Microsoft's new computer

By Robert Purchese Published 30 May, 2007

Touch sensitive Surface.

Microsoft's hardware whiz-kids have unveiled a new computer designed to be used without a mouse and keyboard, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

It's called Microsoft Surface and it looks like a coffee table with a 30 inch screen set into the top.

Several people can interact with the screen at once, using their human-paws to manipulate things: to stretch and shrink photos, for example, or plan out a route on a map.

There's no word yet on how the unique creation will feature in the videogame world, but Microsoft did spout that it will be a key part of its "Connected Entertainment" vision.

"[The] entertainment and devices [division] has a long history of bringing innovative product experiences to market - such as Xbox, IPTV and Zune. Today, E&D's vision is anchored in delivering end-to-end hardware, software and services across different pillars of Connected Entertainment, such as music, video, communication and gaming," said E&D executive Tom Gibbons.

"That's exactly what we're doing with Microsoft Surface... The new hardware and software in Surface, along with a predominant focus on the consumer experience, support the Connected Entertainment vision - making entertainment more personal, more interactive and more social."

Gibbons added, "As a new product category, we see the Surface computing group as extending Connected Entertainment to new devices, categories and platforms."

Microsoft Surface will initially roll out through partners such as Starwood Hotels, T-Mobile and Harrah's Entertainment, plus gambling game company International Game Technology. It will be priced at between USD 5000 - 10,000, but Microsoft plans to produce cheaper versions to sell to home users within three to five years.

Feel your way over to GamesIndustry.biz for more industry news.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (77) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DB2k #1 5 years ago

    it lokos mad but nothing that new really.. other than the device integration with it. nice that you can dump photos around so easily and to your phone etc but how useful is that? not that much really. And you don't need a multi touch interface for dragging music to a player from the PC etc do you..

  • souljacker2000 #2 5 years ago

    sounds kool...
    wont u get neck ache looking down so much

  • DaM #3 5 years ago

    Can you play Scramble?
    Has it got an ashtray bolted on the side?

  • Vin #4 5 years ago

    This rocks some serious camel scrotum.

  • JediMasterMalik #5 5 years ago

    looks cool, but then it should for 5000 to 10000 dollars.

  • septimus #6 5 years ago

    People should watch the video before they say it's nothing new. It's not just a mutli-touch screen. It can identify objects placed on it and interact with them also, eg. cameras and phones.

    Just watch the video.

  • asphaltcowboy #7 5 years ago

    looking forward to this - would make an awesome coffee table!

  • souljacker2000 #8 5 years ago

    If i placed my bong on it, could it interact with it...

    what about my empty beer fridge, will it fill it up?

  • dirigiblebill #9 5 years ago

    I didn't know multi-touch screens were possible. I assume it registers different inputs all along its surface?

  • gamingdave #10 5 years ago

    Watching the three vids on the site does make it look very cool indeed.

  • Killerbee #11 5 years ago

    What, no groinal attachment?

    Bah!

    /cancels pre-order

  • Xerx3s #12 5 years ago

    Am I the only one who thinks that products like this have no future whatsoever?

  • space_ace #13 5 years ago

    does it come with blue screen? :D

  • souljacker2000 #14 5 years ago

    @xerx3s

    Yes.. yes u r

  • AcidSnake #15 5 years ago

    It'll do just as well as those tablet PC's of last year...
    Remember those?...Anyone?...

  • DaM #16 5 years ago

    I thought the tablets were very cool, but they never really took off did they..

  • Walshicus #17 5 years ago

    When this makes it down to a ~£500 entry pricepoint, you'll start to see it really take off. Oh, and [re]watch The Island to see Microsoft's vision for the technology.

  • JohnnyWashnGo #18 5 years ago

    Seriously, who buys this kind of nonsense?

    A coffee table with a built in computer?

    Erm, why would I spend so much money on something which I wouldn't use in either of its two advertised ways?

    I have a coffee table and it gets some serious use, coffee spills stain it, keys that are dropped on it scratch it, food gets on it and 'coffee table' magazines cover the surface of it.

    I also have a computer which has a monitor placed in such a way that I do not get back or neck ache when using it. Thats ergonomics for you.

    This device would get used for neither a computer or a coffee table, it just seems like a giant waste of space.

