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HP Developing Hybrid Tablet PC / Coffee Table

StrongGlad writes "HP has been working on a different take on the home entertainment PC. "Misto" is a hybrid of a coffee table and a tablet PC, featuring a large, built-in touch-screen display. The idea is to allow a group to congregate around the table and share pictures, play board games, or peruse a map. Misto uses a standard desktop PC as its engine, but comes with some specialized HP software for managing the interface. Pricing, availability and style of coffee table are all undetermined, but Misto gives people some idea of how HP wants to develop products that expand on its existing businesses."

187 comments

  1. But... by YuppieScum · · Score: 3, Funny

    what happens to a touch-screen coffee table when you place a cup of coffee on it?

    --
    This sig left unintentionally blank.
    1. Re:But... by Thud457 · · Score: 4, Funny
      What's your problem, were you raised in a barn?!!

      Use a coaster before your wife catches you!

      I'd rather have a robust touch-screen coffee table display that I can connect my laptop to.

      --

      the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

    2. Re:But... by rez_rat · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Furthermore, what happens to a touch screen coffee table when you SPILL a cup of coffee on it?

    3. Re:But... by HaloZero · · Score: 4, Funny

      A virtual coaster appears underneath it. You may customize this to your level of desired geekdom. For some, a nice lace doiley. For others, damaged floppy disks or burn-failed CDs and DVDs.

      --
      Informatus Technologicus
    4. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Humph - I don't know about the damaged floppy disk 'cuz the aluminum cover on it might scratch the table/screen, don't you think?

      Besides, anyone with a CD or DVD burner is likely to have plenty of "coasters" available to share.

    5. Re:But... by XMunkki · · Score: 1

      This is simply called "Hot Coffee" modding. Better watch out for those law suits. :)

    6. Re:But... by einstienbc · · Score: 1

      What part of "virtual" do you not understand?

      --
      If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us.

      --Kurt Vonnegut

    7. Re:But... by Anonymous+Writer · · Score: 2, Informative

      I'd rather have a robust touch-screen coffee table display that I can connect my laptop to.

      Well, just in case you were thinking of placing your laptop on top of a coffee table display, never keep a drink on the same surface as a laptop!!! Honestly, it's a horrible accident just waiting to happen, the kind where thousands of dollars just disappear in the blink of an eye, along with all your data.

      Desktops are fine. All you replace the keyboard if you accidentally tip a drink over, maybe a mouse. But just understand that laptop keyboards also have an unintended alternative function; as a drain for liquids to thoroughly saturate and damage all the internal components of you're highly priced hardware!

    8. Re:But... by jheath314 · · Score: 1

      Very true.

      I actually like the idea of this table, but I'm puzzled why they call it a "coffee table" at all... instead of emphasizing that this is something you DON'T want coffee around.

      Surely the sensors in the touch screen cannot repeatedly withstand getting hot coffee spilled onto them, can they?

      --
      Procrastination Man strikes again!
    9. Re:But... by jheath314 · · Score: 1

      Hee... if only I could mod you up.

      "Jimmy! What are you doing lying on the coffee table with your pants down? No more GTA for you!"

      --
      Procrastination Man strikes again!
    10. Re:But... by Lactoso · · Score: 1
      "A virtual coaster appears underneath it. You may customize this to your level of desired geekdom. For some, a nice lace doiley. For others, damaged floppy disks or burn-failed CDs and DVDs."

      HA!! And I hear After Dark is developing a coffee ring screensaver...

    11. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or what happens when my toddler bangs her cup on this? Or is this invention only suitable for childless households?

      Little problem, that.

    12. Re:But... by bjason82 · · Score: 1

      This sounds really familiar, I saw this in a movie (was it minority repot?). This guy had a desk and when he moved this paperweight-looking stone across his desk it moved the opened windows on the display that were below the surface of his glass desk.

      Now, I would assume that soon all products will have built-in rfid tags, such as a coffee cup, and people will be able to place their coffee cup on the table and it would be sensed as a coffee cup by the computer. I can also imagine you'll soon be able to retrofit old items with rfid tags that you can even put through the dishwasher.
      This would lead me to conclude that a coffee table display could concievably contain an rfid sensor, combined with touch-screen functionality, the software would be able to determine that it is an object and not a human command.

      Alternatively, if the rfid tag is not a direction they plan on taking I'm sure they could come up with some kind of embedded image recognition software that would visually determine that it is an object and not a person touching the screen...but who knows..

    13. Re:But... by ncc74656 · · Score: 1
      I actually like the idea of this table, but I'm puzzled why they call it a "coffee table" at all... instead of emphasizing that this is something you DON'T want coffee around.

      Probably for the same reasons we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    14. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be more specific, AOL CD.

    15. Re:But... by Silver+Gryphon · · Score: 1

      It runs Java.

    16. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      or a large heavy plant pot

  2. Java Programmers Rejoice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Finally ... an appropriate place to program in Java.

    (Still won't make it run fast, but but the irony is thick)

    1. Re:Java Programmers Rejoice by FrontalLobe · · Score: 3, Funny

      Man... this would be awesome! I'd never have to clean my coffee table again! I'd just let garbage collection take care of it.

      --
      -FL
  3. The true use of this table revealed! by gasmonso · · Score: 2, Funny

    Everyone knows that this is nothing more than a MAME setup to play all those old cocktail table games of yesterday! Long live Joust and Ms Pacman!!!

    http://religiousfreaks.com/
  4. useless by ExE122 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Look for this item in next years Ikea catalog as part of the Tákkí collection. At the low price of $15,995.99 it is a perfect addition to any Mátereülisték line of furniture and Yöpee accessories. If you are a Mátereülisték person looking to spend some money, a Tákkí coffee table with a PC built into it would be a perfect addition to your Yöpee house! It is custom made to fit into your gas-guzzling Hummer for easy delivery. And just imagine how well it would look gathering dust between your baby-harp-seal-skin sofa and 97 inch high definition television!

    - ---------- -
    Hideous piece of show-off crap... this is the most useless invention since the pet rock!

    --
    Capitalism: When it uses the carrot, it's called democracy. When it uses the stick, it's called fascism.
    1. Re:useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You have no idea how much I want one now.

    2. Re:useless by tribentwrks · · Score: 1

      And don't forget to add "Sea Aquarium 13, Top Down View"! Amaze your guests with the seldom seen bald spot on Peruvian Angle Shark! Now, with more bubbles!

    3. Re:useless by Provocateur · · Score: 1

      ...and that's when I met Tyler Durden.
       

      --
      WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
    4. Re:useless by Coryoth · · Score: 4, Funny

      My Finnish is appalling but I think you'll find that Tääki, Metiriälistik, and Jaappi are better fits should you need to recycle the joke at a later date - though this gets into the confusion over the fact that "j" is pronounced as we pronounce "y" in Finnish, while "y" is pronounced kind of like the the "u" in Munich or bureau.

