Microsoft Surface To Coordinate SuperBowl Security

suraj.sun writes to tell us that in preparation for nearly a quarter of a million people descending on Tampa for the Super Bowl, the Tampa authorities are deploying new tech for security communications and response. All of the incidents and communications will be plotted and tracked on a new implementation of Microsoft's Surface. Hopefully it wont have to reboot after every new incident report. "The Microsoft Surface device will display a Microsoft Virtual Earth map of the entire region tracking events, incidents, resources and tasks in real-time using its unique large display, multi-user, multi-touch and interactive capabilities, also allowing it to communicate with remote devices and PCs. With a quick hand-gesture, the map can zoom in and display a 3D image of the city, including detailed views of buildings and streets and real time resource tracking."

Comments

Oh no

[Anonymous Coward]

inb4 lame blue screen of death jokes

Re:Oh no

[azav]

Failure in security.dll. Abort, retry or ignore?

Re:Oh no

[eldavojohn]

Then it's settled, I'm going to be streaking in the game wearing nothing but this ...

inb4 lame blue screen of death jokes

Aw, dude, why'd you have to go stealing my one-trick-pony thunder like that? It's all I've got ...

Re:Oh no

[MoellerPlesset2]

A problem has been detected and the Super Bowl has been shut down to protect your audience.

The problem seems to be caused by the following module: WARDROBE.DLL
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NIPPLE_AREA

If this is the first time you have seen this error screen, restart the show.
If this screen appears again, follow these instructions:

Check to make sure this is not a dress rehearsal. If so, give the producers hell and consider firing the artists.

If problems continue, you may be fined by the FCC.

Technical information:
*** STOP: 0x0000B00B

Re:Oh no

[sumdumass]

Nice!

I was going to make some lame comment about how Tampa is finally getting tech like Miami (CSI TV show) and rant about the costs/effectiveness in a non-obvious way. It takes real imagination to come up with a stop error ****0x0000B00B

My hats off to you.

Re:Oh no

[Fumus]

Please tag "bigasstable" :)

Re:Oh no

[spxero]

Currently using XP SP2 on a Lenovo T61. When I set plug an extra monitor in, the machine goes to dual screen just fine. When I try to go back to one screen, BSoD with a fault in win32k.sys (or something like that). I find it hard to believe that going from two monitors down to one qualifies as trying to mess up my system or pushing it too hard.

Can't go to SP3 due to software, can't use Linux due to work.

Re:Oh no

[value_added]

The last time I remember getting a BSOD was on NT4.0. An electrician had shorted out a power line with a network cable and it fried the machine.

Last time for me was on XP using a fairly new (at the time) Linksys ethernet card.

These stability jokes really only attest to the author's cluelessness.

Sorry, but Windows still bluescreens (often unnoticed due to the "reboot automatically" feature). If there's any cluelessness involved here, it's that your personal experiences don't correspond to those of others, or that you've not had to read through the newer KB articles written describing such problems.

Re:Oh no

[dfm3]

Indeed. I have a nagging suspicion that this whole topic was posted exclusively for the anti-Microsoft jokes.

Re:Oh no

[minsk]

Uhm, no. Saying it detects "motion" is even less accurate than "touch". Proximity within a few inches is good enough for many demos, and a few limited applications... like the over-hyped kiosk advertising they are actually pursuing at the moment.

Large touch interfaces are a completely different beast than Apple's. Microsoft is a long way from a useful peripheral, but comparing it with an iPhone is laughable.

Re:Oh no

[bladesjester]

I've seen a few that were also caused by a program writing to a place in memory where it shouldn't have had access. I should know; I ran into a bug in Visual Studio 6 that caused one of my programs to wander off into system memory and crash the system it was running on while I was still in college.

It worked fine in Solaris, but using VS on Windows, it started crashing random programs, and then, eventually, the operating system. It was kind of neat. heh

If I remember correctly, it was some strange scoping problem with VS. It's been years though.

Re:Oh no

[sribe]

Ahem, the last time I saw a BSOD on XP SP3 was, drumroll please, last night ;-)

Re:Oh no

[ElectricRook]

What it means is that the head of security for SB gets a really cool visual toy that serves absolutely no purpose other than to strike said official's ego.

Of course there is the upside that someone gets to sell a toy to a private company...

Which I highly approve of...

Even if it is MS that gets the sale, just that someone got to sell a toy for hyper-inflated prices.

Re:Oh no

[not already in use]

The problem, of course, is the lack of objective reporting. I've had various Desktop Linux distro's (and OS X) crash on me far more often than XP sp2+ and Vista has over the past 4-5 years. Pointing out the former will only result in a Troll or Flamebait mod, while the same MS jokes we've been hearing for the last 10 years still get modded funny.

Re:Oh no

[Ihmhi]

Alternative choices:

*** STOP: 0x00007175

*** STOP: 0x0B00B1E5

Re:Oh no

[ozphx]

You mean _Fingerwork's_ tech, which Apple bought, locking out fairly cool tech to their shitty few percent of the market. I'm typing this on a Touchstream LP - which works as a generic HID keyboard/mouse input device with all kinds of delicious gesture recognition. Its a great cross-platform piece of technology, which Apple has now ruined by sitting on a bunch of patents so they can sell more fkn iPhones.

Now yes, everyone else doing multitouch, like MS and the Lemur guys have to use a substandard implementation.

Fuckers.

Re:Oh no

[causality]

Or C) bought cheap memory.

I've seen too many Windows machines that were unstable due to "cheap memory" that had no problems running Linux to actually believe that explanation. I mean, I know Linux is great but I don't expect it to improve the quality of the hardware.

