The first thing you notice is Surface's glass top, which allows for touch-screen operation without a single button. And while you might be tempted to shout, "Look, a giant iPhone," doing so misses the point. Surface isn't like a giant iPhone; it's more like an open window into cyberspace, beckoning one and all to synchronize physical reality with digital possibility.
"Surface computing is a completely intuitive and liberating way to interact with digital content," Tom Gibbons, VP of Microsoft's productivity and extended consumer experiences group, told CNN after Microsoft debuted the table at The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in May. "It blurs the lines between the physical and virtual world. By using your hands or placing other unique everyday objects on the surface you can interact with, share and collaborate like you've never done before."
What does it do?
At the WB press junket, a member of the Surface team demonstrates the digital table for a crowd of amazed onlookers by ordering drinks and food. It's a sponsored application, and so she's using her fingers to pick through a picture-heavy, information-rich Starwood Hotel menu. When she reaches the whisky of her choice, a tap of the finger displays a host of information about the product.
Similarly, the food offerings come complete with an ingredient list and just about anything else you might want to know about what you're eating. When the bill comes, payment is almost too easy. Placing two credit cards on the table, the check is divided between all parties simply by dragging each item to the appropriate card. No math, no hassle.
The ease with which the ordering and the bill are handled is something you haven't seen with computers until now. Sharing the menu and the bill are as simple and natural as reaching across the table and handing a friend the salt. However, what happens beneath the surface is what makes Surface so unbelievable. A party of 10 at a restaurant could easily order and sort out a bill within seconds all without pressing a single button or stopping to discuss who ordered what and who owes how much.
While Surface makes for a cool and easy interface for users, its appeal to brands is enormous. Consider the food and drink demonstration. While working in the same familiar space (a coffee table), a large group of people are able to browse, examine, select and pay for a slew of competing brands. It's on the Surface platform where Microsoft is able to blend the best of the internet – unlimited access to information, with the best of the physical world – a tried-and-true experience of face-to-face interaction and communication.
By fusing the digital with the physical, Surface allows two or more people to carry the all-too-familiar Coke vs. Pepsi debate (for example) onto the internet, harvest the relevant information, share it, make their choice and pay for their sodas all with less effort than it takes to go to either beverage-maker's website.
It's a dramatic step forward in the way that we interact, according to Bolger from Microsoft.
"We are learning that surface computing is breaking down the traditional barriers between people and technology, providing effortless interaction with digital content," Bolger says. "Similar to the way ATMs changed how people got money from the bank, surface computing is changing the way people will interact with all kinds of everyday information from photos to maps to credit cards and paint."