Star Trek is here! Technology is catching up

[Glowing Tubes]

Dont know how real any of this is, but it's damn cool.

It's kind of an advertisement but wow...

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38&vq=medium

[Jazzocaster]

That really cool, even cooler if it could someday become reality!

Better invest in the glass cleaning business now...

[hogy]

The technology is pretty amazing, the total connectedness is my idea of a nightmare.

[sahhas]

cool, but yes, i see all this "programming" and all i think is that it will be all comercials.
the funny thing, i was thinking when she gets in her car hits a button to program her route, in the future, will there even be steering wheels? won't the future car just be a "radio" controlled vehicle that just goes when you plug in your destination?

the other thing in our lives: glass counter everything is fine, we have a glass top stove-but we're constantly dropping crap on it, and our last one broke and it couldn't be repaired, model was long discontinued so we had to get a new one....is anyone dropping SH*T on these super glass counters?
they also look a bit too happy.
future is now i guess....

[epluribus]

That's fine honey. Wake me when they make self-washing windows...

[Glowing Tubes]

I like the tinting windows, think you can get that now.. maybe... also like the see through cell phone... counters would be covered in stuff in my world.. or broken. LOL

[Julia343]

I'd like the tinting windows -- they go dark at sunup, and clear after sundown unless I tell them otherwise. And going clear that abruptly? Forget it. Too much light too soon. And how about efficient solar panels to power my air conditioner during the summer?

All this is fine, except I agree you'll be bombarded with commercials. Wake me up when I can go buy "Rosie" from The Jetsons.

[MSLBend]

God help me if I ever find myself in a world where emails are finding me on my bathroom mirror.

[Balok]

Love the programmable window shading.
The rest looks like we'll all be doing nothing but making menu selections 24/7.
menu select toothbrush
toothbrush commercial plays
menu select Crest
spit out
mouthwash commercial plays


And of course with increased effeciency comes increased expectations and demands from your bosses.

[twinrider1]

Still waiting for transparent aluminum.

[epluribus]

...Wake me up when I can go buy "Rosie" from The Jetsons.

I was thinkin' Jeanie, but it's the right general idea... :)

[todaystomorrow]

See through phone and rollable glass computer thingy.... how would those be powered?

[Julia343]

But think about this.... with programmable glass you could be living in a high rise in the city, and have the glass programmed to show a backyard in the country. Then you go to a friend's place across town and they've got the exact same view! Wouldn't that be fun?

[earthtonesaudio]

Still waiting for transparent aluminum.

How about steel?
http://www.inventables.com/technologies/translucent-metal-foil

[Old Tele man]

That's fine honey. Wake me when they make self-washing windows......sounds like some advertisement for Microsoft Windows 9999th Century version.

[epluribus]

But even then it'll goof up your settings and make you click a nag screen...

:beer

[MSLBend]

Is it the future or a terrifying vision of hell on earth?

[twinrider1]

Still waiting for transparent aluminum.

How about steel?
http://www.inventables.com/technologies/translucent-metal-foil

Cool, but it has holes in it. I have some whales to transport.

[epluribus]

Will it make my Metal Zone more transparent?

[Brian D]

God help me if I ever find myself in a world where emails are finding me on my bathroom mirror.Seriously.

[eisrael37]

Will it make my Metal Zone more transparent?

There you are! I was waiting for you! :P


That whole commercial really creeps me out for some reason.. too similiar to the commercials you'd see in The Fifth Element or Judge Dread or some other far futuristic movie.

[lakehaus]

Is it the future or a terrifying vision of hell on earth?

I think it's really cool. One thing I couldn't help but ask myself during the demo was - How dependant would we become on this technology? The message made it appear that it would be so integrated with our daily routine that we couldn't live without it.

Imagine the cost to create and maintain the infrastructure. And think of the industry it would create, and destroy. Kinda like electric cars.

Despite that, I can see this happening...

[stratology]

Some of the technology in the video has already been there, and has failed miserably, because it's impractical. Anyone remember Microsoft's touch screen table for restaurants?