  • Trakerz #19 5 years ago

    JohnnyWashnGo - pr0n-touchable`s...no future eh?

    :D

  • skillian #20 5 years ago

    I can see why a gambling company would be interested - it would be awesome in a casino as a blackjack or poker table.

    And everyone saying they wouldn't use one - Microsoft don't envisage it for home use for another 5-10 years. Think what your computer was like 10 years ago, and you can imagine that this thing will go through a lot of changes before it's supposed to appeal to you.

  • ChuffyPI #21 5 years ago

    It looks very impressive, and rather shiny, but pretty expensive for an overblown personal organiser/coffee table... It could make RTS pretty interesting though.

  • groovychainsaw #22 5 years ago

    For all of those complaining about ergonomics, try hanging on the wall - like a monitor.
    Now play real time strategy with your hands instead of a mouse....

  • flapps #23 5 years ago

    Have M$oft bought the rights of this off Philips? Philips announced what looks like an identical system last year
    [link url=http:// www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/4543/5567/philips-Ente rtaible-interactive-gaming-table.phtml
    ]http://ww w.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.p...[/link]

    Or are M$oft claiming that this is something new?

  • Dizzy #24 5 years ago

    >Or are M$oft claiming that this is something new?

    Both are probably running Windows CE ;)

    MS products is just a name... and they are showing off some new features. The Phillips thing is also just a name... both are powered by the same technology. In the end more companies will offer similar things... in about 10 years I guess ;)

  • skillian #25 5 years ago

    For all of those complaining about ergonomics, try hanging on the wall - like a monitor. Now play real time strategy with your hands instead of a mouse....

    That does indeed sound awesome...

  • crazyhorse174 #26 5 years ago

    @xerx3s

    Yes.. yes u r

    There was an article on Yahoo about it - apparently there thinking about using them in casinos. Then, when the price comes down, home users might start buying them as well.

    I think anyone who is very negative about it, may be thinking about the Microsoft logo that will emblazon it...

  • kangarootoo #27 5 years ago

    @DaM

    Depends what you mean by "didn't tale off". Plenty of companies are still making and selling tablet PCs. They haven't replaced the laptop, but then they were never supposed to.

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    You not being the target audience does not mean something is a bad idea. Simple as that really. Additionally, MS have probably put rather more thought into developing this than you have put into dismissing it.

  • SeesThroughAll #28 5 years ago

    [The] entertainment and devices [division] has a long history of bringing innovative product experiences to market - such as Xbox, IPTV and Zune.

    LOL

  • JohnnyWashnGo #29 5 years ago

    For all of those complaining about ergonomics, try hanging on the wall - like a monitor.
    Now play real time strategy with your hands instead of a mouse....

    Yup that sounds pretty cool.

    And to be fair, I have nothing against the idea of touch screen devices whether they be from Nintendo (hugs DS) or anybody else.

    A large touchscreen display hung on the wall would make designing software as work much easier than whiteboards and probably more fun.

    My issue is with putting it in a coffee table. Thats the moronic thing about this IMHO.

  • SeesThroughAll #30 5 years ago

    I thought the tablets were very cool, but they never really took off did they..

    Ironically, software problems made people displeased with them...

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #31 5 years ago

    This rocks some serious camel scrotum.

    Does that mean that it's good, or that it's bad?


    Keeping 'down with the kids' has become so tiresome of late.

  • spliffhead #32 5 years ago

    I think some Philips Lawyers are rubbing their hands together today!

    And Sony had a similar things with "Tiles" that were context sensitive.

    Either way M$ has the bucks to actually make these happen at retail, so in 5 years I can afford one from Cash Converters!
    Edited by 1 at 30/05/07 @ 16:37

  • Wendelius #33 5 years ago

    Here is a one year old and a more recent presentation on the screen technology and the idea behind it, not the MS integrated solution:

    [link url= http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han
    ]http://te d.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.c...[/link]

    [link url=http://www.macrumors.com/2007/02/12/more-multi touch-from-jeff-han/
    ]http://ww w.macrumors.com/2007/02/12/more...[/link]

    Forget the coffee table itself.

    This is definitely the kind of evolution we should expect. More integrated, more intuitive. Personally, I'd love to have one of those devices. But they are not anywhere near becoming our main computer yet. We'll see how things go in a few years.

