other Windows and Microsoft services and APIs. For instance, they’re working hard to make XNA play well with Surface, and it sounds like the Surface team is going to be instrumental in establishing a set of standardized gestures and motion controls for Surface, Windows 7, and Windows Mobile 7. That’s pretty key, and the Surface team has done a huge amount of research into touch and gesture usability, so they’re the right guys for the job. WPF controls and libraries are also being integrated, so more traditional interfaces can be easily adapted to not be immediately broken by being clicked on in 20 different places at once.
Their little 128-bit identifier tags (we saw those in our behind the scenes look) are being rolled out in earnest, so developers will be able to work those into their apps. I was just thinking how awesome it would be to eat on a Surface and just put down a little picture of the drink you want right there on the table — bam, hit “confirm” or whatever and it’s on the way. They’re also optimizing background processes for better notification ability while in other apps and that sort of thing.
I liked the stress test that helps make sure apps won’t just freak out when there are (for example) chimps pounding on the table all over the place. When they ran it for me in the video above, it managed to exit the app, go shopping, and start ordering Dungeon Siege II before they stopped it. Not bad taste for 20 virtual monkeys. I suppose it would have only stopped when they asked for a card number.
All these improvements and more are being demonstrated in more detail at Tech-Ed, pretty much while you’re reading this article, so if you’re a Surface developer (and not at the sessions — come on), you’ll get a lot more details soon. For the rest of you, though, I thought it might be nice for you to know that the Surface wasn’t just a one night stand for Microsoft; it’s growing up into a real product and they’re actually putting a lot of weight behind it. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted on all Surface and Surface-related news.
I can’t believe that product still exists.
I heard Microsoft recently had layoffs. They should have reorg’d that group.
http://www.traderbots.com/stocks/Stock.aspx?symbol=msft
What is so great about Surface is that I dont even have to find it useful to want to have one :P
you dick faced whore, i might just slap you’re grandparents and pee all over you’re grave when you die. and then im gonna crack a bottle, let my body wobble, and kill you, cause you call yourself a fat guy. i hate you.
Davin with all due respect you have to learn how to give a video presentations like that… play it back to yourself, sir, you havent end even one sentence from start to stop!
you have to think ahead and then say what you want to say, dont analyze while youre talking because then you always start changing a sentence in the middle and at the end you are confused, and everyone else is confused as well trying to figure out what you were trying to say. no disrespect whatsoever.
Well all due respect, he wasn’t really doing a presentation, more of a demo. I didn’t get confused with anything he said so I don’t seen an issue!
Eh, I like the way I do it.
I’d also like to add if Devin spoke with no broken sentenaces etc it would of sound scripted, almost like Microsoft told him excactly what to say!
why do i get this crap in my feed reader i subscribed to techcrunch not this site. wtf.
Great updates! Nice to see the community feedback addressed for the new version. Previous posters are obviously misinformed. Surface is doing well. Selling well. A great development platform (for gen1). etc…
You can’t be an engineer and not love this technology. It’s a precursor to a movement towards touch in every human computer interaction. Wait until Win 7 drops and Apple drops their touch laptops. Then you’ll really see this movement into the gesture and touch computing revolution take hold.
I am sure there were people who said the internet was a fad too.. What a useless technology right :)
Completely agree. Things have to start somewhere. Now it’s a coffee table-like surface, then it’ll be walls, desks, etc… It’s exciting to imagine the possibilities and an exciting time for human-computer interaction.
Never mind the ‘tards. Just read and move along. Real readers are sick of them anyway.
This is very cool. There are a thousand interesting applications for this. Imagine if you run an architecture firm, allowing your clients to run through your portfolio on a surface or doing a drawing review there. Neat stuff. Or put one of these in the waiting room of a doctors office. Drop your ID card on the screen and your records come up–fill out all the forms there.
You have to download a PDF just read how to order it. With the recent announcement of PDF reader exploits, this seems like a dubious way to get people to order it. Looks very cool though.
That’s pretty common for any devices that cost over a couple thousand dollars and aren’t for general consumer use.
Ok, thanks Devin. At least now I know about how much it costs.
come on microsoft. Beat the Sixth sense
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html
Else Surface goes into the dead pool
@geekevaluation… Holy Shit bro… Now THAT is the future… and she said all the components only cost $350??? That’s cheaper than an unlocked iPhone. I agree, Surface to the dead pool if Sixth Sense finds the day of light.
Even though the Surface looks impressive, I could just see it positioned in my room running PacMan :)
I’m no fan of Microsoft by any means (everything I own, including my portable tablet and video devices, run Linux or an embedded Linux kernel) and I don’t see any interest in this product for myself or anyone I know, but I’m glad to see them continuing to develop this. Anything that can help bring people a little closer to a more naturally interactive and intuitive way to work with a computer is great.
I can’t imagine this product sells well, in general, though. Who are most of the customers? I can only imagine that it would be of interest to sales showrooms and other places where they will often spend a lot of money on pomp and flash to get attention. Otherwise, what kind of customer can justify the cost?
The Surface isn’t targeted toward the consumer. The main targets are businesses that have waiting rooms with table surfaces (hotel/building lobbies, malls, restaurants, bars, etc).
I also see a lot of potential for tourism in designated kiosks that would allow for tour guides, quickly find a location, among other things.
I’m pretty sure it still doesn’t sell well, but hopefully they’re working towards getting it known and out there. Disneyland and Sheraton Hotels have already adopted the technology.
We’ll see what the future holds for this wonderful precursor to (hopefully) universal touch-centric interfaces on any surface.