[phillygtr]

The mom's hot.

Did you notice that when the couple was waking up in bed, the dude got up, went across the room and started fiddling with the big touchscreen directly? I call BS on this. Any vision of the future that does not involve a remote control is full of crap.

Anyway, the Futurists are usually wrong. Even when it seems like they should be right this time ("ok we were wrong about the personal hovercraft and jetpacks, but we know that computer touchscreens will be everywhere right? Yeah, just look at the iPad."). The future will surprise. It won't look like this. Reality gets in the way. Installation and conversion costs will take over. No way I'm going to walk into the mall and a huge screen is going to say "Hi Andy, welcome back". BS. On the other hand my iPhone might recognize I'm there. Maybe a coupon will appear on my screen.

[MSLBend]

I think it's really cool. One thing I couldn't help but ask myself during the demo was - How dependant would we become on this technology? The message made it appear that it would be so integrated with our daily routine that we couldn't live without it.

Imagine the cost to create and maintain the infrastructure. And think of the industry it would create, and destroy. Kinda like electric cars.

Despite that, I can see this happening...

I hear ya, but I question whether or not this "kind" of technology does anything to improve the quality of life. The people I know that are deeply entrenched in the ALWAYS CONNECTED 24/7 mentality tend to be the least healthy and most distracted ... some of which cannot even hold a coherent conversation for 5 minutes without monitoring their "devices."

Unfortunately, a lot of this gee whiz wango bango technology stuff is at the absolute crucible center of our consuming appetite that generates more and more waste, more meaningless jobs and a marketing frenzy that happiness is consuming.

[wahfreak]

Some of the technology in the video has already been there, and has failed miserably, because it's impractical. Anyone remember Microsoft's touch screen table for restaurants?


It's still around.....it may take on a slightly different form but I think things like this are here to stay. Big leaps like this take a while to become embedded in the public psyche.

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

[MisterMitch]

Whaouw, a world full of yuppies, can't wait to be there.

[Britishampfan]

Much of what they show is quite remarkable however by the time all of this technology becomes mainstream hopefully I will be living on a remote lake points unknown in northern Minnesota.

As much as I enjoy the internet and social networking I do not find myself so important that I need to be plugged in and in constant contact with everyone I have ever known.

And you know the type, the ones that have to broadcast worldwide every time they take a crap or make a decent meal or..........and do people need constant validation every time they do something regular or rudimentary?

Wow, you just made hamburgers on the grill, good for you! I bet they were the best hamburgers ever!

[stratology]

It's still around.....it may take on a slightly different form but I think things like this are here to stay. Big leaps like this take a while to become embedded in the public psyche.

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

No, I don't agree. I first saw multitouch here (http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html), in 2006, quite some time before the iPhone. The mere existence of a technology doesn't necessarily make it useful. Microsoft's idea on how to implement it was to build a huge table for restaurants, where you can order food by multitouch, and later place your plates on the same table. Makes no sense at all to me: you have to buy an extremely expensive multitouch table, and still hire a waiter who can recommend a wine, and bring the food to the table. Doesn't make sense from a practical standpoint, or from an economical standpoint. Compare that with an iPod touch, that costs less than an iPod classic from a few years ago, but uses multitouch in a meaningful way. And there are add-on devices for it (and the iPhone) that can be used for ordering food in restaurants, and processing of credit cards...

Bottom line: if a great technology like multitouch comes along, it has an impact, but only if it's implemented in a meaningful way.

[Julia343]

No way I'm going to walk into the mall and a huge screen is going to say "Hi Andy, welcome back". BS. On the other hand my iPhone might recognize I'm there. Maybe a coupon will appear on my screen.

HAH! the huge screen would recognize the signal from your iPhone and bombard you with a commercial and then a coupon would appear on your screen.

I can just see the 40,000 page privacy laws that would be needed in that future.

[bsuite]

I don't know.
My cell phone gets all gummy & finger printed with just me using it.
I can only imagine what it would look like with the whole family touching everthing.
Constant cleaning.
Maybe I should buy stock in windex.

