Microsoft Surface - Is it more than Hype?

Microsoft's earlier announcement of "Surface" had generated a lot of press in one day. It almost seems as though MS is innovating again instead of just tailing Apple with products like the Zune, Vista, etc...

As a little background for people who haven't heard, the "Surface" is a table-top computer that has no input device except for the table-top itself. It is a sophisticated multi-touch screen that appears to perform well with concurrent stimuli. Its underlying technology is based on multiple cameras underneath the table-top that monitor different types of "touch." The best explanation is viewed in a video.

It looks pretty cool doesn't it!? It seamlessly interacts with cameras and phones; it processes credit card transactions and allows you to easily split bills at a restaurant. You can organize your evening plans and move through maps more simply than spinning a globe. And, as Microsoft says, it is a revolutionary product that is bridging the gap between intuitive human interaction and the complex computing world.

But who is this really meant for? From reading the press release, it appears as though at launch it will not be available to home users. It will be sold at a price between $5,000 and $10,000 to restaurants, casinos, and many other business customers. With that in mind, my question is, why do all the promotional videos appear to take place at someone's home? All of the videos contain digital cameras and photo manipulation. One video even demonstrates a man planning his evening on a map. Typically, I won't be planning my night out when I am already at a casino. And when you are out for dinner, isn't the point to get away from technology and actually communicate using spoken words to the people you are with?

So, if I could put on a few different hats and ask Microsoft some questions with respect to "Surface," this is what they would be:

As a restaurant owner:

Hi Bill, as a restaurant owner my goal is to turn a profit and spending $5,000 - $10,000 on a table seems a little excessive.

1. What will customers use "Surface" for in my restaurant besides paying bills? It is impossible to justify $5,000 - $10,000 for each table to have a cool way to pay a bill.
2. Once the brief novelty wears off, how will "Surface" bring new customers into my restaurant.
   
3. If "Surface" cannot bring new customers into my restaurant, how will it allow me to charge a premium to my current clients.
   

As a casino owner:

Like the restaurant owner, my goal is to turn a profit, and for my large business, a $5,000 to $10,000 table isn't actually that much. What is expensive though is the real-estate in the casino that the table uses.

1. What will my customers use the table for?
2. How will it make me more money than a slot machine?

As a home user:

I know that the table is not yet available for me, however, by the looks of the videos it appears as though it is marketed to the home user. If your ultimate goal is to get "Surface" into the home,

1. What can it be used for besides: Paint, Photo Enlarging / Sharing, Phone Number Sharing, & Maps
2. No matter what price this comes down to, it will never be low enough to justify buying it unless it can replace a home PC. Is this the direction it is moving in?
3. Even if it cannot replace my normal PC, "Surface" contains a 30inch monitor, and could make a great HTPC (Home Theater PC). Is there anyway that the screen can be tilted so that movies can be watched?
4. You say that this bridges the gap between computers and human interaction - my question is how? What can it do to change my everyday life? What tasks will it make easier than doing them on my computer?
   

As Microsoft is a very profitable business, it is without a doubt in my mind that they have already asked all of these questions. Does this mean that they have positive answers to each of them? I don't think so. In the last 10 years, we've seen Microsoft make very profitable decisions without making any real innovation. They cater to the slow moving and slow technology adopting business world. So, I think that this launch is purely to sell you and me - the geeks of this 2.0 world who are now making their way into business management. This is their response to the iPhone and this is what they are trying to say, "We are innovators! We do not just try to eat up the competition and force our operating system on people - we actually do innovate here at Microsoft. You thought the Apple iPhone was cool, meh - that only took them 2 years to make. Surface has taken us more than 6 and it proves that we care about the user interface too. So, when making your business decisions, look at the innovation of our Surface and consider that Vista is an innovation too."

Admiral Barak Adama

If Barak Obama presented himself more like Admiral Bill Adama, we were have a perfect candidate for the race. I hope you enjoy the image!

A Response To: The hydrogen economy may come after all

This is a response to the Article @ http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/04/30/gm-could-have-mass-market-hydrogen-vehicle-for-sale-in-five-year/

I'm a little bit confused... If we equip North America with hydrogen stations for $12B, that is great. However, to compare that to the Alaskan Pipeline does not really make any sense. The Alaskan Pipeline transports actual Energy - in the form of Oil / Fossil Fuels. Hydrogen stations are just stations - they do not have any energy. Remember, hydrogen is just a technique to transport energy; it is zero-sum. You start with water, use energy to electrolyze it into hydrogen, and then use the hydrogen in a fuel cell whose output is water. So, you start with water and end with water - It is zero-sum (less efficiency costs). So to compare building hydrogen stations to building the Alaskan pipeline is comparing Apples to Oranges. To make hydrogen a viable alternative to gasoline in cars, we need to figure out a way to make it without burning fossil fuels (ie. Nuclear power or Solar power). Therefore, to make hydrogen good for the environment,

Step 1: Increase solar cell efficiency
Step 2: Reduce solar cell cost
Step 3: Ensure a vast supply of Uranium
Step 4: Power all our homes and offices with Solar / Nuclear
Step 5: Only at this point, we can then use the excess Solar / Nuclear energy to produce hydrogen for cars.