In case you’ve been living under a rock without an internet connection, I’m sure you’ve seen the new Microsoft Surface computing interface. It looks damn cool, I want a coffee table that can do this, like yesterday.
But, this is not to be.. it’ll be ready in Winter of 2007 (Spring 2008), and will only be available to retailers (home use is buggy, do not put in front of kids). So, why do all the demos show mothers and fathers looking at photos and videos of their own kids?
Why does it show people hunched over a coffee table, when it won’t be available for homes yet?
I think that shows the basic difference in the marketing department for MS, and common sense. It seems the MS Marketing guys were shown the surface and told to make an Ad. They never bothered to ask..”who, what, when, where, why”. Or if they did.. the person who gave them the answers, wasn’t talking to the business guys.. I’m glad MS is doing this too, or they would’ve been left in the dust by Apple, and I’m glad they’ve been researching it for a few years. This doesn’t seem like a knee jerk reaction to the iPhone interface, but once again, MS had to have some pre-mature release. 6 months is a long time to forget, and with the apple machine starting to take off.. people will wonder.. surwhat?
The apple rumor mill is already stocked with rumors of touch enabled displays,super duper secret features of leopard.. after WWDC.. these will jump into high gear. As I write this, some apple rumor site, is coming up with ideas of how Apple’s next big thing is going to outshine Surface, “A UI that works based on eye movement.. using your hands is so 2007″.
So.. anyway, MS Surface, seems cool.. can’t wait to see it for normal home or even developer use.. it would truly give a new meaning to “Visual Studio”. It redefines what Tiger’s Dashboard should’ve been.. and probably will be.
MS is low key… and don’t need to pump up their stock like Apple does. They pump it out to retailers, work on the bugs and when the technology has gotten to the point where it is ready for consumer use the price will have dropped substantially. Everyone will already be used to the interface from using it at their local coffee shops.
MS doesn’t have to market the hell out of this one, just let everyone know that it is around.
MS is low key… and don’t need to pump up their stock like Apple does. They pump it out to retailers, work on the bugs and when the technology has gotten to the point where it is ready for consumer use the price will have dropped substantially. Everyone will already be used to the interface from using it at their local coffee shops.
MS doesn’t have to market the hell out of this one, just let everyone know that it is around.
I think both companies are out the “pump and dump” schemes of the past, I don’t think MS marketing and business units are thinking as much as you are giving them credit for..
Look at the Xbox360, new hardware, new piece of equipment, and they were able to get it out and have consumers test it and fix bugs very quickly.
If the first usable displays for retailers are out by Christmas shopping time.. then they have no time to fix bugs.. a broken display means loss of business for the retailer.. which means no new orders from MS, unless of course MS is subsidizing them.. and even then.. if it gets relegated to the back of the store because no one knows how to use it properly.. consumers never see it.
Anyway, we’ll see how they manage the roll out.
I think both companies are out the “pump and dump” schemes of the past, I don’t think MS marketing and business units are thinking as much as you are giving them credit for..
Look at the Xbox360, new hardware, new piece of equipment, and they were able to get it out and have consumers test it and fix bugs very quickly.
If the first usable displays for retailers are out by Christmas shopping time.. then they have no time to fix bugs.. a broken display means loss of business for the retailer.. which means no new orders from MS, unless of course MS is subsidizing them.. and even then.. if it gets relegated to the back of the store because no one knows how to use it properly.. consumers never see it.
Anyway, we’ll see how they manage the roll out.