      Taking all the humour out of jokes via pointless dissection since 2006.

      Jedidiah.

    5. Re:useless by bobdinkel · · Score: 1

      My Finnish is no doubt worse than yours. However, that doesn't matter in the slightest as IKEA is Swedish, not Finnish.

      --
      A publicly traded company exists solely to make profits for shareholders.
    6. Re:useless by Ullteppe · · Score: 1

      Sorry to nitpick here, but IKEA is not Finnish nor is it Hungarian. It's Swedish, so try terms like "smörgossar" or "mysigt" instead. If you were parodying Nokia instead, however...

    7. Re:useless by linhux · · Score: 1

      "Smörgossar" might not be such a good idea -- it means something like "butter boys". :-) The word you're thinking of is probably "smörgåsar" (~"sandwiches").

    8. Re:useless by Ullteppe · · Score: 1

      Sorry, I'm Norwegian... :-)

    9. Re:useless by that+_evil+_gleek · · Score: 1

      Useless? Try Table Top MAME !

    10. Re:useless by linhux · · Score: 1

      Ja, vi elsker dette landet! Not that you need to apologize. It was a very funny misspelling. :-D

  5. My $399 PC already has a coffee cup holder by Green+Salad · · Score: 4, Funny

    I just press the eject button and a motorized coffee cup holder slides out. Must be some kind of productivity option on my cheap PC.

    1. Re:My $399 PC already has a coffee cup holder by squison · · Score: 1

      Nah, you need this.

  6. "Misto"? by sczimme · · Score: 2, Funny


    "Misto"?

    I would like to point out that 'mist' is the German word for 'manure'. Hmmm.

    --
    I want to drag this out as long as possible. Bring me my protractor.
    1. Re:"Misto"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      "Misto" is Croatian (dialect spoken in Dalmatia - coastal, Mediteranean part of Croatia) for "Place" and/or "Town". For an explanation, I guess that is more on the target, isn't it?

    2. Re:"Misto"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah hah hah, except it's not.

      The English expletive "crap" is equivalent more or less equivalent to the German "Mist".
      Also, Mist could be translated to "manure". ...so you see, "Misto" just isn't German. Sorry.

    3. Re:"Misto"? by Ixne · · Score: 1
    4. Re:"Misto"? by gstoddart · · Score: 1
      "Misto"?

      I would like to point out that 'mist' is the German word for 'manure'. Hmmm.

      I think it's almost impossible to have words which are safe internationally.

      We once had a piece of software called CUE -- we were quite dismayed when a French customer told us that it sounded remarkably like the French slang for your, er, rectal orifice. They were quite adamant we should rename it.
      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:"Misto"? by EasyTarget · · Score: 1

      Totally OT.
      My parents brought a holiday place in the French village of Montcuq. Only afterwards did they learn that the place is famous in France for having a name that translates as 'my arse', or 'my bottom' in nice society. This stuff happens all the time.. A popular French fizzy drink when I was a kid was called 'Pisschitt'. etc.

      --
      "Oops, I always forget the purpose of competition is to divide people into winners and losers." - Hobbes
    6. Re:"Misto"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, for most slavik languages means misto means place.
      For most latin languages it means mixture, i guess that's even closer to the target.

    7. Re:"Misto"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It means "mixed" in Italian. I would assume this is more appropriate, since it is a hybrid.

    8. Re:"Misto"? by metroplex · · Score: 1

      that's the Italian word for "mixed", too.

      --
      "Words of wisdom: drop that zero and get with the hero" -- Vanilla Ice
  7. hehe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this will be a big hit at the office until someone spills the coffee on it.

  8. So what happens... by perigee369 · · Score: 1

    So what happens when you spill coffee on it? half joking, but half serious too... I have two small children, my guess it this wouldn't last 5 minutes in my house!

    1. Re:So what happens... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      So you are feeding your two small children coffee? ;)

    2. Re:So what happens... by DrXym · · Score: 1

      Or more importantly, what happens if you put your hot coffee on what presumably must be a touch screen / LCD device. Warning stickers such as "do not put hot coffee on screen" will make the device even more lame than it already sounds.

    3. Re:So what happens... by DingerX · · Score: 1

      Ideally, what happens is the "surface sensing" technology plots the coffee spill. Then when you wipe it up, it leaves a little stain on the background. Sure, you can clean that up too, but with desktop memory, you could press one button and all the coffee/red wine rings reappear, the spill marks and everything else.

      A coffee table with a stain memory -- think of the uses.

      errr....

    4. Re:So what happens... by MarkGriz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "So what happens when you spill coffee on it? half joking, but half serious too... I have two small children, my guess it this wouldn't last 5 minutes in my house!"

      Oh yeah? I have 3 (all boys). I bet *my* kids could destroy it in only 2 minutes.

      Seriously though, this does look very cool. Would be a great way to play Risk.

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
    5. Re:So what happens... by Carlbunn · · Score: 1

      Everybody knows that if you put "hot coffe" in a computer, people will complain against pixelated consensual sex and put a mature label on your coffe table. And the Jack Thompson will show up on teevee

    6. Re:So what happens... by jridley · · Score: 1

      Given that there are touch screen kiosks in all kinds of places where they take abuse, I think somehow the technology exists to make them resist a few spills and kids whacking on them.

    7. Re:So what happens... by perigee369 · · Score: 1
      "think somehow the technology exists to make them resist a few spills and kids whacking on them."
      Ahem, one word: iPod? As much as I like where Apple's heading, The iPod screens (especially the smaller one) have been a serious problem for them. Time will tell thought :)
    8. Re:So what happens... by MarkGriz · · Score: 1

      "A coffee table with a stain memory -- think of the uses."

      Or a dress...

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
    9. Re:So what happens... by jridley · · Score: 1

      What's your point? It's possible to make something that is breakable, so therefore it must not be possible to make something that's not?

      I'm not sure how you figure a non-touch screen 1.5" screen on a device built skimpy on purpose because every gram counts has anything to do with a screen in an immobile mount that could weigh 50 pounds and be covered with centimeter-thick tempered glass.

      Try this one:
      Somebody made a car once that fell apart in a year, therefore all cars suck.

  9. Turn the table by karvind · · Score: 1

    Gives a new meaning to turn the table ? Seriously how do you turn the table around to make sure everyone around the table can see the pics. :)

    1. Re:Turn the table by GungaDan · · Score: 1

      Tablet PCs (and most LCD monitors) have nifty screen rotation features that I'm sure could be incorporated, though obviously rotation only provides a right-side-up picture from one orientation at a time.

