Microsoft demos Surface multi-touch user interface
Bill Gates demos Surface, Microsoft's multi-touch finger-controlled UI that sports some rather iPhone-like gesture controls...
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"Microsoft's multi-touch finger-controlled UI that sports some rather iPhone-like gesture controls..."
gestures have been around for ages. the iphone and apple DID NOT INVENT multitouch controls FFS. Stop promoting the hype, what you are saying there is like Claiming Logitech invented the mouse!
Is this the video where the guy sticks a camera and another device on the table top and moves pictures between them by "flinging" them across the tabletop?
compared to the other demos they gave of surface (and the touchlight-thingy of microsoft research that preceded it)...
maybe someone should have spent more than 5min at introducing bill to the device?
btw. it does not matter how hard you press. they generate a depth image of the surface (using 4 cams) and recognize if something is near enough to touch it...
Not bad but it's only scratching the surface. Touch interfaces will see huge progress in the next year alone. I really doubt MS will do much groundbreaking here, apple are already running with the ball and google are set to throw out cash prizes for innovative software so I recon MS may have a few good ideas but aren't going to get recognised as 'the inventor of the touchscreen'.
Another area which I expect will see some development this year is gesture recognition, with just about every media device having a camera it's an area which is wide open and needs no extra hardware.
BTW, I have a touchscreen on a laptop and from what I've tried so far it looks like KDE4 will get a lot of attention in this area.
"gestures have been around for ages. the iphone and apple DID NOT INVENT multitouch controls FFS."
Nobody is claiming they did. However, Apple *are* the first to bring this particular combination of technologies to the market successfully. This is all Apple, Microsoft (and, yes, even Logitech) do: bring *existing* ivory-tower technologies and blue-sky thinking to the market and see what floats the public's boat. Apple don't tend to claim they invented this stuff; the (relatively ignorant) mass media do that. If the public are willing to believe the misinformation, that's their problem. Not Apple's.
Apple's focus is on design and ergonomics and their current corporate structure strengthens this by ensuring there is always a single, coherent design philosophy across the company.
Microsoft's core competencies are developer tools and developer technologies. Visual Studio is second to none as a result, but it has led to a lack of consistency as each department within MS follows its own path. (Neither Gates nor Ballmer have any kind of track record when it comes to product design.)
Until some years ago, good design usually meant charging a hefty premium. (Just ask Bang & Olufsen!) Advances in manufacturing have lowered the costs of both industrial and interface design, thus making them commodities like the technologies they are used to synthesize.
Microsoft do have usability labs, but they lack a single, consistent design vision. They really do need to address this, or they will end up fighting a losing battle with the GNU/FOSS movements. Linux, like OS X, may be a throwback to the 1970s, but 99% of users care about interfaces, not the technology.
If the iPhone was released after the Surface computer, show me where I can buy a Surface computer today? what's that? nowhere for sale? of course not, it's just an R&D toy.
R&D is one thing, actually perfecting the product and managing to make it into a saleable product is another thing.
10 years ago, it would be OMG that is so cool, but what's the point? who wants something so frustratingly laggy and where you have to flail your arms and hands about instead of making small wrist movements with a mouse? We will within a month or two, see yet another stage in this technology's advancement and it will be in popular consumer products made by Apple.
Seen the first Surface demo 6 months ago, looked interesting.
Although having used the iPhone I think someone needs to think of a smear free screen quick, I don't fancy having to clean a 20" screen every 5 mins because i have to rub my finger tips over it to use it!
If Apple do indeed launch new laptops with multi-touch pads on the keyboard/mouse/touchpad then I think I'll invest in that first, It will help my RSI to be able to use both hands equally and save me on screen cleaning wipes.
I love it when uninformed dicks try to hide their lack of knowledge by going "OMG what a crock, <object name> || <concept name> has been around of years and years!"
Oh and on a technical note, the surface CANNOT recognise devices placed on it. it can ONLY recognise micro-dot codes placed on the device's shell. So don't expect to buy a surface (ha!) and just plonk your bluetooth capable phone on the thing.
Maybe they'll start a Surfaces-for-Sure program to identify compatible devices, only to then 2 years later change the micro-dot coding format to a pattern which only Microsoft devices have.
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Microsoft demos Surface multi-touch user interface
Bill Gates demos Surface, Microsoft's multi-touch finger-controlled UI that sports some rather iPhone-like gesture controls... Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com CES on Video WowWee wheels in Tribot DisplayLink demos multi-monitor USB dongle Guitar Hero gets true air axe WowWee demos FemiSapien robotrix …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 12:58 GMT
Alexander Hanff
Can't see this video? Download the player from Adobe.com #
I would except Adobe still refuse to provide a 64bit player for Linux.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 12:58 GMT
Alastair Dodd
ARRGH #
"Microsoft's multi-touch finger-controlled UI that sports some rather iPhone-like gesture controls..."
gestures have been around for ages. the iphone and apple DID NOT INVENT multitouch controls FFS. Stop promoting the hype, what you are saying there is like Claiming Logitech invented the mouse!
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 13:18 GMT
Ash
Seen it. #
Is this the video where the guy sticks a camera and another device on the table top and moves pictures between them by "flinging" them across the tabletop?
If not, FAIL.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 13:54 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Touch screen looks bad #
You can see him pressing hard, or several times to get it to recognise his touch. They'd best sort that out.
I laughed at how he anally tried to line the snowflake up right in the middle of the board :)
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
tom
Bill messed up #
Didn't the bindings go on the wrong way round in terms of the art he was adding and the oreintation when he did so?
