Comments on: Microsoft hopes 'Milan' table PC has magic touch

Years in the making, company's new tabletop computer is controlled entirely through touch--there's no mouse or keyboard.
Photos: Reaching out and touching Milan

[ServedUp]

I like it but...BUT..

it doesn't have any real consumer or business use.

Its nothing more than a novelty.

Jeff Han already demonstrated an identical touchscreen interface
years ago to the "wow" of the TED Conference audience, which
Gates and Co. probably have seen and yet again stole:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKh1Rv0PlOQ

Anyhow its just another vaporware product from a company that
yet again has taken ideas from others who are trying to pioneer
it for REAL WORLD use.

If Microsoft truly wanted to innovate "multi-touch" they would
have had implimented slowly, possibly on a tablet-pc prototype
which Gates keeps pushing for the mainstream, but sadly no one
wants.

But whatever happend to their Origami initiative? What a joke!

[zokolate]

it has been done before!!

microsoft is *********** again. iphone wasn't a new concept, and touch screen computing isn't a new concept either.

this was done in 2006

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

see the video

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

[kcar27]

It's a touch-screen kiosk. This is new?

Haven't we all used a touch-screen kiosk at the airport? The grocery store? The ATM?

About the most interesting feature is the ability to re-size photos--that, and being able to download them from a camera. But then what? Can you edit the photo as readily and extensively as you can on your PC with Photoshop/Elements and other programs?

Finger-painting. Solving jigsaw puzzles. I'm supposed to put a cheesy-looking "coffee table" in my living room to do this stuff? Getting directions and ordering drinks are great when you're in a public space. But then how will Milan be any different from any other existing touch-screen kiosk?

Sorry. Over-priced, too big, clunky, no killer features, no clear central function or target market. Milan has the stench of failure. It must have been sitting in the same dusty broom closet as those tablet PCs.

[Netrys]

Not merely another touch-screen

The user interface of this device is not simply based on a standard touch screen as you can commonly find them in oither devices. The innovative aspect of this and similar products is the multi-touch functionality. While any touch screen can identify a single point of input at a time according to Microsoft's specs their device supports up to 52. Not only does this allow several user to use it collaboratively but it also allows for a completely new software user interface design.
The ability to zoom, rotate and manipulate objects using two or more fingers is in itself an innovation that many hope has the potential to change human computer interaction. For tasks that do not require absolutely precise input such as photo editing or a signifcant amount of text input such as using a word processor this device is more than well suited. In marketing the device Microsoft seems to be putting the primary emphasis on accesibility and the novel interface, but that does not neccessarily mean that one cannot connect more traditional input devices such as a keyboard to it. And Microsoft also presented the device's ability to sense what kind of object touches the projection surface using an off-the-shelf paintbrush. One could probably also use a pen-like device such as a stylus to do more precise manipulations. If this kind of technology becomes available to the consumer - maybe even in a slightly modified variant such as a vertically positioned or tiltable screen I can see it replace more taditional PCs. Also in the long term surface computing of a similar form may become far more common on any surface such as a wall, a mirror, or of course any kind of table. With the announcement of the Microsoft surface and the soon to be released Apple iPhone which supports a similar interface we are witnessing the first stages of the introduction of a new interface paradigm.
In the meantime Microsoft explicitly states that it is not yet intended for sale to consumers.