      --
      Eloi are stupid, throw morlocks at them!
  10. This sounds great by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

    Good for gaming. Probably good for total system management. It's the ultimate master control console.

    End of line

    1. Re:This sounds great by MarkGriz · · Score: 1

      "It's the ultimate master control console"

      No more lost remotes!

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  11. Coffee Table Book by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 1

    I can put this in my coffee table book about coffee tables that actually turns into a coffee table.
    Or my coffee table website, that is actually displayed on a coffee table....

    --
    And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
  12. Scratching by ZachPruckowski · · Score: 1

    And I thought the iPod nano got heavily scratched...

  13. Sounds interesting by dptalia · · Score: 1

    But how practical is it? The first time you spill your drink will you short circuit something? And with obsolecense the way it is, you'd have to buy a new coffee table every couple of years! p. And will it match my mission style decor?

    --
    Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, which is why engineers sometimes smell really bad.
  14. w-hat? by XenoWolf · · Score: 1

    And who thought that this was a *good* idea? Coffee tables are for holding *LIQUID BEVERAGES*, and PC + liquid = spectacular failure

    --
    XenoWolf The Original - Since 1993
    1. Re:w-hat? by Lumpy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      PC + liquid = spectacular failure

      really? my old Toshiba toughbook I use for emptying CF cards and writing in my journal during hiking works just fine sitting there in the rain, with a diet coke spilled in it, etc....

      If this thing is going to cost what I think it will, it will be trivial to make it as protected as a toughbook is.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:w-hat? by amliebsch · · Score: 1

      Like a Tablet PC, the surface is likely to be glass in any case, which is reasonably spill-resistant. It would not be difficult to pack the electonical bits away where they can't get spilled on.

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
    3. Re:w-hat? by internetizen · · Score: 1

      You meant Panasonic right? I have the semi-rugged Toughbook and had a water incident, not a whole lot, but enough to short my keyboard. The support is amazing though with a 72 hr turnaround and they didn't charge me for it either. As for the table, I am no engineer but I think it would not be easy making a surface water-proof AND touch-sensitive.

    4. Re:w-hat? by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Oops, thanks. yes I mean Panasonic.. Teach me to look at ebay auctions while posting :-) I never had a problem with mine, but then mine is an older P3 that may have been built differently. I also noticed that some of the toughbook models that did not have the handle built in were not built as robust as the ones that looked like they could be thrown across the room without damage. My CF-28 looks like it can take much more abuse than a friends CF-72 model.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  15. MissedJoe by digitaldc · · Score: 1

    Great! Now when you spill your coffee all over your fancy new Tablet PC, you can blame it all on the HP design team.

    I think Kramer is going to sue for copyright infringement.

    --
    He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
  16. Interesting concept. by a_nonamiss · · Score: 1

    This is an interesting idea, but it sounds like an idea ahead of its time. I'm sure in 50 years, we'll all have these in our living rooms, complete with board games, pictures, and remote contols for our flying cars and household robots, but right now, I think this would be too expensive to appeal to enough people to justify its existance.

    Still, you have to start somewhere, and I am glad there are companies developing stuff like this to throw at the wall.

    --
    -Arthur
    Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
  17. Seinfeld by rubberbando · · Score: 1

    Somehow I pictured a variation of Kramer's coffee table book where the tablet had little legs that popped out of the bottom to turn into a coffee table. :P

    --
    DEAD DEAD DEAD DELETE ME
  18. Embarrassing Coffee Table Moment by Billosaur · · Score: 4, Funny

    Madge: Barb, this party is terrific. Good wine, excellent cheese...

    Barb: Thanks Madge! Jim and I try to make them memorable!

    Madge: I really like your coffee table [sets wineglass down on top of table]

    Barb: Oh yes, it's the latest thing! It's got a computer inside...

    Madge: Oh my!!!!! [loudly]

    Barb: What's wrong Barb? What... OH DEAR GOD! JIIIMMMMMM!!!!

    Jim: What's up Honey?!? What's with all the... GOOD GOD!!!

    [Party comes to a halt as Jim's private pics of his and Barb's conjugal activites slideshow across tabletop]

    --
    GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
    1. Re:Embarrassing Coffee Table Moment by hodet · · Score: 2, Funny

      At least they weren't his pics with Madge.

    2. Re:Embarrassing Coffee Table Moment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      [a few seconds later]

      Madge: It's okay, Barb, Jim. Really. It's not what you think.

      [Bob, Bill, Wilma, and Zoe gather around as Barb frantically starts placing coasters and party napkins in a careful pattern to cover the table top]

      Bob: No, really, you don't have to put those on there. Don't be embarassed. [Turning to Jim] I always thought Barb was kind of hot.

      Madge: Jim, you're quite the stud too.

      Wilma: Yeah, really!

      Zoe: Jim, you can go down on me any time [blushes a little], provided it's okay with Barb, of course.

      Bill: You two aren't the only swingers in the neighborhood, you know. Remember the first "house warming" party we had at my place, girls?

      Wilma and Zoe in unison: Oh, yes!

      Madge: And, Barb, I have to admit I've done most of the husbands on the street. No, not like that! With their wives as part of the mix, of course!

      [Jim and Barb look even more stunned than they did initially. Finally...]

      Jim: Right. Honey, remember we were wondering just how strong this table top really was? You know, whether it could support the weight of both of us?

      Barb [still a bit stunned]: What? OH! Right, yeah, I remember.

      Jim: It looks like we're going to find out. You get those wine glasses off there and I'll go get the body oils, toys, and the HD video camera. It's time to kick this party into high gear!

      Bob and Bill [giving each other high-five]: Woohoo!

      Bill: I told you Jim was all right!

      Bob [leans to take a closer look under the table]: Hmmm... I wonder if this things got enough bandwidth to do live streaming to the net? I could ssh in to my box across the street, and set up a VLC command-line streaming session no problem. Hey, Jim, what system are you running on this thing?

      Barb: It's a Debian distribution with a custom-tweaked kernel, mostly to support some of the stranger hardware built into this thing. I suggested we build our own coffee table system, but Jim thought ... What? You think Jim married me only for my body? ...

  19. What I'd get... by Otter · · Score: 1

    Not that this is coming any time soon, but I'd be more likely to buy a rollable or foldable display that you could lay out on a table. Like the constantly rumored e-paper, but with a wireless connection to a computer elsewhere. Lock-in to a specific table is a lot less attractive, although when Microsoft comes out with such a thing, I'm looking forward to the yelling about how they're abusing their monopoly position in furniture.

  20. Finally a computer I can put drinks on by Illserve · · Score: 1

    Not that I didn't before. You'd be amazed what a can of mountain dew will do to a laptop keyboard. I spent hours cleaning underneath every single key anddddd myyyyyy typpping stttttiiiiill lookeddd llike thhhhhhhhhhis.

