Surface at MSNBC for Election Coverage

By now you may know I’m a big fan of surface computing, multi-touch interfaces, and specifically, Microsoft Surface. Below is a video of Surface being used on MSNBC to map out election coverage.

As much as I love Surface, this doesn’t look like a good use of the technology. CNN has a multi-touch wall that is better suited for live television than the coffee-table format of Surface. With Surface, the camera has to constantly switch from a front to an overhead shot, which seems awkward. They use Surface’s unique object recognition to change the content on the display to correspond with labeled tiles placed on the surface by the host. This is cool and interesting, but seeing that interaction doesn’t help us as viewers.

See for yourself. I still believe Surface is an outstanding product for retail, exhibits, and corporate demo environments. But this seems a little bit of a force-feed by Microsoft.

Found on Engadget.

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Posted by Rob Everton, Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 3:01 pm Filed under Displays, Exhibits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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3 Responses to “Surface at MSNBC for Election Coverage”

  1. Amy Says:
    October 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am

    But how else would you make use of McCain and Obama bobblehead dolls?

    I agree - I have seen this used on the Today show, too, and I think it’s just awkward. Would love to see it in a trade show booth, though.

  2. Michael Durwin Says:
    December 5th, 2008 at 11:38 am

    I’ve seen and used surface. I have seen CNN’s magic TV from Perceptive Pixel. I have seen and use an iPhone. I’m a big fan of touch interface for digital products. I have to say though, the physical interface of Microsoft Surface is a bit lacking. It constantly reminds me of the sit down Pac Man games I played in the early 80s. Final view: Great digital UI, bad physical UI. I would expect no less from Microsoft.

  3. Rob Everton Says:
    December 5th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

    I agree to a point - I think it depends on the application. I would, for example, love to see Surface as a “desktop blotter” that allows me to manipulate all of my media, files, documents, in a smooth multitouch zooming browser. Once I find the media I want to watch/use/edit I would switch to more of a near-eye-level display and perhaps a keyboard and mouse. That is one place I’d like to see more of Surface. There is a rumor that we will see this sort of implementation in the form of a multitouch touchpad with a display under it from Apple, not Microsoft. Figures.

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