[airwarrior]

The idea of being connected 24/7 is almost as horrifying as the incredibly boring styling of all that crap.

Why can't anybody build a good looking house anymore?

[phillygtr]

The idea of being connected 24/7 is almost as horrifying as the incredibly boring styling of all that crap.

Why can't anybody build a good looking house anymore?

"Welcome to House 2.0. We have an update to House 2.1 available. That'll be $200K for the basic upgrade package."

[wahfreak]

I don't know.
My cell phone gets all gummy & finger printed with just me using it.
I can only imagine what it would look like with the whole family touching everthing.
Constant cleaning.
Maybe I should buy stock in windex.

You know, I worked in the touch sensor industry for a long time. We were working on some of the first tablet PCs, and on some of the new cell phones with touch (before the iphone), and on that MS Surface sensor.

I thought the touch craze wouldn't take off due to people's finger shmutz and face grease all over the phones. I remember being in the lab talking with the engineers about how gross it was to have this piece of glass that shows every bit of greasy oil. I imagined people eating greasy food and then making phone calls with their oily fingers. It was one thing on a mate suface like PET (touch pad) but on a nice shiny piece of glass? Yuk!!

What did I know??

[Stratm69]

Dammit, they haven't gotten rid of cars in the future? I want to fly a spaceship to work everyday....

[AaronAllen]

I've actually already seen the table. A restaurant in NYC (i think) already has them installed. Someone may have already mentioned that already...didn't read through all the pages.

We are closer to having this in our homes than we think. I'd almost guarantee this by 2020.


EDIT: I saw this on a video a while back...not in person. Could be fake...

[Twangzilla]

God help me if I ever find myself in a world where emails are finding me on my bathroom mirror.

My thoughts exactly, what an annoying thing to wake up to. I will go live in the woods.

[Slackerprince]

Stepford.

[Bozak]

The window tinting is cool, but nothing really all that hi-tech about it, just expensive to make and limited applications.

Everything else is silly and annoying IMO, I hate touch screens as it is, and I have no interest in being online every second of the day, I even think smart phones are getting too much and would love to see a revolution against them.

[Fred Farkus]

I call b.s.:

1. Where are all the fingerprint smudges on all this stuff?
2. Yeah, sure... I need TV every place I could possibly walk in my house.
3. Yeah, sure... I need commercials/ads everywhere I could possibly be at any time.
4. Yeah, this lady goes to the trouble of going to a brick & mortar store...so she can "browse" through their stock on a computer. Why didn't she just do that at home?

[stratology]

You know, I worked in the touch sensor industry for a long time. We were working on some of the first tablet PCs, and on some of the new cell phones with touch (before the iphone), and on that MS Surface sensor.

I thought the touch craze wouldn't take off due to people's finger shmutz and face grease all over the phones.

No, it didn't take off due to the incredibly poor software that came with the great hardware. Tablets have been around for ages, and never took off, because the software on them was written for keyboard and mouse, not for fingers...

[blackfly]

But think about this.... with programmable glass you could be living in a high rise in the city, and have the glass programmed to show a backyard in the country. Then you go to a friend's place across town and they've got the exact same view! Wouldn't that be fun? That's funnyhttp://img.thegearpage.net/board/images/icons/icon12.gif but I agree with MSLBend, I don't want e-mails chasing me into the bath.

[blackfly]

next they'll have a guitar that weighs 4 1/2 lbs, with stainless steel frets and no discernable neck joint.

[tonedaddy]

No, I don't agree. I first saw multitouch here (http://www.ted.com/talks/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html), in 2006, quite some time before the iPhone. The mere existence of a technology doesn't necessarily make it useful. Microsoft's idea on how to implement it was to build a huge table for restaurants, where you can order food by multitouch, and later place your plates on the same table. Makes no sense at all to me: you have to buy an extremely expensive multitouch table, and still hire a waiter who can recommend a wine, and bring the food to the table. Doesn't make sense from a practical standpoint, or from an economical standpoint. Compare that with an iPod touch, that costs less than an iPod classic from a few years ago, but uses multitouch in a meaningful way. And there are add-on devices for it (and the iPhone) that can be used for ordering food in restaurants, and processing of credit cards...

