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Steve Ballmer on Microsoft Surface at All Things Digitial

elgruga said:
I assume that someone has already stated what a pile of CRAP this is.
I DONT want to 'inter-act' with a frickin coffee table.

Ballmer really is a complete idiot.

This has almost no purpose, except for maybe Kiosk type applications where you need info in a hotel or tourist place or something.

And they already have - well, Kiosks doing that.

Somebody close Microsoft down and hand the cash back to the shareholders, and would the last idiot there please turn off the lights? Thanks.

For those of you who think this is somehow 'new' or 'special' - you need help.
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It's interesting. The ability to drop your camera on the table and have it 'spill' all the photos out and then deal with them as you had a loop and a light table is really interesting. Being able to use it as a giant Wacom tablet, being able to display plans, large diagrams, etc. I see this as something that visual arts/media/architecture people could really use.
If Microsoft can make the equipment work seemlessly. There's the rub.

Case in point the UMPC or "Origami" a nice idea, but in practice all the current devices are expensive, ugly, and wonky.
 
Hunabku said:
Ergonomically speaking, I would much rather use a verticle screen than a horizontal one - at least the arms would be moving and get a work out versus a stationary crunch of the neck.

Perhaps the best solution for large screen multitouch would be a 45 degree screen with an area to rest the elbows. Would be hard to pull off so that brings us back to the best application for multitouch - which happens to be a phone or a bit larger handheld device.:apple:
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I agree, multi touch (such as on the iPhone) might have a more limited gesture set, but ultimately the technology seems better suited to small portable devices, IMO.

weitzner said:
The problem that M$ will have with this is that they don't make the hardware- they're going to say to all the hardware vendors "make this thing and we'll give you the software for it."
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I agree wholeheartedly - it's one advantage Apple has over Microsoft. Apple is a solutions company: they design the hardware, the write the software and have the oomph to put together any deals they need to support it too. iPod & iTunes. Mac & OSX. Mac & QuickTime & Final Cut. etc.

DigitalAx said:
And, how can anyone even begin to compare this to the iPhone? Seriously, WTF? Because it has multitouch? Why not compare it to OSX because it has icons?
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Because it's an OS with gesture-based touch-sensitive input. Given how few other OSs like it are out there, and how similar the image manipulation is - it's an obvious comparison.
 
neildmitchell said:
Gollum seems more fitting, in my opinion
2368-smaller%20gollum%203.JPG
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Ballum

152656084_c719748cd2_o.jpg
 
I watched the CNET interview with Mark Bolger, a Microsoft marketing director.

A few things made me roll my eyes:

* Mr. Bolger shows that you can use multiple fingers and hands at once. Then he boasts that it handles more than one person at a time, as if having them each touch the screen is different than two hands from one person. Gee, what a clever screen. :rolleyes:

* He says it recognizes real-world objects, with a paintbrush as his example. I doubt it knows that it's a paintbrush and not his fingers again, yet he calls it object recognition. :rolleyes:

* He thinks this expensive device would be suitable for sticky-fingered restaurant patrons. Sure, they can fingerpaint with the spaghetti sauce. And he thinks people will gently lower their drinking glasses onto the surface of the table, no threat to the equipment. Yeah, sure, Mark. :rolleyes:

* He demonstrates how a "domino" device (with a Braille-like pattern underneath) could invoke special actions. Gee, how clever. I'll just carry 256 dominos around, in my pocket, to use with this convenient touch-screen system. :rolleyes: Didn't it occur to them that you could touch a menu and tell it what you want, rather than use a physical device, and then use your finger to indicate where to put it?

* He spends almost have the demo showing us happy faces and telling us how fun the device is. Great pitch to make to us businesspeople. :rolleyes:

* He leaves a 34% tip. That must have been really good service!

The product may indeed be innovative, but that was a pretty lousy demonstration.
 
Doctor Q said:
I watched the CNET interview with Mark Bolger, a Microsoft marketing director.

The product may indeed be innovative, but that was a pretty lousy demonstration.
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The fact that a marketing director is making the demo is an indication is it not.... whatever, the graphics are pretty, looks like something someone thought up while smoking up (not that its a bad thing), but in terms of practicality, a wall version, like Jeff Han was/is doing would seem to have a better market....
 
Fukui said:
The fact that a marketing director is making the demo is an indication is it not.... whatever, the graphics are pretty, looks like something someone thought up while smoking up (not that its a bad thing), but in terms of practicality, a wall version, like Jeff Han was/is doing would seem to have a better market....
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It could be horizontal if you gave me one the size of a conference table and let my coworkers and I work on group projects during meetings. For example, if we're designing a network service involving multiple servers, processes, programs, directories, etc. then we could organize the components the same way he and his interviewer "organized" a photo album.
 
back in the day, SOME PEOPLE also blurted out

REAL MEN DON'T USE A MOUSE.

blanket statements like the one Mr. Balmer makes are dangerous
 
hulugu said:
It's interesting. The ability to drop your camera on the table and have it 'spill' all the photos out and then deal with them as you had a loop and a light table is really interesting.
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How embarrassing it would be to have my digital photos spill onto a desktop for all to see - my GF's seductive F-me shots, head-shots, cum-shots etc. MS ought to disclose the price of the 'Surface' compatible cameras, cell phones, board games, etc. while they're at it. Great concept - 10 years too late - 2 years obsolete, considering the bulk, maintenance for moving parts, and overall power consumption.