    Wendelius

  • kincaide #34 5 years ago

    Wow - it's like a big DS

  • kangarootoo #35 5 years ago

    Just watched the vids. Some really nice in there. Its all very blue sky at the moment though and I wouldn't expect the first versions to do half the things they showed.

    Exploration of new ideas is good though. There will always be people who say how pointless it all is and can only see value in the things they themelves would want to use. Coincidentally (or not), those people never end up being billionaires.

  • kangarootoo #36 5 years ago

    @JohnnyWashnGo

    Fair enough, but I think whether you put coffee on it, or whether you place it in the living room, or whether it is horizontal or vertical are not really key issues that need immediate resolution.

    Besides, RTS games are essentially evolved from cloaky table top battle games, so why not control one of them with a table top interface? Far more comfortable surely than facing a wall surely?

  • urban #37 5 years ago

    so basically they've put their name on it, and made it uncool. bravo.

  • kangarootoo #38 5 years ago

    @Wendelius

    "But they are not anywhere near becoming our main computer yet."

    Interestingly, I think the standard definition of what "our main computer" is will change over the next 10 years or so. Something like this MS Surface tech is more an interface than an actual computer.

    Your PC could be sat where it always sits, and something like this could simply be a remote terminal. Taking things further, your "main PC" could eventually just be cycles and storage in a data centre somewhere, with the various terminals around your house all just thin clients.

  • Les #39 5 years ago

    "MS have probably put rather more thought into developing this than you have put into dismissing it"

    That remark gives me the impression you've never worked inside a big corporation... ;-)

  • Wendelius #40 5 years ago

    @Kangarootoo

    I agree. That evolution is certainly the direction I see things moving in. But it will take to reach the point where we can remove ourselves from our current PC set up. And, of course, there are some task which are better accomplished in the old "typewriter" setup.

    What MS is doing here is not that uncool either. It's promoting some actual commercial usages of the technology. This is one way to make it take off that should work better than selling it to a dozen enthusiast home users worldwide. :)

    Wendelius

  • Les #41 5 years ago

    But basically, it's just a giant iPhone... Might be that the multi-touch interface breaks some of Apple's patents.

  • Les #42 5 years ago

    "It's promoting some actual commercial usages of the technology. This is one way to make it take off that should work better than selling it to a dozen enthusiast home users worldwide. :)"

    It's faster to have the army try it out first.

  • Lacero #43 5 years ago

    "Besides, RTS games are essentially evolved from cloaky table top battle games, so why not control one of them with a table top interface? Far more comfortable surely than facing a wall surely?"

    That's the problem though, you are still facing a wall you're just hurting yor neck while you do it. I won't say it doesn't have potential, but right now this is presenting tech that other people have already done better and implying it can actually be useful. All the other presentations were clearly R&D, this one pretends it has a use and I think it deserves to be slated for that.

  • Tiny_Tim #44 5 years ago

    For all those complaining about ergonomics, try remembering when you used to use pens and paper. It's a bit like that. Remember? :)

  • chiz #45 5 years ago

    looks amazing :o

  • kangarootoo #46 5 years ago

    @Les

    I've worked in two of them as it happens :)

  • Lacero #47 5 years ago

    "For all those complaining about ergonomics, try remembering when you used to use pens and paper. It's a bit like that. Remember? :)"

    It was horrible, that's why I stopped :) But it isn't really like that because the display is so much bigger, I never did anything with A2 size pieces of paper flat on a table.

  • kangarootoo #48 5 years ago

    @Wendelius

    "And, of course, there are some task which are better accomplished in the old "typewriter" setup."

    You could still carry that sort of thing out using the setup I describe. Obviously your mouse, keyboard, monitor and printer need to be in your actual house. But the PC that is running Word (or whatever) doesn't need to be in your house. And if it is well structured your experience as a user would be the same.

  • MasterGrief #49 5 years ago

    Oh so when Microsoft announces a touch table it's big news ? A quick search on youtube shows at least a dozen other tables with the same feautures and which have been out for years

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=89sz8ExZndc
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=89sz8ExZndc
    [/link]

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l2oMmCyiJZA
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=l2oMmCyiJZA
    [/link]

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=fDDhbHrLSnk
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=fDDhbHrLSnk
    [/link]

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=W3dz2xpCJVU
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=W3dz2xpCJVU
    [/link]

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=igCmLM7XhnM
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=igCmLM7XhnM
    [/link]

    [link url=http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=e8YYYQpk3XQ
    ]http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=e8YYYQpk3XQ
    [/link]

  • MikeP #50 5 years ago

    Jeff Han is one of the guys who's worked on developing these. See his talk at TED

    [link url=http:// www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/65
    ]http://ww w.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/...[/link]

    The site's full of good stuff.

