Rich Menga is PCMech's video guy, an author and part-time host of PCMech LIVE.One day, your computer will be a big-ass table…
The tabletop computer known as Big-Ass Table Microsoft Surface has the possibility of having a consumer version available in 2011.. maybe.
The one question that has been lingering since day one about Surface is its practicality. It’s obviously not portable, the fact you have to look down at it all the time screams of ergonomic nightmares, and of course the issue of the “do you get what you pay for” question. Is it really worth the $5,000 price tag for what you get? It is that necessary to have?
From the consumer’s point on view, I can answer that already: NO.
An example of where a product like this would truly shine is in the classroom. If you plopped a few of these interactive-screen computers for use in grade-school level (i.e. grades 4 thru 8), the tech could be used every day in a way that would work.
But as a consumer product? No way; I don’t see it happening.
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3/26/2008 11:23 pm
It looks like another case of interesting technology looking for a practical application. I know I would not spend five thousand dollars or even a thousand to be hunched over a table for hours.
Perhaps put it on a vertical screen instead? Could it be that simple?
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3/27/2008 4:56 pm
Is it really being targeted for consumers? I agree that it’s very impractical. It might be something more the the commercial/industrials side of things. Even then I don’t see it fulfilling a “need.”
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