    1. Re:Finally a computer I can put drinks on by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

      I simply drink the mountain dew to get the sssaaammmeee eeffffffeecccctt.

    2. Re:Finally a computer I can put drinks on by mikael_j · · Score: 1
      Reminds me of what a friend of mine asked me about once, if I could fix the laptop she bought while visiting her dad in Hong kong.. I asked what was wrong with it and she replied that she spilled a can of Fanta on it and now it wouldn't start up and the keys were all stuck.. I believe the story ended with her shipping it back to HK to have the mobo replaced. ;)

      /Mikael

      --
      Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
    3. Re:Finally a computer I can put drinks on by dosle · · Score: 0

      PLA

  21. DandD by Moby+Cock · · Score: 1

    That thing would be ideal for running a dungeon mapper for table top RPGs.

  22. No problem... by csoto · · Score: 1

    as long as it can play Wizards of Wor and Ms. Pac Man, like the old sit-down arcade "cocktail table" games. Those were bitchen. I knew exactly where to hit the Ms. Pac Man table with a pool cue to get free games...

    --
    There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
    1. Re:No problem... by kevin.fowler · · Score: 1

      the Wizards of War "peeeeoooooo peeeeooooo" firing sound still haunts my girlfriend to this day.

      --
      Bury me in mashed potatoes.
  23. entertable by way2trivial · · Score: 1
    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  24. Nooo! by tchernobog · · Score: 1

    I had this idea *years* ago!!! Why didn't I patent it? I would be rich by now!

    Damn.

    (Sorry, I just felt I had to tell the world)

    --
    42.
    1. Re:Nooo! by AlterTick · · Score: 3, Funny
      I had this idea *years* ago!!!

      All of us had this idea years ago. Only HP is dumb enough to think they can make money selling one.

      --
      Conclusion: the Empire squashes the Federation like a bug. Accept it.
    2. Re:Nooo! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you would have been sued by apple.
      The Mac portable would have been prior art.

    3. Re:Nooo! by Nachtkinder · · Score: 1

      Not too late. Patent it now and you'll still be able to successfully sue HP for billions before the USPTO recognise prior art! ;)

    4. Re:Nooo! by chancycat · · Score: 1

      It's a *labs* experiment. HP is not (yet) trying to sell it to anyone. It is though a fun way to navigate Google Earth...

      --
      Evan - needs to hit preview before submitting
    5. Re:Nooo! by neonsignal · · Score: 1

      You know you are too old when you remember playing coffee table space invaders and now people want to patent the idea because it hasn't been thought of before...

  25. torn by revery · · Score: 1

    I'm torn between whether this is kind of cool or the stupidest thing ever. The image of a family gathered around the cofee table playing games is located in the part of my brain where I keep things like the Brady Bunch (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia), so I just don't see that taking off (maybe a commercial showing small children and their robot nannies playing games...?)

    At the same time, the idea seems kind of cool as I think some interesting applications could be developed for such a device. Think interactive TV/movie trivia, centrally-located, non-tacky looking, digital-music interface, etc...

    Anyway, I'm gonna go watch the Partridge Family.

    1. Re:torn by paeanblack · · Score: 1

      I'm torn between whether this is kind of cool or the stupidest thing ever. The image of a family gathered around the cofee table playing games is located in the part of my brain where I keep things like the Brady Bunch (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia), so I just don't see that taking off

      I'm not sure what rock you have been living under, but family boardgames are huge in Europe, and that popularity is resurging in the US and Asia. Recent games like Settlers of Catan and Cranium have both sold over 10 million copies...compare that to a AAA list videogame or a movie grossing $100M at the box office at $10/ticket. Do you know how hard it is for an album to sell 10 million copies?

    2. Re:torn by revery · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure what rock you have been living under

      It's a rock in the US.

  26. Try to convince the wife by IflyRC · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Husband:"Seriously, we need this!"
    Wife:"You're really not joking are you?"

    Husband:"But, we can have rotating screen savers with pictures of the kids..."
    Wife:"Or you can just sit there flipping channels on the tv while checking scores on EPSN.com"
    Husband:"yea, or that too..."
    Wife:"It doesn't go with the the furniture we have - no."

    1. Re:Try to convince the wife by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      That one is simple....

      "but dear, you will get to buy new furniture!"

      Women can not resist buying a new couch. It's like shoe shopping.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  27. Interesting... by dtsazza · · Score: 1

    ...but will it feature multiple-point touchscreen technology?

    Seriously, if you're going to "allow a group to congregate around the table and share pictures, play board games, or peruse a map", then you can't expect them to form an orderly queue to take turns to touch the screen in a well-defined order. Well, you can, but it takes half the fun out of it. If this is to stand a chance of being successful (which it probably doesn't anyway right now), they've got to really push the social, collaborative angle.

    And that includes people doing several things at once with the screen.

    --
    My, that was a yummy potato!
  28. TRON, reborn by CokoBWare · · Score: 1

    Now we can all have our very own MCP in our VERY OWN HOME! I wonder if it will come with that very deep computerized british accent that I loved so much! "I want him in the games until he dies plain. End of line."

    1. Re:TRON, reborn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Playing. Dies playing.

    2. Re:TRON, reborn by CokoBWare · · Score: 1

      I stand corrected... I never did watch the movie with the subtitles on... thanks :D

  29. Unless it plays ... by eck011219 · · Score: 1

    ... Galaga or Ms. Pacman or Centipede, it's of no use to me.

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  30. Interesting but old... by Monkey_Genius · · Score: 1

    HP announced this at their annual HP Labs event in Tenerife SIX months ago. So far nothing's changed. http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=1353

    --
    I've got your sig, right here.
  31. Why are people so opposed to this? by DorkusMasterus · · Score: 1

    I understand the viability concerns (you don't want spills, etc) but I'm certain that if they are making announcements about this, that it's fairly spill-resistant, and can take a fair amount of abuse!

    Not to mention, this is part of that whole "wave of the future" we're all looking for. We constantly complain that the future as we expected it is not here, and that it's not developing as quickly as we imagined, but THIS is the kind of thing that would help usher that into modern existence...

    All it takes is for this to catch on, then knock-off-ers start making it cheaper, then everyone has one. It's not going to replace the standard desktop, but it would make PERFECT sense to house a Media Center PC environment, running wirelessly to the television set.

    Point is, I think it makes perfect sense as the next place to put a computer rig in the home. Stop complaining (about everything) and try to see the potentials. If you can only talk about fears/flaws that would obviously be addressed by launch, then you are not thinking very hard about the product.