  • SBfistfun #51 5 years ago

    "the future for this is being able to easily masturbate over porn with the realism of actually seeing it hit the spot you wanted it to hit instead of flicking it at your monitor"

    I'm personally looking forward to the scat simulators.

    "Round 1
    Mr wippy vs Battle Scat"

    "SHITE!"

  • immateriaux #52 5 years ago

    I'd say Microsoft have breached at least 235 patents there with that. Unfortunately I'm a bit too busy at the moment to name them all but anyone that bought one of those would be definitely vulnerable to patent infringement type thingy accusations from places ...

  • chiz #53 5 years ago

    -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
    Oh so when Microsoft announces a touch table it's big news ? A quick search on youtube shows at least a dozen other tables with the same feautures and which have been out for years
    -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

    Of course it's big news. They have the clout to actually make the thing happen.
    Edited by 4 at 30/05/07 @ 20:41

  • smelly #54 5 years ago

    If they released a version of this as a home console thingy in a few years time (when its cheaper) - say call it the xbox 3..

    it'd rock more than anything has ever rocked before.

  • smelly #55 5 years ago

    @MasterGrief: Since when has msoft been about doing original stuff and not ripping off other peoples ideas?

  • The-Bodybuilder #56 5 years ago

    Will it show the ring of fire?

  • SeesThroughAll #57 5 years ago

    @MasterGrief: Since when has msoft been about doing original stuff and not ripping off other peoples ideas?

    From the looks of it, they didn't actually rip anybody off, they just bought the tech.

  • smelly #58 5 years ago

    Well okay.. that's the msoft way too.. if you cant beat them.. buy them

  • SeesThroughAll #59 5 years ago

    Well okay.. that's the msoft way too.. if you cant beat them.. buy them

    And Google.

    And Sony.

    Oh well...

  • shamblemonkee #60 5 years ago

    Will we be talking to our tables too soon as well as touching them? :)

  • Calgon #61 5 years ago

    Nintendo and Sony borrow technology from lots of places all the time... its the implimentation that usually makes it original. For example theres nothing new in the Wii mote technology wise(they took existing technology and used it in a unique way) but theres plenty of fanboys out there thinking Nintendo have some super geniuses working in a magic castle in the sky on technology no one else even dreamed of... BS you MS haters are such whiners, the most boring fanboys of all(broken record syndrome, spend more time whining about what you dont like than enjoying what you do like? thats just sad).

    As for this Ive seen something similar before but not exacly the same... which is why all those experts should shut up before they speculate on the legal side of things, unless they know the ins and outs of the other products(I mean in great technical detail not simply "you touch the screen";) let alone this one. I dont see this ever replacing the PC though it will probably remain expensive but find a niche market for the rich folks.
    Edited by 1 at 31/05/07 @ 02:36

  • SeesThroughAll #62 5 years ago

    Do you know which game would AWESOME on such a computer?

    Defcon.

  • Caimbeul #63 5 years ago

    imagine the RTS possibilities.

  • Overlush #64 5 years ago

    Hats off to MS - looks like an amazing social media tool

  • Overlush #65 5 years ago

    @Owen B

    "Anyone amazed by Microsoft's brand new amazing multi-touch surface really shouldn't be, it's been around for aaaaaaaaaages"

    It's being used in an innovative context though, isn't it (a bit like the Wii uses old technology in a new way). If it's a clever idea that captures people's imagination then it's a design sucess and deserves to be applauded. It being 'new technology' has nothing to do with it. In fact, plenty of cutting edge technolofy 'fails' as it's poorly implemented.

    I'd argue that products that use innovative technology for the sake of it are vastly inferior to those that use existing technology, carefuly and cleverly crafted around the needs and desires of the end user.

