Microsoft's Robbie Bach 'thought about killing' Surface

Microsoft's Surface computing is the kind of Buck Rogers' technology that can dazzle consumers and boost a company's "cool" factor. But in an interview last week, Robbie Bach, Microsoft's president of Entertainment & Devices Division, said he came close on multiple occasions to deep-sixing the project.

Customers will be able to order drinks by touching a digital image on Surface.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com)

"I probably thought about killing it every year it was in development," said Bach, the man who forged a reputation as a hit maker by spearheading Microsoft's Xbox game console.

During the interview, at a Microsoft-sponsored dinner attended by a handful of reporters, Bach said that the excitement generated over the technology has taught him more about an interesting metric: "customer delight." I'll get to that later.

Originally code-named Milan, the Surface computer looks like the 1980s sit-down Ms. Pac Man machine. It uses infrared cameras and a projector to create a touch-screen that can respond to multiple users' hand gestures, as well as interact with other objects. Bach said that Surface was in development for about five years in a "pure incubator" environment with 20 Microsoft employees developing the computer.

Surface has wowed audiences everywhere it's been showcased. Nonetheless, serious challenges still lay ahead, such as reducing the price so consumers can afford it as well as shrinking the clunky 22-inch-high table and 30-inch horizontal display.

"We don't want to be in the furniture business," Bach quipped. Microsoft has said it plans to have the consumer version on shelves by 2011.

Right now, the devices are starting to appear in the retail stores of cellular carrier AT&T. Sheraton hotels, Harrah's casinos, and T-Mobile retail locations are also expected to get the machines. At about $10,000, the price is too high to be considered a consumer product. Finding a way to reduce costs, as well as the computer's size, were why Bach was skeptical about Surface as a profit maker.

"I didn't have a clear line of sight on what the business model was," Bach said. "I was always asking myself whether we could afford to keep it."

Surface did have one important cheerleader: Bill Gates.

Gates is a huge proponent of Surface computing. At a gathering last month of CEOs in Redmond, Wash., Gates said he wants to turn everything we touch into a computer: "It will be absolutely pervasive," he said. "When I say everywhere, I mean the individual's office, the home, the living room."

Bach called Gates a "big supporter" of Surface.

Besides generating applause from reviewers, Surface provided another benefit. Bach said he learned about how to gauge "customer delight" better. He cautioned, however, that Microsoft isn't just out to create gee-whiz products--not unless a sound business plan can be found for them.

"The Buck Rogers stuff won't carry the day on its own," Bach said, adding that just because something is cool doesn't mean it's going to make money (See Segway).

[dascha1]

Just remember that when the bid-solicitation goes out via Builders Exchange and Plan Rooms and in the Dodge Reports, the school developers are now requiring the Section 10100 Visual Display Boards to install a Forbo/Tackboard without "mastic" on the wall. The space is at least 6'W x 4'H to allow for combination boards to be framed and balanced with the ceiling grid and flooring subs. On average, one in each classroom, lab, music room.

[alanmcrae]

Uncle Bill's ferocious monopolistic business practices aside, it is support for creative cutting-edge R&D projects like Surface that illuminates the "Light side of The Force". Microsoft is still the company that we all love to hate, yet need so dearly. Constant innovation in computing is now a necessity for the global information infrastructure, and Microsoft, for better or worse, is positioned at the core of the global IT braintrust. Innovative technology like Surface goes a long way to mollify the pain of all the small, innovative companies that The Force has crushed by giving away their innovations in MS's core software products. Looks like VMware is about to be the next innovator to get "assimilated" into the Borg Cube - heaven help them. Perhaps resistance IS futile, after all.

[Billy_Budd]

Are you kidding me innovation from Microsoft? The parlor game of innovation is literally done with smoke and mirrors, well maybe not the smoke but camera's and mirrors that's why the damn thing is so physically huge. This product will never and that's as in for all eternity become a viable, profit making device for Microsoft and if they are dumb enough to continue with it a big money pit like Xbox and the butt of most hi tech jokes the "ZUNE".

