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A Look Beneath the 'Surface'
Hajsky writes "Ars Technica takes a closer look at Microsoft's new "Surface" tabletop device. Turns out that Surface isn't actually a touchscreen at all, but uses five cameras located in the table's base to record movement and touch. 'The five cameras are near-infrared devices, but that's not because they are trying to read heat signatures from fingertips (or other body parts) on the table. Instead, it's because the entire surface of Surface is bathed in light; by illuminating the top of the table, the cameras can easily see when things are placed on it. Shining colored light across the surface of the table would spoil the effect that Microsoft wants, so near-infrared light is used for invisible illumination.' The whole setup runs on a Core 2 Duo and off-the-shelf hardware, and can handle 52 simultaneous touches." jfanning wrote with a link to an overview of similar technology used in the Helsinki 'CityWall'. The article she provides discusses the unique public display, and has an in-depth video on the way these kinds of setups work.
Y'know.. there's a really good reason why television screens are situated in the vertical plane.. because we can sit on chairs and watch them without getting back ache. That's also a good reason why our computer monitors are situated the same way. So.. going to something that's horizontal is a recipe for uber-bad ergonomics and back ache with any sort of extended use.
When people come round and you want to show them photographs, home movies, or some crap that's on your computer or network.. who in their right mind is going to hunch over a table? It's about as convenient as reading a newspaper together.