  32. The top of the table... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The top of the table will be a single sheet of tempered glass. Tablet PC's do not use resistive "Touch screens" like PDA's do; they use Active Wacom Digitizers, which sense the position of the pen or other pointing device over the screen.

    Actual tablet PC's don't have you writing on the mushy LCD, there's a sheet of tempered glass over the display to protect the LCD.

  33. Mp3 players in pianos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    will be the next big thing. All the family can gather around the piano to sing songs together for entertainment. Hang on!

  34. better by way2trivial · · Score: 1

    combine this with the "dual view" lcd screens, and you dungeon master can have different view than the players on the other side of the table.

    Imagine playing, risk or stratego-- you can see your pieces, and the backs of the opponenets pieces... or find a way to make the dual view lcd's quad view, and a family of 4 can play scrabble on screen, and no one can see anyone elses letters!

    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  35. I was this Bill Gates' demo by figleaf · · Score: 2, Interesting

    at Comdex.
    Looks cool. But thats about it.

    I don't think there is a any market for this.
    I would not feel comfortable placing my coffee cup on this table.

    1. Re:I was this Bill Gates' demo by queazocotal · · Score: 1

      I have no problem with this - as long as it's sturdy enough for a ~100Kg person to sit on, or fall over, without it ending up as a Rorschach Blob, like many displays are prone to do.

    2. Re:I was this Bill Gates' demo by Rxke · · Score: 1

      IMHO, it doesn't *look* cool at al, the idea might be cool, but it's plain ugly.

      Seriously, this looks amateurish, look at those two ugly fan covers, for starters, this thing just has no style at all, the way it is built, ugh. Will stick out as a sore thumb in *any* livingroom (or conference sideroom or what have you) If this were covered as a case-mod, people would mock this thing, the woodwork is pathetic. I bet it comes with a beige powercord ;)

    3. Re:I was this Bill Gates' demo by Keeper · · Score: 1

      This is not the same thing in the Comdex Gates demo, though the presentation is similar.

  36. This is perfect!! by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 2, Funny

    For the man who needs to buy just one more stupid thing to get his wife to divorce him.

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
    1. Re:This is perfect!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      waaaaaaay ahead of you. Divorce, check. One more stupid thing, (takes out checkbook, waves to Best Buy guy) check!

  37. Interesting, but not new by hcdejong · · Score: 1

    Tabletop consoles have been used e.g. in military applications for years. I remember seeing pictures of the Combat Information Center aboard a 1980-vintage Dutch frigate having such a console. This was used to give the commander and XO an overview of what was happening, without having to look over the shoulder of one of the operators.
    It used a light pen instead of a touchscreen, but the principle is the same.

    The blurb talks about Misto as a consumer product, but I suspect it's more likely to be adopted by business users first. It offers a better way for groups of 2-4 people to interact with a computer than is now available: currently, you either crowd around a desk or use a projector, both limit interaction with the computer to one person (the one holding the keyboard/mouse).

  38. Wow... by utexaspunk · · Score: 1

    So they took a computer with a big Cintiq and mounted it in an ugly-ass coffee table. Big deal. When did HP become casemodders? It doesn't even allow multi-user input, like one of these.

    Coffee tables are for setting coffee, books, and maybe a board game on. You're not going to want to spend any significant amount of time hunched over one, even if it's for fun multi-user stuff. A normal-height table would be a lot better.

    1. Re:Wow... by Eccles · · Score: 1

      Coffee tables are for setting coffee, books, and maybe a board game on.

      Seems like this is exactly what they're doing; putting a virtual board game on the coffee table. I'd agree that a full-size table would be better for most gaming (perhaps with little hand-held tablets each for secret data), but that's a minor detail. With LCD and plasma panels, you mount a nice large one under a protective sheet of glass or Lexan, and a quick game of Wiz-War takes no time to set up. You could even use head-tracking to give each person a flying perspective over a 3-D environment during their turn.

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  39. A touch-screen is a bad idea... by HaloZero · · Score: 1

    What you need is layers. You have your hideously overpriced and oversized 14400x2480 display. On top of that, you must add a high resolution photosensitive layer. Above that, a removable scratch-proof, heat-resistant panel. The third will be your actual working surface. Input is provided at the photosensitive layer, through the use of a series of digital laserpointer pens. Users could be defined either by a data tag embedded in the laser (this is already widely used - laser tag, anyone?), or as simply as a differently colored laser-pointer in the pen.

    If ever you damage the outermost layer, it can be replaced, at a fraction of the cost fo the massive display.

    --
    Informatus Technologicus
    1. Re:A touch-screen is a bad idea... by amliebsch · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Ummm...why not use existing TabletPC active digitizer technology? The working surface is a piece of glass, which is hard, spill-proof, easy to clean, and replaceable.

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
    2. Re:A touch-screen is a bad idea... by emmadw · · Score: 1

      And, if you are just using a digitiser, rather than a touch screen, then you can put a coffee cup on it & it won't register.

  40. Better use a coaster.... by ShyGuy91284 · · Score: 1

    I'd hate to forget to use a coaster in someone's house on this thing. You'd probably have a gun to your head in no time.

    --
    In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
  41. Not ahead of its time by RealProgrammer · · Score: 1

    It's behind. People don't congregate in the living room any more, around a coffee table. They live in the kitchen.

    They should market it as a game room item. Trouble is, the touch-screen is going to get damaged so easily that nobody would want it in a game room. If I can't put my feet up on it or set a bowl of popcorn on it, I don't want it in the living room, either.

    There's a company in Illinois that sells desks with glass tops, so you look down through the desk at the screen. Very comfortable to use. I'd think that a coffee table with a glass top like that might work better.

    As long as I can put my feet up on it.

    --
    sigs, as if you care.
    1. Re:Not ahead of its time by big+tex · · Score: 1

      There's a company in Illinois that sells desks with glass tops, so you look down through the desk at the screen. Very comfortable to use. I'd think that a coffee table with a glass top like that might work better

      That shit's old.
      The MCP beat you to it.

      --
      I think I need a new sig here.
  42. Needs multi-touch technology by G4from128k · · Score: 1

    The tech that would make this cool would be multi-touch touchscreen technology. That way people could interact in parallel with the screen, not sequentially.

    The ultimate magic would also include some form of RF coupling to screen and table-edge antennas to ascertain which person was touching the screen. When a person touches the screen the induced RF would flow into them and radiate. The table-edge antennas would detect it and estimate where the "toucher" is sitting. Thus, person A couldn't illegally move person B's game pieces because that table. (Anyone want to patent this? Or should I declare it public domain right now?)

    To really work, the OS would need some serious hacks to handle true a simultaneous multi-user UI. It would need the ultimate in "fast user switching" while maintaining/enforcing a cross-user logical UI state for multiple users of a single screen. (More patents anyone?)