Bottom line: if a great technology like multitouch comes along, it has an impact, but only if it's implemented in a meaningful way.


Apparently you don't realize a number of things about Microsoft Surface. The Microsoft table application was simply prototype app designed to show developers just one possible use for Surface.

Even more specifically when it comes to multitouch, Microsoft makes OS's and application development platform, not applications. So whatever ideas get developed are not "Microsoft's idea on how to implement it..." Those ideas are the developers' ideas.

Finally, Surface is simply Microsoft's large-format multitouch development environment, which I believe they have no competition in. It wasn't created in any way to compete with small-format multitouch. Small-format multitouch was implemented in Windows 7, so the developers for Windows 7 will determine their ideas on how to implement it. When it comes to hardware, here's just one example, ExoPC's Slate product:

http://www.exopc.com/en/exopc-slate.php
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/exopc-slate-review/


Surface has many developers implementing the technology in over 100 applications with a wide range of implementations and industries. Here are just a few:

Surface 1.0
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/applicationpages.aspx
Surface 2.0
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/applicationpages10.aspx

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/killer-apps-microsoft-surface-complete-guide
http://www.bankinnovation.net/profiles/blogs/fiserv-working-on-product
http://digitalsignagecanada.blogspot.com/2010/02/wind-mobile-showcasing-products-with.html
http://emergingexperiences.com/category/microsoft-surface/
http://www.sevensteps.com/real-estate-agent-for-microsoft-surface-1.ashx
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/casestudiesmanchester.aspx


As with many vertical/industry-specific software developers, unless you have exposure to that industry, you'll have no idea what they're doing or where the technology is showing up. But one of the most visible applications is the touchscreen panels used by broadcast and news networks (most notably MSNBC, which debuted the technology during its coverage during the 2008 elections). Since then, they show up on TV broadcasts all the time, in use by multiple networks.

And here's the current generation of one manufacturer making hardware for Surface:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2011/jan11/01-06mssurfacesamsungpr.mspx

[stratology]

From the article you linked to:

"However, while the framework of the UI works quite well and is stable, it only takes a few minutes to realize that the software is still very much a work in progress. For instance, there's a keyboard button which brings up a well-designed soft keyboard, but you can't actually input text with it yet."

"We found browsing to be slower than Firefox and Chrome, and though it's multitouch capable, it just feels more sluggish than competing solutions at opening pages and scrolling."

"As we mentioned in the video, a number of the Flash games are sluggish.."

"The ExoPC slate, like the others, didn't last longer than four hours on our video rundown test."

"..Intel and Microsoft need to do some serious work on their respective tablet offerings."

"..ExoPC offers a unique and interesting touch UI on top of Windows 7 to compensate for Microsoft's lacking consumer touch features, it's not anywhere close to done.."

"With that said, $599 is a lot of money to bet on a platform that isn't ready."



I couldn't have expressed what I mean in a more eloquent manner

[stratology]

From the Surface 2 link:

"Fujifilm, one of the world’s largest photographic and imaging companies, is planning an initial Samsung SUR40 deployment of 40 units starting in the Australian market with plans for eventual worldwide deployments."

That's right, they are bragging about selling 40 units at a price of $7,600.

[tonedaddy]

From the Surface 2 link:

"Fujifilm, one of the world’s largest photographic and imaging companies, is planning an initial Samsung SUR40 deployment of 40 units starting in the Australian market with plans for eventual worldwide deployments."

That's right, they are bragging about selling 40 units at a price of $7,600.

Unless you know the scale of their worldwide deployments, criticizing Fujifilm's initial announcement of 40 units is irrelevant.
Fujifilm is one of the world's largest photographic and imaging companies, the scale of their Surface implementation could be very significant.
Regardless, the SUR40 product hasn't even hit the market yet, this was just an initial product announcement at CES (see below).


