This looks like a failure in execution and in functions.
It's way too slow to be usable, if I judge by the promotional video.
And functionaly, it just makes no sense, at all. There's no sense in putting your phone on a table to then use a GUI that is slower and less convenient than if you used your phone's screen.
Even the photo and video management doesn't make sense. This makes double use with the TV, and less people can watch it.

I see this as another spectacular MS failure.

Funny the amount of hate that Surface is recieving.. Is the table had an Apple logo instead of the four-colored flag, I would see opinions in such a different sense.

Anyways, while the table isn't something everyone will buy, it is something industries will. Nowadays people still won't dare touch a computer (several of my uncles, my two grandmothers, and more) Surface is something much easier to use and interact with. Its simple its multi-touch. I can actually see my uncle or grandma with one of these in their living room, taking pictures and just playing around with it.

You need to be more open-minded and get out of the shitty idea that MS will make tis suck. They've had some complains with Vista, sure and with te 360 but they are working on both and have managed to fix-up the issues greatfully.

I for one haven0t had a single problem with Vista since I got it in January 07, and we all know how bad it was back then.

SP1 works great but virtually made no diference to e, as the OS was working just fine before it.

Anyways, this is just one of the many things you will see at casual gaming and tech sotres and hopefully at restaurants, casino's and just this April, in AT&T stores.

yep, my thoughts exactly.

I really don't get this. It'd be cool as a cheap novelty, but no doubt this will cost thousands.

Actually, the surface has quite some potential - the digital signage segment is expected to experience serious growth and many manufacturers are shifting their know-how and resources from home tv's to digital signage. All these apps MS is demoing the surface with, the phone-shop interface, the restaurant aplications, are all potential digital signage products.

Obviously MS wants surface to eventually get into people's homes but in the meanwhile and specially once it's down to a more pallatable price (around 3 thousands) it should be a good contender on the digital signage market, specially if that thing can be mounted verticallly.

Yes, very well-thought point. MS wants large places to get surface first, companies, restaurants, casinos and airports (among others) and when the price is right, people will start getting it, and eventually casuals will follow.

I think there is a lot of potential in what Ms is trying to do with this surface. I also agree that if it was made by apple or someone else people would feel differently about it. I think as time goes on and it comes down in price the surface will become the new it thing to have.

WOW!!! very innovative!!! good job MS

Yeah surface computig is overlooked by many but with the proper advertizing it could easily become a "large-gadget" that is sort of... needed at homes.

Images of young ignorant kids come to my mind when I read people saying this thing an be huge and wanted in homes. This makes me think heavily of Tablet PC, which were failures before MS made one, and was still a spectacular failure after MS did one.

But hope will keep you alive, just believe in this if you want, it won't hurt anyone.