[Rictusergic]

Sorry but this thing is dead in the water. Unless this thing has some sort of hidden powers, it has already lost the multi touch screen battle both technology wise and price wise. Check out Perceptive Pixels multi touch screen. There is a video on TED.com with Jeff Han demoing a smaller version. This giant ... box ... Microsoft Advanced High Tech Coffee Table is just not very attractive, especially when you already have a far better product to compete with. The screen on the Perceptive Pixel site is huge, and sells for 100k, which is not much more than the Microsoft Coffee Table.

[JCPayne]

Hmm. Sort of like when Xerox agreed to kill their Graphical User Interface programme claiming no one would ever need such a thing.... At which time Microsoft, Apple, OS2 and others ran with it and made a killing financially....

[JCPayne]

Lesson to be learned.... If you build it they will come....

[Surfacestarter]

As one of the original 20 members of the Surface team (known as Playtable at the time), it's a miracle it didn't get killed long ago. Robbie wasn't the only doubter in the crowd - Bill was the only reason this made it to market. Add in some serious lack of direction and experience at the highest level on the team and you had confusion and constant redirection. Very few of us that started on the project stayed around to see the final result.

[purcell429]

Uhh... so how exactly can this make money? Its not like you can turn it into a flat panel, it has all sorts of cameras buried down in the bottom of the table. They should have killed this stupid thing a long time ago. No one wants a 1000 pound computer in the living room. Take what apple has with the iphone, give it a 12 inch screen, and there ya go! Thats the kind of thing people would use!

[Norseman]

Well, the BAT (big-ass table) is one of Bill's three favorite things--Surface, voice recognition, and tablets. None of them make much sense as a big commercial success. Maybe when he gets out of the way, more down-to-earth minds will prevail. Microsoft had better hope so.

[jbelkin]

"just because something is cool doesn't mean it's going to make money."

The Xbox division needs to sell about 1-BILLION Xboxes to break even.

[stevemur]

That's ludicrous. They are giving away the razor to sell the blade. Do you know what the typical margin is, on, say, Halo?

[sergiobevi]

"Bill was the only reason this made it to market"... sorry buddy, this thing has not AND WILL NOT make it to market. Wrong form factor, poor implementation are just a few things that pop into mind... Back to the drawing board with your play table, Surfacers!!!

[clewis5]

OK: MS took the same tech Apple did and look how un-consumer friendly it is. This is another EX. of the sooooooooooo out of touch MS is. If Apple today put out a larger-tablet version of the ipod-touch/iphone right now MS would be lost.

[mikeburek]

Read Bill Gate's book(s). He wants to make a computer that is accessible to anyone anywhere. They want a good interface. They tried with Windows Tablet. Now they are trying with Surface. This is the idea which Microsoft was built on.

[The_Decider]

They are built on crap, which is what this idea is. Most people don't need or want a computer everywhere and those that do want to carry it in their pocket or brief case, not spend thousands on a low quality, big ass table.

[The_Decider]

This should put to rest the rumors that Gates is some sort of genius. He is an idiot plain and simple.He got lucky once and has never done anything of substance at MS.

[The_happy_switcher]

Microsoft will never be the cool kid on the block. This is why they continue to lose OS share and will continue to do so for a long time to come.

[shevaberg]

"by jbelkin June 2, 2008 10:23 AM PDT "just because something is cool doesn't mean it's going to make money." The Xbox division needs to sell about 1-BILLION Xboxes to break even. "

I guess you missed the news last month... the did break even with halo 3....

Sorry to break it to you.

[mitbulls]

A few people seem to be misunderstanding a lot about the competition Surface has. The iPhone is a single-touch surface which couldn't do anything similar. There are other options that could work as multi-touch surfaces using simple cameras and a projector, but they cannot actually recognize the object that breaks the infrared layer, they only know that something is touching the surface. So far as i know, Microsoft Surface is the only product with the capibility to recognize things like cell phones (including the specific model), credit cards, etc.. It has a pretty big advantage over the competition right now for that simple reason.

[benjaminstraight]

Well he didn't kill it.

[62Sparkplug]

I wonder if Surface computing and its associated devices will turn out like the following prediction from Mr. Gates:

?The Tablet takes cutting-edge PC technology and makes it available wherever you want it, which is why I?m already using a Tablet as my everyday computer. It?s a PC that is virtually without limits ? and within FIVE years I predict it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America.?

Bill Gates, 2001 COMDEX (seven years ago)

How many of you are reading this post on a Tablet PC? [your iPhone or iTouch doesn't count]