AG Lite # 153

[ArtisticMystic]

Heh Heh...(Nervous Laugh)

[heavyphotons]

I can't remember seeing John before -- has he appeared previously? Who is he?

[A11smart]

What an impressive forum text engine!

I think the comic is way off. Like the PS3 (with its multiprocessor core), this is clearly the path of the future for the technology—there were some great videos from the professor developing the tech behind Surface that were fascinating—but the technology is so cutting edge, the manufacturing for it makes production prohibitively expensive. But there's been many a time when I wish I could manipulate images as 'real' objects and not within a viewing program. Even with a dualhead setup in my home office, I could totally see how a touchable flatscreen canvas would be just fantastic to work with. In fact, for all tablet-enabled comic artists, I'd almost think this would be the perfect combination of tool and presentation.
    A fine vid on how it all works is available from PopularMechanics*, if anyone's interested. I remember watching ST:TNG and seeing them walk up to a wall, touch the black reflective strip running throughout the ship, and have it revealed to be a computer interface. 'Ubiquitous computing' is the world we want: crazy powerful machines that don't require us to sit in a certain location or use a specific device to do whatever pops into our minds, be it watch a tv show from dvr/harddrive recording, check our email in the kitchen as food microwaves, or listen to music remotely and wirelessly (as with, say, a Bluetoothed iPod).

* http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html

(I just got into AG, thanks to the splendid guest comicry at Megatokyo. The archives were superb, and I'm excited to see where Hawk and Ananth will take their series! What a change from Piro, too, with the timely updates! Hawk really nailed the MT look).

[moody]

you work for microsoft, huh?

but tabletop games should be awesome on that thing.

[Cybertimber2005]

I don't work for microsoft but I did want to point out that the table is the first generation ment for businesses.  I mean how else do you want to fit a projector into something smaller?

Also... who wants to look at pr0n on a table when you can interact with the table porn
(Says my friend)

Edit: Hmm... I could have sworn one of the videos said it was displayed using a projector, but Wikipedia says its a LCD/Plasma type screen.

[Petro3773]

There is also a lot of new around this as well, stating that they are ripping off of the NYU project, gone company, Perceptive Pixel. Problem with that is Microsoft has supposedly been working on this for 5 years, which is a bit longer. The other issue people see is that Perceptive Pixel is even more expensive, but that is mainly because they will do many sizes where so far from what I've heard the Surface is only one, or a cople specific sizes.
Just throwing my two cents in.

[A11smart]

It's not necessarily a rip-off of the NYU professor's work; he may have licensed the technology. In the vid interview, he already mentioned working on corporate and military contracts. There was just an article in BusinessWeek about how the University of Florida was catching up with MIT and the UCsystem on tech licenses, by making deals with startup companies to develop the ideas, while their researches continue to produce and refine them.

    Based on the PopularScience review, I think the system uses both, CyberTimber. I saw at least two cameras in a diagram that search for objects on top of the table, while the LCD screen below is what generates the images the users get to manipulate.

    What I like best is the postPC idea that Microsoft is developing here. In my office alone, I have a bundle of peripheral wiring, for smartphone, Palm pda, iPod, camera, etc. Bluetoothing (or any other close-proximity wireless protocol) plus invisible connections (like downloading applicable drivers off the net, versus having to use an install disc) mean less maintenance time and more productivity. Less clutter, too: when I'm working in Photoshop or Illustrator, sometimes I put aside the wireless keyboard and use the trackball and mouse exclusively. Coupled with a DVI-cabled LCD tv, I could easily see how a Surface-enabled office desk would both declutter and maximize an office's virtual workspace. It really makes the virtual less so. as if the data you're working with were right there to play with.

[Yone]

So when Apple comes out with the same type of technology will it then be cool stuff?

[Kaji]

From what I've read, it'll be cool stuff once it can actually do what it does in the demos without having every individual object separately programmed into it and without being the size of two transparency projectors side-by-side...