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
  43. I like it by mccalli · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I'm seeing a large number of negative comments, so I thought I'd wade in to counter a little. I like it.

    Forget replacing desktops, that's not what this is about. Consider the following:

    • Universal remote control. Consider this table having built-in IR, bluetooth and wi-fi. Nice remote for absolutely everything, yes?
    • Games. No, not Quake 9. Think monopoly, chess, backgammon, card games. Or even things like a couple of my current PopCap timewasters - Bejeweled 2 and Bookworm.
    • Photos, video etc.. The example image shows it - you could bring up your photos nice and quickly on this. And by video I don't mean 100gigs of ripped DVD, I mean home videos of holidays etc.
    • AV instant messaging. Nice surface to just switch on and see the person you're talking to, or just relax on the sofa speaking as the built-in mic picks up your voice.

    That's just things that immediately occur - I'm sure there's more. Simultaneous web-feeds whilst TV viewing for example - perhaps a program has more info coming up on the screen. For my money, it would be improved if they made the surface tiltable, so that I could lie on the sofa and look at this with a 45 degree angle say, or for easier viewing of the movies etc.. Would also be nice if it wasn't built-in per se, but instead defined a form factor into which easily upgradable motherboards etc. could slot in. And the whole thing would need to be very hi-res too.

    As I say, I like it. Would I drop everything to rush and buy one? Doubtful. But I certainly don't think it's a waste of time.

    Cheers,
    Ian

    1. Re:I like it by mdfst13 · · Score: 1

      I want to make restaurant tables out of it. In table menu displays with full customization. Out of water? Click the refill icon and someone scoots over to fill it for you. Freed from order taking duties and using the same kind of software places like Amazon use to manage their inventory picking.

  44. CyberBar by lazarus · · Score: 1

    This is exactly the product I've been looking for, depending on the quality of the coffee table itself.

    Imagine leaving your cube in the office park you work in, heading down the elevator to the lobby and into a CyberBar. You sit with your colleagues at a coffee table-cum-tablet. Drinks can be browsed on the device and ordered from there, where you can also see your tab (and potentially pay). Of course, the actual drinks come on a tray carried by a slim young blonde with tight-fitting black pants...

    The point is, you can have drinks, talk shop, and look things up on-line with your buds. Cyber cafes do not interest me. A bar where the tables have embedded, wired, touch-screen computers you can put your drinks on DO.

    --
    I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
  45. the Island by nowhereman77 · · Score: 1

    have the guys from HP Labs seen the movie "The Island"? The "bad guy" had such a table there as a workspace and I thought I wouldn't mind one of those ;-)

    bye bye multiple desktops

    1. Re:the Island by kernelklink00 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nobody saw The Island...

  46. My Question Is... by necro81 · · Score: 1

    Who wants a coffee table they need to plug in? Or one that has an unsightly desktop computer box sitting under it? Or the cords?

  47. Not at all innovative by cerberusss · · Score: 1

    This is not at all innovative. The Fraunhofer institute started a project called "Ambient Agoras" (yeah, funny name) literally years ago which included some sort of table around which people could gather. It would cooperate with panels on the wall and everything would be touchscreens. You could drag and drop or really "throw" items from the table to the wall displays.

    --
    8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
    1. Re:Not at all innovative by digitalinfinity · · Score: 1

      This also sounds a lot like the thing scoble describes here [http://www.webpronews.com/blogtalk/blogtalk/wpn-5 8-20060104BillGatesKeynoteatCESThatPlaytableRocks. html%5D (6:52 entry).

  48. Form Factor by necro81 · · Score: 1

    Egad! Look at the clunkiness of that thing - more akin to a foosball table or pinball machine than a coffee table.

  49. Cool another $2000 atari emulator for my house. by eheldreth · · Score: 1

    I love Mrs. Packman on the cocktail tables.

    --
    The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum. - O'Toole's Corollary
    1. Re:Cool another $2000 atari emulator for my house. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ms. Pacman, on the coffee table, with my "lead pipe"...heh, heh, heh!

    2. Re:Cool another $2000 atari emulator for my house. by GoMMiX · · Score: 1

      Add another zero to that $2000.

      I must admit I'm not an expert when it comes to touchscreens, but I beleive a 30" touchscreen is about $12,000.00. I would imagine something of this nature would be even larger - then tac on the *special* software HP wrote and the desktop PC to run it (with either a special video card or a very expensive one I'm sure) and I'd imagine $20,000.00 would even be too low.

      My initial reaction to seeing this....piece -- was that it looked very cool - and would be great at the company I'm working at now. This is exactly the kind of stuff they like. Then five seconds later the reality of cost set in. It would not suprise me to see the lower end versions of these to cost $30,000.00++. That's a rather large sum of money for what is essentially a conference table -- and a small one at that.

      If HP could push the price of these units below $10,000.00 -- they'd be viable. Otherwise I think they're worth more to the company as a PR toy then as a real product -- and they'll overprice them so high as to earn greater profits from fewer sales -- which I would be is the most likely to happen.

    3. Re:Cool another $2000 atari emulator for my house. by russ1337 · · Score: 1

      You could always just buy a 32" plasma TV, fix some legs to the back of it, and stick this on the front...

      http://www.wedgwood-group.com/interactive_technolo gies_pl432_32in_plasma_overlay.htm
      If you really need to, stick a sheet of hardened glass on the front.

  50. Don't be a slob... by originalnih · · Score: 0

    Put down a virtual coaster first.

  51. I got this idea 30 years ago by Frans+Faase · · Score: 1

    I remember that I got this idea 30 years ago, when writing a science fiction story. Interesting to see that it becomes reality now.

  52. Want one for Sea3D (Catan) by DigitalRaptor · · Score: 1

    I've wanted to build a table like that for 4 player Sea3D (Settlers of Catan), either with a projector or LCD under glass, where each player would have their own controls.

    It's a really fun game, but playing it in the same room at the same table would make it even better.

    --
    Lose Weight and Feel Great with Isagenix
  53. Life by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Quite a few years ago I played two-player Galaxians on the equivalent of a glass-topped table in a pub. The rapidly increasing pace of technological change.

  54. Kid Proof? by alohatiger · · Score: 1

    Have they seen what small children do to furniture, especially tables? No way this can be that durable.

    --
    Bigtime Consulting - "We're the best because we cost the most"
    1. Re:Kid Proof? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hooray for not breeding the little monsters then. Just because it's not kid proof doesn't make it a bad idea--hell, it keeps it away from middle American idiocy.

  55. Porn by MECC · · Score: 1


    Now I can spill coffee directly on my porn, instead of my keyboard.

    --
    "We are all geniuses when we dream"
    - E.M. Cioran
  56. It's all fun and games until... by Cumikaze · · Score: 1

    it starts crashing.

