Microsoft Shows off its Milan "Surface Computer"

To really see how cool this “Surface Computer” is, you need to check out the clips on youtube.

Essentially a table forms the “desktop” environment and users manipulate media on the table with their hands using natural gestures and movements.

A demo on youtube showed a picture being taken on a digital camera, and once the camera was placed on the table, the pictures on it were displayed. Great for when you’re down the pub with friends comparing pictures on mobiles and cameras and so on!Being table based, collaboration with different people becomes easier. I’m just trying to imagine how much keyword research could be done with three people around this “Surface Computer”!

It made me think of Mark Weiser's theory of computing.

"Ubiquitous computing names the third wave in computing, just now beginning. First were mainframes, each shared by lots of people. Now we are in the personal computing era, person and machine staring uneasily at each other across the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous computing, or the age of calm technology, when technology recedes into the background of our lives."


Many people / One computer (First stage)

One person / One computer (Second stage)

One person / Many computers (Third stage)