You’ve got to admit – technology has always been a little self-involved. I can’t be the only one who’s ever walked into his living room looking for company, and found each member of his household buried in their own phone or laptop. And have you ever tried to speak to anyone playing a video game?
Thankfully, things are moving on. Out of the blue, media became social, and we entered an age where the buzz moved away from individuals, and began to permeate the interactions between them. Now, as if it’s kicking back against the dehumanising experience of placing our public selves behind a plate of glass, Microsoft has given us one which we can congregate around instead.
I am, of course, referring to their pioneering multi-touch table: the Surface, recently released in its updated form as the Samsung SUR40.
Crucially, it can be used by more people at once than could possibly fit them around its 40″ screen. This communal aspect is probably one of the smartest moves Microsoft has ever made. The 1.0 model was commonly sold to casinos and banks – in other words, business which entailed extended periods of customer interaction with staff, spelling an end to the awkwardness of hunching over a desk or crowding around a leaflet. “Talk to me about x and y? Nah, I’ll just show you!”
At around US$4,000 to $6,000 a piece, the 2.0 is clearly not designed for domestic use. Rather, its sleeker, slimmer guise seems to have been tailored to allow businesses to grab as slice of the furore which has people the world over scrambling to stuff their pockets with the latest smart phones. And with the facility to have apps and games custom-designed to your needs, any business can entice whole groups of potential customers and clients with the bright colours and flashing lights, and then guide them through a bespoke advertising experience.
But commercial enterprises aren’t the only ones to have sat up and taken note. One client is the Place Museum in Sydney, Australia. Their permanent installation allows users to interact with their own education, and to scan their smart phones over the Surface, allowing them to walk away with a digital artefact of what they’ve learnt, and enduring access to more information.
It’s early days yet, for the SUR40, but I’d say this is one worth watching. Countless possibilities for the retail, education, marketing, information, gaming and social industries are all lurking beneath one shiny piece of glass.
All it will take is one imaginative client for its full potential to be unlocked.
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