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Paul Saleh
Bill doesn't ride #
Is it me or did he put the bindings on the bottom of the board?
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
foo
oh, lame #
compared to the other demos they gave of surface (and the touchlight-thingy of microsoft research that preceded it)...
maybe someone should have spent more than 5min at introducing bill to the device?
btw. it does not matter how hard you press. they generate a depth image of the surface (using 4 cams) and recognize if something is near enough to touch it...
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Karl Lattimer
Of course this has nothing to do with... #
Jeff Hans research http://cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/
he did pretty much invent the multi-touch idea and technology as it stands today, surface is just a rip off of that
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Stan
Only the begining #
Not bad but it's only scratching the surface. Touch interfaces will see huge progress in the next year alone. I really doubt MS will do much groundbreaking here, apple are already running with the ball and google are set to throw out cash prizes for innovative software so I recon MS may have a few good ideas but aren't going to get recognised as 'the inventor of the touchscreen'.
Another area which I expect will see some development this year is gesture recognition, with just about every media device having a camera it's an area which is wide open and needs no extra hardware.
BTW, I have a touchscreen on a laptop and from what I've tried so far it looks like KDE4 will get a lot of attention in this area.
cheers
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Jamie Edwards
Surface came first #
iPhone did not
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Paul Charters
This is not new, nor is it an iPhone ripoff #
Erm, the Surface interface has been around for ages now. Why is this even mentioned in the same breath as the iPhone?
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 14:48 GMT
Sean Baggaley
The Interface Is God. #
"gestures have been around for ages. the iphone and apple DID NOT INVENT multitouch controls FFS."
Nobody is claiming they did. However, Apple *are* the first to bring this particular combination of technologies to the market successfully. This is all Apple, Microsoft (and, yes, even Logitech) do: bring *existing* ivory-tower technologies and blue-sky thinking to the market and see what floats the public's boat. Apple don't tend to claim they invented this stuff; the (relatively ignorant) mass media do that. If the public are willing to believe the misinformation, that's their problem. Not Apple's.
Apple's focus is on design and ergonomics and their current corporate structure strengthens this by ensuring there is always a single, coherent design philosophy across the company.
Microsoft's core competencies are developer tools and developer technologies. Visual Studio is second to none as a result, but it has led to a lack of consistency as each department within MS follows its own path. (Neither Gates nor Ballmer have any kind of track record when it comes to product design.)
Until some years ago, good design usually meant charging a hefty premium. (Just ask Bang & Olufsen!) Advances in manufacturing have lowered the costs of both industrial and interface design, thus making them commodities like the technologies they are used to synthesize.
Microsoft do have usability labs, but they lack a single, consistent design vision. They really do need to address this, or they will end up fighting a losing battle with the GNU/FOSS movements. Linux, like OS X, may be a throwback to the 1970s, but 99% of users care about interfaces, not the technology.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 15:47 GMT
DeFex
duh #
Microsoft was demonstrating multitouch years before the i"phone"
apple hasn't invented anything new for ages. they just take 2 or more technologies put them together in a slightly different way and patent it.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 16:10 GMT
Giles Jones
Re: Surface came first #
If the iPhone was released after the Surface computer, show me where I can buy a Surface computer today? what's that? nowhere for sale? of course not, it's just an R&D toy.
R&D is one thing, actually perfecting the product and managing to make it into a saleable product is another thing.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 16:36 GMT
Robert Moore
Best thing Bill said #
"I can take some work that other people did and thought was good."
Good to see nothing changes.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 19:05 GMT
Richard Cartledge
What a joke! #
10 years ago, it would be OMG that is so cool, but what's the point? who wants something so frustratingly laggy and where you have to flail your arms and hands about instead of making small wrist movements with a mouse? We will within a month or two, see yet another stage in this technology's advancement and it will be in popular consumer products made by Apple.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 22:55 GMT
David Simpson
EGHH! Dirty Screen ! #
Seen the first Surface demo 6 months ago, looked interesting.
Although having used the iPhone I think someone needs to think of a smear free screen quick, I don't fancy having to clean a 20" screen every 5 mins because i have to rub my finger tips over it to use it!
If Apple do indeed launch new laptops with multi-touch pads on the keyboard/mouse/touchpad then I think I'll invest in that first, It will help my RSI to be able to use both hands equally and save me on screen cleaning wipes.
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 22:56 GMT
Ron Hughes
‘Microsoft demos Surface multi-touch user interface’ #
I've got one of those.
Its called a "Girlfriend"
Posted Friday 11th January 2008 22:56 GMT
Tom Reg
Someone at Microsoft R&D rides a snowboard? #
I think that this is a giveaway that they 'bought the company'.
--Tom
Posted Saturday 12th January 2008 02:40 GMT
Anonymous Coward
classic... #
I love it when uninformed dicks try to hide their lack of knowledge by going "OMG what a crock, <object name> || <concept name> has been around of years and years!"
Oh and on a technical note, the surface CANNOT recognise devices placed on it. it can ONLY recognise micro-dot codes placed on the device's shell. So don't expect to buy a surface (ha!) and just plonk your bluetooth capable phone on the thing.
Maybe they'll start a Surfaces-for-Sure program to identify compatible devices, only to then 2 years later change the micro-dot coding format to a pattern which only Microsoft devices have.
Or maybe i should just get my coat...
Posted Monday 14th January 2008 02:37 GMT
sleepy
MIcrosoft are building the future . . . #
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZrr7AZ9nCY
This topic is closed for new posts.