First off, just to make sure it's clear in the context of this thread, so far all Surface 2.0 hardware (including the Samsung SUR40) actually uses Corning's Gorilla Glass product, which is the multitouch glass product being modeled in the OP's Corning video. In addition, the SUR40 is also wall-mountable, so it's not simply a tabletop interface.

For the record, I'm not trying to be an apologist for Microsoft or for Surface or Windows 7, even. MSFT has made some spectacularly stupid moves over the past few years, and they've struggled mightily (but in general, Windows 7 is on the right track). I simply provided the link to ExoPC/Win7 as proof MSFT does not intend for Surface to extend to small-format multitouch.

In addition, I don't disagree that technology needs to be implemented in a meaningful way to have impact.
I'd argue MSNBC's implementation of Surface in their election coverage was very meaningful.
Given that other networks have adopted it, I'd say they believe it's meaningful, too.

My points are only that there are significant issues with your notion that the Surface product tabletop application for restaurants was a flawed Microsoft idea for implementation (as it was a prototype for developers just to show them what the product is), and comparison of what might be a more meaningful implementation (on smaller-format platforms that are less expensive) is irrelevant as MSFT has another product for that small-format. Want to criticize Win7 implementations on small format devices? Sure, knock yourself out. It has nothing to do with Surface.

Remember when large-scale flat screen TVs were first introduced and what extraordinarily high prices they had?
Was that a meaningful implementation of technology?
I suppose one could make arguments either way, but certainly it became more meaningful when lower prices made it more accessible.
That's the place where Surface is at now.
Surface may not have much impact now, but certainly implementations will become more meaningful as prices drop.

Samsung's SUR40 hardware is a 40" panel.
Surface at this time won't scale below 24".
So obviously, it can't have impact in small-format applications,
and MSFT clearly intends for Windows to handle that.

Whatever Surface products are priced at, that's the business of the manufacturers and application developers.
Microsoft sells the OS/development software and those products are embedded into the mfrs' and app prices.
So Microsoft isn't setting any prices, they are.

MSFT isn't trying to be smarter than the market, and decide what's meaningful, saying "We think these out to be in corporate environments instead of homes" or vice versa. That's up to the application developers and hardware manufacturers. If they come up with an app they think they can sell into homes, it will happen. If not, it won't. And of course if/when Samsung or someone else develops low-cost, large-format multitouch hardware, it will certainly attract more developers who will have accordingly more applications they believe are meaningful for home customers.

At this point it's apparent the mfrs and app developers believe that if anyone is going to pay for the initial jump and rampup of units into the large-format multitouch market, it's going to be corporate customers in industries like hospitality/medical/imaging/etc, and not your neighbor that thinks he might need a multitouch dining table or wall interface.

Futhermore:
Surface 2.0 and the Samsung SUR40 were just announced at the 2011 CES in January.
They're not even shipping those products to retail customers yet.
But MSFT is obviously selling the development tools to app developers.
It's rare for products announced at CES to even hit the market until months later in the year.
At 2011 CES Samsung's full announcement for some of its initial customers for the SUR40 was:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2011/jan11/01-06mssurfacesamsungpr.mspx

Customer Adoption

Today, the following customers are announcing that they will purchase and deploy Samsung SUR40 to offer unique experiences to their customers:

Dassault Aviation, a French company that designs, manufactures and sells aircraft, will build on its first-version internal deployments and move to using Samsung SUR40 to serve as a marketing tool for the company’s Falcon line of aircraft. The Falcon application will enable sales associates to deliver datasheets, customized videos and an interactive flight range map. In addition, Dassault will use Samsung SUR40 to deliver a customized HR application for employees to use to manage certificates, training, vacation and other personnel functions.
Fujifilm, one of the world’s largest photographic and imaging companies, is planning an initial Samsung SUR40 deployment of 40 units starting in the Australian market with plans for eventual worldwide deployments. Fujifilm’s Surface application will deliver a photo-booth-of-the-future experience, allowing groups of people to come together and to create their individual photo books or other individual photo products in a matter of minutes at point of sale and in a variety of retail locations.
Red Bull, a producer of energy drinks, and Red Bull Media House, provider of media content from Red Bull extreme sports events, have selected T-Systems Multimedia Solutions, a Surface Strategic Partner, to develop a Surface application in an innovative project for use in bars and clubs. Red Bull is investing in Surface for its ability to enhance the brand experience in a variety of locations, as well as its presence at worldwide extreme sports events. Using the Microsoft Surface application, fans of Red Bull will be able to interact with the product and multimedia content at the same time. When guests place their tagged Red Bull cans on the display, video content of Red Bull events and current news is shown on the display and can be saved for viewing later by snapping a photo of a QR tag with a smartphone.
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of North America’s leading diversified financial services companies and Canada’s largest bank, currently uses Surface in its newly designed “retail store” branches. The new “retail store” brings to life a dramatically new retail banking environment, combining best-in-class retail shopping with financial services. Surface is a key part of the Discovery Zone, which offers a unique and interactive way to engage clients to explore the ways RBC can help them and increase their financial literacy. RBC intends to expand its “retail store” model and deploy Samsung SUR40 over the next year in RBC branches across Canada. RBC worked with Surface Strategic Partner Infusion to create five applications for clients: The Big Picture, which allows customers to explore all the ways RBC can help them meet their financial needs; the Drop a Coin application, which allows users to slide coins across the screen to display the value of regular investing; Meet our Experts, which profiles the local branch staff; the Instant Win application, which allows customers to drop a direct-mail letter on the Surface screen to see if they have won a prize; and the Kids Corner, which offers a fun, interactive puzzle for children to explore while their parents do their banking.
Sheraton Hotels & Resorts Worldwide helps guests make connections at more than 400 hotels in 70 countries around the world. Sheraton plans to expand its Surface footprint globally and deploy Samsung SUR40 as part of The Link@Sheraton to further enhance the guest experience. The Surface applications on the units will provide interactive fun for guests, as well as local mapping information allowing them to stay connected during their travels.


Obviously these folks believe Surface will provide a meaningful implementation for their applications.

[chrisjw5]

A few thoughts:

1) Wait until it crashes and your entire house turns blue from the giant, all-encompassing Blue Screen Of Death

2) Product placement is bad now. While this looks cool, it's end result will be endless product bombardment. Anyone remember the idea to launch a satellite with LCD panels so you could see a giant Pepsi logo orbiting the earth?

Someone alert Morgan Spurlock NOW!

http://www.cityoffilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/greatestposter.jpg

[stratology]

tonedaddy, I don't really think we disagree on too many points. I guess we can agree that Surface has no market impact at the moment. I guess the main point we disagree on is that I don't think that multitouch devices that have a large touch surface are terribly user friendly. Just imaging sitting in front of a large table that has a multitouch surface (or a wall-mount, if you want), and how you would interact with it to do computations - like browsing the web, or reading. Now compare the experience with that on a device that is much smaller (magazine size), that allows you to do the same things, and that you can take with you when you want to sit on the couch. If you need to display information on a large screen, you can transmit it from your small device.

I think we can leave it at that, we'll just wait a few years, and see if large surface multitouch will have any impact.

[Structo]

Just like in the movie The Fifth Element, soon TV will be nothing but never ending commercials.

It's already happening on Youtube that you have to sit through a 30 second ad before you can watch a video.

We are all doomed.

[tonedaddy]

tonedaddy, I don't really think we disagree on too many points. I guess we can agree that Surface has no market impact at the moment. I guess the main point we disagree on is that I don't think that multitouch devices that have a large touch surface are terribly user friendly. Just imaging sitting in front of a large table that has a multitouch surface (or a wall-mount, if you want), and how you would interact with it to do computations - like browsing the web, or reading. Now compare the experience with that on a device that is much smaller (magazine size), that allows you to do the same things, and that you can take with you when you want to sit on the couch. If you need to display information on a large screen, you can transmit it from your small device.