  • kangarootoo #66 5 years ago

    @MasterGrief

    Each of those youtube links simply shows human interface devices. The vids MS are pitching are about more than just a touch sensitive table. Dismissing this by saying the other tables have the same features is like saying a sentient robot with a pair of scissors has the same features as a lawn mower.

    They both "share" some features, but that isn't the limit of either of them.


    @WaxBrazillian

    Jesus dude, did someone just tazer you seconds before you wrote that?

    "Reread that line and maybe you will understand me"

    I tried, I really did, but I guess I'm just not up to the job.


    @smelly

    You are funny. Whenever anyone calls you a fanboy you get all upset and protest that you are a fanboy of games, not hardware. But you so totally are :)

  • Overlush #67 5 years ago

    @MasterGrief

    "Oh so when Microsoft announces a touch table it's big news ? A quick search on youtube shows at least a dozen other tables with the same feautures and which have been out for years"

    Indeed, but all I see there is the fruits of technologists labours - in what social context would those products have been useful?

    MS have taken the technology, considered how it can be used socially and marketed it at the right audience.

    They have done the job of the designer. Why dismiss it just because the job of the technologist is already complete?

    Does MS bashing supersede a sound understanding of the design process?
    Edited by 1 at 31/05/07 @ 10:40

  • Overlush #68 5 years ago

    @smelly

    "Since when has msoft been about doing original stuff and not ripping off other peoples ideas?"

    List me the creative things you've done that have benefited the lives of others and I'll start to see past the childish, bitter, low-blow comments and see a degree of validity in your posts.

  • FaceOmeter #69 5 years ago

    Heard a rumour that Nintendo was doing something very similar a few months ago... wonder if they're still working on that or if Microsoft are getting their table scraps again

  • SeesThroughAll #70 5 years ago

    Yes, I heard of that too.
    And there was another company who was using the same (or a similar) technology for "virtual board games" as well.

    If MS releases this computer soon enough, we might be seeing those other products sooner in the market as well. :)

  • Waffleaber #71 5 years ago

    Looks like we have a winner in the "most expensive way to play pac-man in its original horizontal format" catagory.

    Re: Pr0n That touchscreen better wipe clean...

  • thegouldfish #72 5 years ago

    Hopefully we will see the tech and software behind this in tablet PC's, as they are some of the grest laptops ever made.

    In fact I'm typing this up on a table PC.

  • smelly #73 5 years ago

    WTF?

    WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???

    I SAID I LIKED IT!!!! I THINK IT'S A GREAT THING!!!!

    Then i just made some social commentary on msoft buying up the competition (the simpsons do that all the time - does that make them nintendo fanboys?)

    Gees.. I fail to see how commenting that is somehow bigging up nintendo at the expense of microsoft? wtf is wrong with you people?


    I requote my original post for the dumbass retards on this site :

    "If they released a version of this as a home console thingy in a few years time (when its cheaper) - say call it the xbox 3..

    it'd rock more than anything has ever rocked before. "
    Edited by 1 at 31/05/07 @ 16:47

  • smelly #74 5 years ago

    "List me the creative things you've done that have benefited the lives of others "

    Gimme a list of creative things msoft have done which have benefited the lives of others (which didnt rip of apple *smile*)

    So if i make a comment on a sony tv does that mean that im anti ps3 and pro microsoft or something lame? I dont see what this has to do with consoles (Although i want to play this AS a games console that'll be a fair few years off yet)
    Edited by 1 at 31/05/07 @ 16:46

  • kangarootoo #75 5 years ago

    @smelly

    GGGRRRRR!!!

    Heeheehee ;)

    "So if i make a comment on a sony tv does that mean that im anti ps3 and pro microsoft or something lame?"

    Of cousre not, but you never restrict yourself to individual cases. It is stuff like "Since when has msoft been about doing original stuff and not ripping off other peoples ideas?" that draws people into goading you.

    You do it to yourself man, which is why I continue to find your outrage so amusing.

  • immateriaux #76 5 years ago

    But. Doesn't means he's wrong either: I can't think of a single thing MS have done that is not through ripping off someone else or by re-using someone else's product/code that had been added to the collective

  • davisorle #77 5 years ago

    Weird ass comments for once more. All I have to say is that this could change a lot of things if actually properly created for home use and gamers... Like others said RTS stuff and lots of others BUT/ if not price point if worth like a crappy PS3 that I rather stay away from... Then MS can keep this.