    Tech: *in (east) Indian accent* Hello, haw con I be of assistance?
    Customer: Yes, my coffee table wont boot!
    Tech: Oh yes, I be liking coffee too.
    Customer: Ok? but it wont turn on.
    Tech: I like coffee too.
    Customer: No my coffee table wont boot!
    Tech: Yes I know I like coffee too!
    Customer: Stupid *inaudible*. Ok. I'm not sure if it's wired correctly?
    Tech: Oh yes, coffee make me wired too!
    ...
    You get the idea, not a pretty picture.

  57. Why? by wfeick · · Score: 1

    This just seems like a really bad marketing move to me. Are there really that many people who would want a tablet PC built in to their coffee table? It seems analogous to trying to sell a desk with a built in PC. The whole point of the tablet and notebook market is that people like the portability market. Desktop machines are shrinking in size all the time, and the trend is away from desktops and towards notebooks. This is a step in the opposite direction of the industry trend.

    I think they'd be far better off selling a normal tablet.

  58. Been there, done that by Maximum+Prophet · · Score: 1

    I've had a cocktail table that has a Temptest(tm) machine built into it for two decades now. Cost me $300 in 1984. What goes around comes around. Nothing new under sun.

    --
    All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
  59. "the island" anyone? by js_sebastian · · Score: 1

    well, it's not quite as cool as the holographic interface Tom Cruise was using in minority report, but still the tabletop interface the doctor was using in recent sci-fi movie "the island" was pretty awesome.

    I think if they manage to make large, durable touch screens at reasonable prices (and to do a lot of good UI engineering) it would make a very powerful and intuitive interface.

  60. Time to relax in a nice cupper and a hob-nob by Timberwolf0122 · · Score: 1

    Error 404 : Hob Nob packet not found

    Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

    --
    In the not too distant future, next Sunday A.D.
  61. philips announce this last month by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Not all that different from the philips announcement last month

    http://www.research.philips.com/initiatives/entert aible/index.html

  62. crazy multi-input touch screen by krappie · · Score: 1

    If the whole coffee table is a touch screen, it really needs to be multi-input.

    check it out:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-y3ZNaCqs

  63. Secret pictures of the thing by HDlife · · Score: 1
    Here are the secret pictures of the unit:

    Cocktail table computer

    I think you have to put quarters in it...

  64. See this in action yesterday on TV by internetizen · · Score: 1

    FYI I just saw this last night on the local NBC station where they visited and interviewed the persons in charge at HP labs. It was quite fascinating when they were playing a jigsaw puzzle on the table using the touchscreen, looking and dragging a map a la Google Maps, and playing a video of a dolphin at a park. The Tablet was not as impressive, and they made no mention of DRM, just that it can store around 200 books on the device.

  65. My wife finally wins. by infosinger · · Score: 1

    I will be forced to keep the clutter off of the coffee table.

  66. Older than that.. by AJWM · · Score: 1

    The idea is older than that. I think it was Andre Norton who used the idea in her "Time Traders" (1958?) novel, although it might have been in Piper's Paratime novels or something by Poul Anderson. (I read it mid-1960s.) The rec room where the time travellers hung out between missions had a table display (high def!) used for games - eg complex maps for war games (think Avalon-Hill type games), etc.

    Wall screens (large, flat, wall-hung displays) were pretty common in SF at the time (Star Trek's viewscreen, but also the wallscreen in "Fahrenheit 451"), it's a pretty obvious step to lay one of those horizontal as a map or game board.

    Come to think of it, "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) had tablet PCs that also showed video.

    --
    -- Alastair
  67. is it microsoft based? no thanks HP. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know nothing about it at all, except that it's from HP and am willing to give 25-1 odds it's microsoft based just from that. HP - milking bill gates banana since 1990.

  68. use it at the bar by DGregory · · Score: 1

    To further go on the idea of having something like that in a restaurant, I could totally see something like that on a bar/counter. Say you're at the bar having a few drinks. You could sit there and play some games, watch some sports (have a spot to plug headphones in), etc, while you sip some overpriced drinks. The screen wouldn't be as big as the coffeetable's, but of course it would be protected from spills.

    I could also see something like that in Starbucks. In my home though, probably the tv and my laptop is sufficient enough...

  69. Bump your head... by Philip+K+Dickhead · · Score: 1

    As you and your little brother, both excitedly lurch forward during gameplay. Ow!

    The human interface design of a big screen, embedded in a horizontal surface is horrible. It's good for reproducing board and table games, with out all that annoying tactile feedback that mars our physical world. Glare? You think a laptop near a window is bad...

    --
    "Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
    1. Re:Bump your head... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You really shouldn't play hot coffee with your little brother, unless he's actually an adult.

  70. Bah! by gbobeck · · Score: 1

    Bah! Go out and buy an old IBM Netfinity box. After getting it (and a hernia after attempting to haul it to your pad), place a sheet of plexi-glass on top of the 8U, 160+lb server box.

    --
    Navicula hydraulica plena anguilarum est. Omnes castelli tuus nostri sunt. Ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
  71. HP Innovates? by minvaren · · Score: 1

    So, we're talking Dillinger's desk from Tron (1982), right?

    --
    Big! Strong! Wow! Tada-O!
  72. The one problem no one mentioned by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 1

    Just what everyone needs. A power cord running across the living room. Nice little trip hazzard, fire hazzard, and lets not forget the fact that all modern OS's don't like it when one doesn't power them down properly.

    No, I think this will tank when people see that lovely cable running across the room.

    --
    There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
  73. overheard conversation - FROM THE FUUUUTURE! by mgabrys_sf · · Score: 1

    Tell Marge I'd love to come to the phone but the coffee table crashed and I'm resinstalling the OS. Oh damn - now the coffee table is blue screening on me. Hang on a sec.

  74. Great! So you can lose everything now. by SheeEttin · · Score: 0

    Great! So this means you can spill your coffee and lose everything, and not just what you were working on.

  75. Hmm.. by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    It sounds like someone has just updated Kramer's idea of a "coffee table book". Does Larry David collect any royalties off this?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  76. Useless... Tungsten! by The-Bus · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Ikea is from Sweden.

    Here's the obligatory Ikea-joke from The Simpsons, courtesy of SNPP.com

    The Simpsons make a shopping excursion to Shøp, the place to go for modern Swedish furniture and accessories. A costumed character that looks like an Allen wrench with arms and legs walks up.

    The Simpsons make a shopping excursion to Shøp, the place to go for modern Swedish furniture and accessories. A costumed character that looks like an Allen wrench with arms and legs walks up.

