Microsoft Surface

Microsoft has high hopes for their new product Microsoft Surface. Microsoft Surface is a giant 30 inch table pc that is completely touch sensitive. It was initially released on April 17 2008, but I have yet to see one anywhere or even see it advertised. Microsoft has reported that Surface will only be available for commercial purchase for around $10,000, but expect it to be available to the average consumer in 2010.

With a price tag like that you will often wonder what in the world could be in this product to make it cost so much. Well Microsoft’s new product seems to have endless possibilities. It’s main feature being touch sensitive is the real selling point. Surface has been optimized to respond to over 52 touches at a time. It also has a device that will let it sync to almost anything that you set down onto the table. In the numerous videos for Surface you can see it automatically sync to everything from cell phones to cameras to even credit cards. Some of the main uses they tried to push for the new product is using it at a restaurant to display a virtual menu and let people order stuff off of it that way. It also was shown to be used for people to share photos and music with each others cameras and mp3 players.

As of lately, Surface has pretty much disappeared from the web. This could be due to several factors including: the current economic crisis, Vista not selling well, or their current layoff of 17% of their staff. With such a high price tag I do not expect this to become a giant success like the iphone, but the overall concept is very unique and I could see it one day becoming a mainstream product.

Update: More news of Microsoft Surface At CES 2009

HP’s TouchSmart In the Running with Apple

HP's Touchsmart IQ506 is the second generation, touch-sensitive computer. Its all-in-one design houses a built-in webcam, TV tuner and wireless keyboard and mouse that makes the unit sleek and compact. But the custom touch interface created by frog design is really what makes this computer top of the line. This is not just an imitation iMac…

The TouchSmart comes with:
• an all-in-one PC-22-inch widescreen,
• 2.16 Core 2 Duo Processor,
• ATSC tuner,
• 4 GB RAM,
• 500 GB HDD,
• 5 USB ports
• and an SDHC reader.


The Touchsmart interacts with Vistas with touch screen capabilities much like an I pod or I Phone , You can access television shows, files and pictures at the touch of a hand. However, fair warning it does have its faults:

• Internet Security is only 60-day subscription for live updates.
• Windows Media Center is slow to react. 64-bit
• Vista may be incompatible with your existing hardware and software.
• No back button on the mouse.
• No pointing device on keyboard.


For more information on the new TouchSmarts please visit HP's Website