Doctor Q said:
It could be horizontal if you gave me one the size of a conference table and let my coworkers and I work on group projects during meetings. For example, if we're designing a network service involving multiple servers, processes, programs, directories, etc. then we could organize the components the same way he and his interviewer "organized" a photo album.
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You could probably build a wall around it, as a wall could never support such a monstrosity.

Espoir07 said:
I don't know if it's already been mentioned, but, using that table all day - isn't that going to kill your back and/or neck?
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You'll doze off well before you feel any discomfort.
 
robbyx said:
It's a TABLE! Where's the keyboard? How are you going to collaborate on a document? By straining your neck and staring down onto a table? How do you input data? A virtual keyboard?

Video conferencing? Give me a break! Again, a table is the WORST design for such an application.

So maybe they mount it vertically. Great, a touch screen. This is nothing new. It looks great. The UI is slick. The concept of placing physical objects on the table and then interacting with them is also very cool. But, again, nothing new.
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With all the internal moving parts, sensors, mechanical arms, projectors and lenses, one can produce some pretty impressive images. (Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain) $10,000 is the price for a wow factor destined to become obsolete as soon as it hits the market. Reminiscent of the Longhorn demos back in 2003 with the wobbly paper documents on the screen and kaleidoscopic images of movie files playing. Looked great, and required eight 6 Mhz processors and 24 G of RAM to operate.

tuffluffjimmy said:
Hey, bud this thread is nearly a year old. Maybe you should have just started a new one...
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And still, 'Surface' has yet to surface........
 
When I first read the thread title "Steve Ballmer on Microsoft Surface", I thought maybe we'd be seeing Ballmer trying to do a remake of "Dirty Dancing". And even as I read this thread, I remain not altogether unconvinced of this possibility.

Though yeah, as alluded to by a previous poster, with two such shiny and flat surfaces in such close proximity, it might be hard for the cameraman to distinguish what he should be filming: the table, or Steve Ballmer's head.

That dude is one screwed up nutjob. He and Microsoft deserve each other.

EDIT: On the other hand, it could equally well have been about Ballmer and the other beached whales. I mean, come on, the similarities are pretty overwhelming.
 
Altogether now - BIG DEAL

Who cares? It, the world's biggest glass coffee table book for your coffee table, will go the way of the zune.
 
This one is even better.

Steve Balmer said:
I will admit, quite frankly, that I think Windows today is probably fours behind -- three years behind -- where it would have been, had we not danced with IBM for so long, because the amount of split energy, split work, split I.Q. in the company really cost our end customer real innovation in our product line. And, so, whenever I hear these criticisms -- which, I gotta say, sting, sometimes -- I say to myself, "Just you watch! Just you watch... Windows95, Windows..." There's no lack of focus there. There hasn't been here for the last three, four years when we didn't have this big split with IBM. And, I think even in the operating systems area, now you'll start to see clear, clear... and people will recognize clear leadership.
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So, then, I guess it's all IBM's fault that Microsoft's OS sucks so much, and has sucked for so long.

Thanks for making that absolutely... crystal... clear, for us, Mr. Ballmer. What a sad, liberal piece of crap. Pass the blame, accept no responsibility for your (in this case, Microsoft's) evil business acts and horrid programming paradigm decisions, and point the accusatory finger at everyone else for your own mistakes.

Yeah, this dude really deserves to be in charge of one of the single most powerful and influential companies on the face of the Earth.
 
Multiple Posting Glitch

Tallest Skil said:
You can multi-quote, you know...
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Yes, sorry about that. On Sunday evening/Monday morning, I was unable to submit repies when more than one set of QUOTE parenthesis were present - I was only able to reply when one set was used. The problem seems now to have subsided.

Steve Ballmer said:
I will admit, quite frankly, that I think Windows today is probably four years behind -- three years behind -- where it would have been, had we not danced with IBM for so long, because the amount of split energy, split work, split I.Q. in the company really cost our end customer real innovation in our product line. And, so, whenever I hear these criticisms -- which, I gotta say, sting, sometimes -- I say to myself, "Just you watch! Just you watch... Windows95, Windows..." There's no lack of focus there. There hasn't been here for the last three, four years when we didn't have this big split with IBM. And, I think even in the operating systems area, now you'll start to see clear, clear... and people will recognize clear leadership.
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And where would MS be if they were not four (seven) years behind? Would Longhorn have surfaced sooner? XP? QDOS? I Love Ballmer's meandering attempts to rationalize MS's state-of-the-art mediocrity, and his assertion that his clear leadership and focus will eventually resurrect their current state-of-the-art abyss.
 
freediverdude said:
If this Surface technology is really just relying on sensing light or the absence of light with cameras, and communicating via bluetooth, I can see all sorts of problems that will crop up with this. The lighting in the room would have to be very even, and no shadows coming across the table, or bright lights on certain parts of the table, even somebody waving their hand over what you were doing might mess it up. I would think they would have to really tweak how sensitive it is. And then there's the bluetooth, which could have all sorts of interference in a busy public area, microwaves in use, other people's cell phones or cameras nearby, etc. It's cool when demonstrated, but it's going to be problematic to bring to practical use in my opinion.
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motion sensors are not effected by the light being off in a room. It is using the same technology. A very uneven light will not screw with it since it going to be looking for that do not agree with the lighting system. a light sourse of any type will always behave in certain ways.

It also relying in inferred which just not effected the same way as the visible light.

Really most of your things listed are going to be a non issue and to me seem to scream mindless bashing.
 
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