I recently had a chance to play on some surface computers and developed some strong opinions that no one asked for. Just today, I read news that Microsoft is tipping their toes quietly in the market research area asking consumers what they think they might like about a Surface Computer they’re calling “Oahu,” or ‘the gathering place.’
The oldest things about computers are the Human Interface Devices, the mouse and the keyboard. The most exciting thing about computers (and phones and electronics and personal devices) is the Graphical User Interface or GUI or “Gooey.” So, for you new computer users that Dinarius loves, Surface Computers work hard to move the Human Interface Devices HID to the Graphical User Interface. It’s been going on for years and resulted in one of my favorite toys of all time, the old Gateway M285 tablet computer with stylus and strong, lovely performance. Even this marvel was perceived by clients as too techy and hard-to-understand.
The famously current restrictions to moving all user interface items to the screen is that basically, only ONE finger can be used at a time. Enter the first generation iPhone. It truly revolutionized everything by allowing a user to pinch and grab and spread with TWO fingers. This came at a time when “multi-touch” touchscreens was still hyphenated and only seen at tradeshows and on fussy concept models.
The multitouch touchscreen is at an electronic store near you. It’s already available from the HP/Compaq brand and ASUS/Gateway brand. They’re big, they finger candy and they’re about $1,500 if you spend the right money. My primary complaint is the same that I had with the Gateway M285 and its stylus: Calibration. If you’re tall or short, and depending on the depth the image of the screen is from the protective glass on top, there’s about a quarter-inch margin of error in where two users will touch to make something happen. And they think they’re touching the same spot.
To create a TABLE for multiple users seated at different angles will result in huge folley if the distance between the image and the surface is too great. Observe:
Game creators will build in a so-so margin of error for a target that users are to touch. Despite this, players (player 1 in the picture) whose line of sight is at a low angle (30 degrees) will miss horribly although they are touching where they see the image. Taller players will have the advantage; not only will they not touch the tabletop computer in too many spots like Player 1 is accidentally doing, but they will naturally hit the target image closer to the actual target’s margin of error.
Early Surface Computer will behave as accidental Mensa tests where spacial thinking is required. Instructions will be similar to advice like, “don’t touch the image where you see it, hit the image where it would be projected UP on to the surface of the tabletop surface computer’s protective layer.” This might finally introduce the hang up with touchscreen technologies thusfar: Perception.