I suppose I can see that, but it strikes me odd because the interface isn’t really any more well suited to those situations (i.e. Disneyland) any better than the cheaper alternatives (i.e. muli-touch wiimote with a decent, cheap video card and a little custom application programming for the job at hand). Considering the massive price of each individual unit and Microsoft’s terrible record for security and exploits, wouldn’t the costs and assurances of reliability of engineering a cheaper alternative for those specific functions that they need pay off better? I’m weighing most of my argument on the upfront as well as long-term license and support costs, mind you.
I think it’s silly (no offense to anyone) to say, I hate company X or I love company Y. It is the product that has any merit/shortcoming. Admittedly, Microsoft has a rather bumpy track record of hits and misses, but I think this product has lots of potential.
Bear in mind (what a funny mental picture that expression brings) that the technology is still in diapers, and as such pricing is still bloated, as there are no competitors (that I know of). I’m also pretty sure mass production hasn’t even begun and thus it would not be cheap to produce them. The companies that have adopted the technology I presume are merely test-driving it rather than adopting it full-scale. I don’t know how/if it is customized to each customer, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
I don’t agree on how silly it is to hate or love a company. You can like or dislike their products independent of your opinion on how the company treats its decisions, employees and customers. Microsoft has earned their reputation largely on the experiences customers and developers have had with their products, sure, but also their support, licenses, costs, ethics and other dimensions of their business. I still like to see them make good decisions, but I’m largely disappointed in most of them.
Good point, though, on the burgeoning aspect of the technology. It would make sense for them to ‘beta test’ these devices, maybe they leased these devices rather than purchased them outright? Later down the road, they have the option to purchase the final product. That’s a common way to go about doing things–especially for something as constantly changing as a theme park, as the best example you gave.
Quick note on my last post, in case it wasn’t obvious: I’m just musing–I don’t know anything about any of these arrangements.
Yeah, I’m much the same as you. I’m not Microsoft’s biggest fan, but I think their research and labs divisions are really helping drive tech.
Cec got it pretty much on target regarding the customers, too.
I have the impression, having followed Silicon Valley and Microsoft companies since a very geeky young age, that MS likes to claim innovation in their own environments over things everyone else has already done elsewhere. Is this yet another Microsoft “ME TOO!!” (Surface-like multitouch interfaces have already been done long ago–even homebrewers have done it–minus the puffery and RFID.)
I guess my big question is: What’s the advantage to the Microsoft interface over the alternatives?
After a little more thought, I think I answered some of my own questions–it’s about the API’s, I suppose. :)
I still question the cost to benefits ratio of that argument, still. it seems cheaper and more secure to just build something proprietary for your own purpose than to offload a lot of money on Microsoft’s solution. Hmmm…
Just to state the obvious, wiimote hacked surface like solutions are just that HACKS. They do not scale to hundreds of simultaneous inputs, they don’t scale to performance, and the user experience just doesn’t exist for those hacked solutions..
Surface is a productized solution that scales great for mass use. There is really no other proven surface competitor out there, certainly not any i have seen that has a solution that can be plonked out infront of the public tomorrow..
Surface tables have proven themselves out there in the public, in places that have adopted them that is.
I work for a non-microsoft company that builds surface apps and Surface definetely delivers on the technical and user experience front.
Nothing out there comes close!
Thanks! This is more like what I’m looking for. What sets it apart from similar solutions. Although, calling competitive solutions “hacks” addresses how they’re done–not what they are. It’s just a dismissive way to denigrate what might otherwise be a perfectly acceptable solution which can then be engineered properly with time, as has happened with many other “hacks” in the past.
How do you mean that it scales to hundreds of simultaneous inputs? Do you mean hundreds of RFID’s? Hundreds of simultaneous touches across a very long Surface area? I’ve never really seen Surface take up a large area enough to imagine hundreds of “inputs”. I do like what I’ve seen of it but I’m cynical about the cost to benefits of this particular platform. It does seem fascinating, despite all my cynical questions and remarks. I would just like to be able to understand why it’s the better solution to generic multitouch or the ‘hacks’.
Thanks for shooting back a comment, by the way!
In answer to your several comments, the Surface is a real product. That’s what sets it aside. In terms of hardware it’s only a little better than hacks and competing products (they’ve worked hard on making the touches very accurate, and yes it can handle like a hundred at the same time). The difference is they are providing the support, APIs, and placement to make it a viable product and not just a unique way of interacting with your windows. It’s a completely different environment to work in and it fosters innovation, kind of like how the iPhone drove touch interfaces on mobiles. Of course the iPhone is a consumer device, the Surface isn’t.
The fact is that the Surface has been extensively tested, the interactions with it and included capabilities are compelling and well-made, and its future interoperability with windows 7 and winmo 7 makes it a good investment as well.
I though Microsoft surface is just a private technology of Microsoft. This is very cool especially for my visitors area. Is this available to market now?
You’re hot!
I wish Microsoft would push this technology harder! Touch computing is the next obvious step in personal computing, but without a big push from Microsoft it’s not going to happen.
We are going to see Microsoft dominate the market and with the evolution of new screen technologies we will see this gap get even bigger. Nobody does mobile like Microsoft. If you look at the history of windows mobile the story is compelling and you will agree they are here to stay.
I don’t think they’re at that point yet, or even that they are on their way to market domination. Microsoft needs a game plan change. They need to stop overreaching and focus on polishing the key aspects of modern computing, one of them being usability. Only then will they have a chance once competition from leaner, more focused companies comes out.
If you’ve ever watched CSI:Miami or the new NCIS:LA, they’re using this on those shows right now . . . and they are AWESOME!!