    Allen: You put it together yourself. All you need is me -- Allen
            Wrench.
    Homer: [giggles] He's named after what he is.
    Bart: [knocking on the wrench] Cool costume.
    Allen: [turns away from the rest of the family to face Bart, and
            begins talking in a robotic tone]
            It's not a costume. They found me inside a meteor.
    Marge: Excuse me, where are your hamper lids?
    Allen: [friendly] Hamper lids? Uh, third floor.
            [turns to Bart again]
            [robotic] Help, I need tungsten to live. [raises arms]
            Tungsten!
            [Bart flees]


    Now, in all seriousness, I think this table is a dream come true. I only hope in a decade they are affordable enough for the common man. LCD prices are becoming cheaper, and it looks like multi-input touch screens are functional in demo form. Imagine playing table-top RPGs with the assistance of custom terrain underneath? This would also work pretty well in business at places like architecture or engineering firms where everyone can crowd around a gigantic display.
    --

    Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  77. How about a multi input table by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    check this one out, it looks amazing!

    http://mrl.nyu.edu/~jhan/ftirtouch/

  78. anyone else reminded of pizza hut? by LazyBoy · · Score: 1

    20+ years ago..

    --

    If Chaos Theory has taught us anything, it's that we must kill all the butterflies.

  79. Virtual Pinball? by Usquebaugh · · Score: 1

    I was thinking of making a VP table one of these as the playing area and 25" as the scoreboard. $$$$$

  80. 5 New versions of Windows right there... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I would say this type of app would require at least a few new versions of Vista... right? Maybe... Vista Coffetable additions... home/pro/coke/pepsi?

  81. As I recall... by Frazbin · · Score: 1

    Apple beat HP to this kind of thing by over a decade. They've been making PC/Boat anchors, PC/doorstops etc. for a looong time now. Granted, they got out of that business sometime around when OS X came out. Must not've been profitable anymore.

  82. Not a Tablet PC by KylePflug · · Score: 1

    This is NOT a tablet PC, and it's nothing but confusing to consumers to label it as such. The staple of the TPC industry is mobility. Does a coffee table strike anyone as exceedingly mobile? Because I have my doubts.

    I have trouble with my new Gateway tablet -- at 14 inches widescreen, it's not mobile enough. My old 10.5 Toshiba was more of a genuine tablet, and it was still a convertible.

    Tablet PCs have a lot to offer the market, but because of brand confusion there's very little adoption. Whenever I say "Tablet PC," people assume I'm talking about a PDA, or a refrigerator with a computer built in, or some wacky in-between. Everyone's interested in my tablet, everyone wants one after they've used it, and if people just knew what they were ahead of time sales would soar.

    /petpeeve.

  83. The Perfect Accessory ... by stuffduff · · Score: 1

    A High Tech Horizontal Beverage Containment Device: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/mugs/5d28/

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    "Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
  84. Finnish? Swedish! by metroplex · · Score: 1

    Er... isn't IKEA Swedish?

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    "Words of wisdom: drop that zero and get with the hero" -- Vanilla Ice
  85. Major Design Flaw.... by schlick · · Score: 1

    A table is a place to put things, that is it's purpose. What good is having a viewing surface that is obscured because it is covered with the things you usually have on a coffee table? Now having large, horizontal, touch sensitive viewing surface would be great, but covering up that surface with your lunch, magazines, bills, remote controls, socks, coffee cups, and other stuff defeats the purpose.

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    "It's because they're stupid, that's why. That's why everybody does everything." -Homer Simpson
  86. That is quite possibly... by greenhybrid · · Score: 1

    ...the dumbest idea I've ever heard of. And they think it'll sell? Perhaps that one's worse.

    What are they gonna make now? A computer with software specially designed to not work? Oh, wait...

  87. make it bigger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    get one of these 6 foot by 4 foot, and you can goatse (google it, I ain't linking) an entire dinner party..

    Of course HP's warranty is not valid for damage caused by vomit..

  88. Of course, this begs the question... by trainsnpep · · Score: 1

    ...Will it come with a hot coffee "feature?"

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    --<Mike>--
  89. Combined ... by gerardlt · · Score: 1

    ... with this technology, this could be really truly amazing to use - just imagine flicking a photograph across the virtual table top (underneath the coffee cups), and someone catching it on the other side and rotating it around so that they can see it the right way round.
    Just imagine if that isn't a photograph, but a document that several people have to collaborate on. This could help make computing environments that are so much more natural to use.

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  90. no coffeetable computer is complete by whovian · · Score: 1

    until it has Space Invaders!

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  91. Huh by obeythefist · · Score: 1

    I misread that as a "Hot Coffee" table... that would be just bizarre.

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    I am government man, come from the government. The government has sent me. -- G.I.R.
  92. I call it a $300 ebay notebook by xtal · · Score: 1

    I got a thinkpad off Ebay. It cost all of $300 delivered.

    I put the thinkpad on my coffee table. Strangely, it rarely moves. I am lazy.

    Voila. Coffee table computer. Doesn't even look too bad.

    Sometimes, it morphs into the "side table" computer.

    I've even seen it looking lustily at the SVideo cable. It might become a coffee table MEDIA CENTER!

    (sarcasm, for the impared)

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    ..don't panic
  93. Any chance... by jedZ · · Score: 1

    ...Cosmo Kramer came up with this one?

  94. Really? I saw this somewhere else... by Dawg21 · · Score: 1

    Actually, if we're going strictly for coffe table PCs, I believe that if you do a Google search for Yoshi and the Boxx, you'll find that he actually designed TWO PCs, both featuring fully functional PCs and multiple gaming platforms, that were designed to be used AS A COFFEE TABLE! Without the worry of a touch screen or additional CRAP on the top that could be ruined, you could actually use these AS COFFEE TABLES! (that, and they looked a helluva lot better than some of the pre-assembled CRAP out there... well, I think so anyway...) Wow, something that can be used as it was intended! I'm shocked!
     
    I'm actually in the process of making my own Coffee Table PC, one which has all the features that HP tried to cram into it WITHOUT the worthless touch screen. Are we really that lazy that we can't even be bothered to hook up the TV to the PC in order to view pictures from our vacation to Nowheresville that Nobody wants to see? Come on, HP, give the nerd community a LITTLE credit! We were here before you, and we'll be here long after you're gone.

  95. Does it make coffee too? by objekt · · Score: 1

    Seems like the obvious next geek feature to me.

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    -- Boycott Shell
  96. Obligatory Seinfeld Quote by spookyfluke · · Score: 1

    "Hey, you know what would make a great coffee table book? A coffee table book about coffee tables!"
            - Kramer, in "The Cigar Store Indian"

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    you.bases.each{|base|base.are_belong_to=us}
  97. Coasters by spookyfluke · · Score: 1

    Does it come with a set of AOL CD coasters?

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