I'm sure a lot of people have seen what this is and I've also began to see some in restaurants, bars, hotels and retail stores in the US and Canada! I created this hub to provide some facts and information on the Microsoft Surface and I also want to see what everyone thinks could be possibilities! I can imagine it in the home to control the media center, control lights around the house :)

They've also begun putting it on yachts for navigation!

First some history...

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, who had been working on one of his covert project called code Milan has finally unveiled it to the public. Microsoft Surface has been a revolutionary achievement in the 21st century. This computer, which transforms an ordinary tabletop in to a surface that responds to touch and hand gestures, has made a mark in 12 countries that include Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, The United Arab Emirates and The United Kingdom.

Microsoft initiated the process of developing the surface computer two years ago and since then has trained 120 application development partners for the system in 11 countries. Initially Microsoft had to encounter a lot of difficulties in developing applications for the system, however has been able to get past many related hurdles. Surface Computer uses infrared-sensitive cameras to recognize gestures or objects, which are positioned underneath the display.

Microsoft Surface has been distributed in Canada and The United States and are made available in retail, hospitality, automotive, banking and health care services. Consumers can also interact with surface at select retail locations, iBar, and also at selected Sheratons in the U.S.

Surface Computing features four key attributes:

1. Direct Interaction: Users can interact using hand gestures; mouse or keyboard is not required.

2. Multi Touch: The computer has been built, to recognize up to a dozen of interactions simultaneously and not just from one finger unlike any other touch screen.

3. Multi-User: Several users can gather around Microsoft Surface together, to experience face-to-face computing

4. Object Recognition: Users can also place physical objects on the display screen to initiate different types of digital responses.

Surface computer have been installed with 5 cameras, powered by a core 2 Duo Intel CPU and a “newish video card” running on 2 GB RAM. The surface computer is 22 inches high and 42 inches wide and is very user friendly.

Surface Computers are currently not available for individual consumers, however are marketed and sold to large-scale industries. Consumers are accessible to surface computing at select AT&T retail locations, iBar, Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, selected Sheratons in the U.S and at Hotel 1000 in Seattle.

Surface computers had also been in action at the 2008 Elections. There were two applications in action, the Electoral Map and Battleground States under the guidance of Chuck Todd, NBC News political director.


Electoral Map: This application will help to view historic voting results, polling insights and demographic data for each state.


Battleground States: This application will help to demonstrate the impact of various potential voting outcomes in key states and the effect they have on the number of electoral votes needed to win the election.

The price tag of a commercial Microsoft Surface computer is $12,500 (unit only), whereas a developer Microsoft Surface unit costs $15,000, this includes a developer unit with five seats and support. Unfortunately, Microsoft Surface is not available for rent, loan or lease.

What could you imagine doing with a giant touch table??

Answer in the comments below! :)