For that matter, I've also seen machines with verifiable memory errors (per Memtest86+) that had no problems running Windows and could handle everything except GCC compiles in Linux (the compiles failed with "internal compiler error" every time, which is consistent with a hardware issue). This also harms the credibility of the "cheap memory" excuse for Windows instabilities. I'm not saying that verifiable memory errors could not possibly cause stability problems; if you read this and think that's what I believe, well, you're wrong. They obviously can. I am only saying that I've seen that happen without being a tremendous showstopper, which was rather contrary to my expectations, and that this also renders me disinclined to believe easy explanations from Windows apologists.

I know that the above is anecdotal. I know that it does not constitute evidence. I don't expect it to convince you or change your mind about anything. I'm just giving a few reasons why lots of people don't believe in that explanation.

There was an error in security.exe

[Anonymous Coward]

please reboot your computer

submit error report to Microsoft
[yes][no][whats the point]

let's reboot this joke

[blitzkrieg3]

"Hopefully we won't have to reboot after every new incident report."

Can we please retire that joke? I haven't used Windows in a long time so I'm not sure if it's still true, but XP wasn't terrible (when free of malware) and that joke is really getting tired and unfunny.

Though I don't think MS writes very good software, I we're past the days of needing to reboot to change your IP address.

Re:let's reboot this joke

[nwf]

More like, "Windows has detected a new audience member. You must reboot in order for this change to take effect."

Re:let's reboot this joke

[mcgrew]

Can we please retire that joke?

Sorry, no. It's an old one but a good one.

I we're past the days of needing to reboot to change your IP address.

But we're not past the days when you need to reboot Windows for a lot of things you can do in Linux without rebooting.

Some jokes are nearly immortal, because they're just funny. One of my favorites outdates automobiles.

A braggart is in a bar, and claims he can make a horse laugh. Everyone chortles derisively, and eventually he's bet everyone in the bar a dollar that he can do it.

So he goes outside and whispers in the horse's ear, and amazingly the horse laughs its ass off. His fellow patrons are amazed and pay up, and he exclaims that he can make a horse cry!

Of course the bet is on again, so the fellow walks out and nobody can see exactly what he does, but the horse starts bawling like a baby with dirty diapers, crying its eyes out. He comes back in and collects his money.

"So, fella, how'd you make that horse laugh?" the bartender asks.

"Easy. I told him my dick was bigger than his."

"How'd you make him cry?"

"I showed him."

Re:let's reboot this joke

[Vertana]

I love it! Everybody else cracking MS jokes gets modded funny or Insightful, but not you... no you're modded troll.

A good application

[CXI]

I apologize for responding seriously in this MS bashing thread, but anyway this looks to be an excellent application for surface technology. Assuming that they have the manpower and peripheral interfaces to update this situation map in real time, it could be amazing. Even just for managing traffic flow and where to stage people. In fact, if I were a part of it I'd want there to be multiple units, each dedicated and customized for different purposes: fire/rescue; traffic; police; public works; transit; etc.

Re:A good application

[_Sprocket_]

...it often felt like it was a cool technology in search of real use cases.

That's the general idea that came to my mind. "Oh look, Microsoft finally found a problem to go with their answer." But is it really a good fit?

CNN was showing some pictures from the Obama inauguration that day. They had some reporter standing in front of a huge touch screen doing all these gestures to pull up, enlarge, then stack photos. Then as if to really force the point, he did a "crumple in to a ball" effect one one image. I found myself thinking that this all was some kind of dog-and-pony show to highlight either CNN's vendor or their commitment to out-flashing FOX News. Nothing about it helped me get a feel for the story being reported on.

And I'm kind of wondering if that's where we'll get with this sort of situation too. Lots of flash. Some feeling of importance and being equipped. But not actually better prepared to handle the task at hand.

Aliens

[pieisgood]

Any one reminded of the Aliens monitor? Except without 80's input, we have multi-touch interaction?

Hmm. I wonder...

[fahrbot-bot]

With a quick hand-gesture, the map can zoom in and display a 3D image of the city...

...what that "quick hand-gesture" might be?

Serious Question

[Enderandrew]

Forgive me for interrupting with a serious question, but what benefit does Surface offer in securing the Super Bowl?

Having this expensive multi-touch table will help, how?

This sounds like some rich NFL exec wanting to show off a shiny toy for the gimmick factor, and Microsoft wanting publicity.

However, I really fail to see any practical use of Surface here.

Re:Serious Question

[gknoy]

I think it would be useful to have a large-screen display which is easily manipulable -- "war room" style. (They can always have another projection of it for those who need read-only access.) It's a bit easier to collaborate when you can see in meatspace where others are pointing, or going to point, rather than having dueling light pens / mice.

Re:With a quick hand-gesture?

[Random BedHead Ed]

Probably not, but I was actually thinking that the best use of one of these display tables has nothing to do with the touch features: rather, it's to monitor the firing angle of an approaching Death Star as it gradually creeps around a large gas giant. I guess there's not much use for that during the Super Bowl. Still, a program that does that should come free with every Surface.

Not surprising.

[Kaenneth]

A lot of development into touch/multitouch interfaces has been funded by the US military.

Sand/toxins can get into a keyboard or mouse and be very very difficult to clean out, but a MS Surface type display/input can just be wiped with a damp cloth, sterilized, etc. if you use a low enough power CPU/GPU you could seal the processing components away from hazards as well.

I doubt the security systems will be public facing, as that would be a security risk... so this probably isn't funded as a promotion by MS, the security folks may actually like it.

surface

[rpillala]

One day, your security arrangements will be a bigass table.

A threat ...

[PPH]

...was detected just outside the west entrance. Using 'Surface' we simply tapped on it and dragged it to the trash can icon. Mission accomplished.