"Surface Computer"

 Microsoft Launches New Product Category: Surface Computing Comes to Life in Restaurants, Hotels, Retail Locations and Casino Resorts.

Microsoft Surface Computing brings to life a whole new way to interact with information that engages the senses, improves collaboration and empowers consumers. By utilizing the best combination of connected

software, services and hardware, Microsoft is at the forefront of developing surface computing products that push computing boundaries, deliver new experiences that break down barriers between users and technology, and provide new opportunities for companies to engage with people.
First commercially available surface computer from Microsoft breaks down barriers and provides effortless interaction with information using touch, natural gestures and physical objects.

Microsoft's definition of surface computing: direct interaction (for example, you might "dip" your finger on an on-screen paint palette, and then use your finger to draw on the screen); multi-touch contact, so the screen can react to multiple fingers and inputs simultaneously; multi-user experience, so multiple people can gather around and interact with the screen simultaneously; and object recognition, so the surface can recognize tagged objects and interact with them.

 

Direct interaction. Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands, interacting with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard. You can buy songs from a virtual music store and drag them directly into a Zune music player that you’ve placed on the glass. You can set a cellphone down on the table — and copy photos into it just by dragging them into the cellphone’s zone.

Tabletop PC introduced at 'D: All Things Digital' conference will respond to touch commands from multiple users at once. Microsoft Surface is a "multi-touch" tabletop computer that interacts with users through touch on multiple points on the screen. The concept is simple: Users interact with the computer completely by touch, on a surface other than a standard screen.

Multi-touch. Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger like a typical touch-screen, but up to dozens of items at once.

Multi-user. The horizontal form factor makes it easy for several people to gather around surface computers together, providing a collaborative, face-to-face computing experience.

Object recognition. Users can place physical objects on the surface to trigger different types of digital responses, including the transfer of digital content.

If you want to watch some videos on Microsoft's Surface Computer :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRf2FUJtQ_0&feature=player_embedded