I think we can leave it at that, we'll just wait a few years, and see if large surface multitouch will have any impact.


I think we agree on much, too. All of your points have been very thoughtful as well, as how computer interfaces are used is definitely critical to adoption rates.

I do think that when it comes to large format multitouch, we have to leave the perspective of computing as single-user experiences, though. I think the future for large-format multitouch is for shared multiuser, collaborative experiences, and we largely don't think of computing in that context. We now think of collaboration as just being able to share files for project applications/docs/images/spreadsheets/occasionally being able to see what's on another person's screen, or loading media and text up on social networking sites like Facebook/Youtube. All of that is largely done when people are apart.

But interaction between people in live settings for projects/sales calls/hospitality/retail shopping/medical happens all the time, but we likely don't think of bringing multitouch computing in large-format panels into those collaborations. And with the right apps, you might use kinds of data/info/media to view/work/play together. The way I see it, products like Wii and Rockband weren't just games, but rather breakthroughs in showing how shared/collaborative computing experiences are possible, and how things like entertainment/gaming might influence large-format multitouch development eventually.

Large-format multitouch changes the paradigm when you've got opportunities to be in the same room with users and seamlessly/rapidly share abundant amounts of video/pics/docs/drawings/spreadsheets in a large size on a wall or table (or even display tablet/normal-sized images if multiple copies appear simultaneously right in front of each user around the table). MSNBC's election application is a prime example where a single user could display quickly/graphically everything from very granular precint tallies all the way up to national level on the fly. That kind of data manipulation/display just isn't possible on a small-format multitouch. Extend that concept to conference room in offices, and you move away from a single user having to be in control of data presentation on their laptop plugged into a large display. Anyone can walk up to the panel and manipulate data on they fly.

By definition all of those possibilities for shared experiences would translate to fewer unit sales than for any personal small-format device. But I don't think we can imagine what applications might be developed, or how existing applications might change, just like we didn't think much about truly home theater-type experiences until large-format wide-screen TVs made that possible (e.g. Wii), or how small-format computing like smartphones/tablets have led to applications few dreamed in just a few short years.

$7400 sounds like a lot for a Surface panel. But when it's implemented in a hospitality/retail industry kiosk and replaces a concierge service that has to be staffed with folks with salaries/benefits, it's very cheap, particularly when a concierge service likely answers the same questions countless times/day.

IMO, you have to build the hardware platform technology first if you're going to seed an application platform. That's all that Surface is. I don't doubt Microsoft believes a company like Apple will eventually scale their multitouch to larger and larger formats, and they believe they can scale multitouch down to smaller panels (24" and even smaller).

I agree that Surface doesn't have mass-market impact now, as it's currently positioned for narrower commercial/vertical applications. But neither did Windows 1.0 nor Apple's Lisa have impact at the time. But Microsoft and Apple had to build them to get where GUIs are today, so thank goodness somebody went ahead and created them anticipating a future they couldn't see yet. Right now, Surface is just before 2.0. In that regard, I think Surface has significance more than impact, as there is no one else doing focused large-format multitouch platform development. It could take 15-20 years or more to see if it's has wide impact.

[stratology]

Good thoughts about collaboration in general, but I don't really see the connection to large surface touch devices. The current situation is that when several people work on the same file at the same time, things can turn into a mess quickly. That's why you have things like oplocks and strict locks in SMB, for example.
I agree that there is a lot of potential in collaborative applications - but without necessarily requiring a physically large touch surface that replaces several smaller interfaces. I actually think the smaller size has advantages, as you are not bound to location. I'm thinking about things like iChat Theater, which can be used for live streaming of Final Cut edits between editors and clients (or coworkers), screen sharing in iChat (without the need of any background knowledge of VNC), or how easy it is to run a wiki server on a company network, that can be accessed from anywhere, regardless of which device you use.

Historically, multitouch started out with a large surface - maybe you've seen Jeff Han's TED presentation that I linked to earlier. I think Apple's plan to implement the tech on smaller devices was a very conscious decision.