Digital Trends
Microsoft’s very first Surface computers made it into the hands of drunks when they were installed at the Rio iBar in Las Vegas. Now, they’re creeping out of hotel bars and into the lobbies. Sheraton Hotels & Resorts announced on Wednesday that it would bring Surface computers to five of its major hotel lobbies as information kiosks for visiting tourists.
Microsoft’s Surface computer may attract endless crowds of gawking onlookers at trade shows and press events, but many have questioned how practical it would be in real-life scenarios. AT&T will be the first company to find out this month when it introduces the Microsoft Surface computer into a handful of its retail stores, making it the new technology’s earliest adopter.
For the unacquainted, the Surface computer’s main attraction is a 30-inch touch-enabled display that sits horizontally like a table. Like the iPhone, it uses multitouch capabilities to allow users to interact with it with both hands. It can also detect objects sitting on it, and in the case of Bluetooth-enabled electronics, interact with them wirelessly.
Today at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital conference Microsoft took the wraps off Surface, a new tabletop computing platform which enables users to manipulate content and data simply by touching the system’s 30-inch tabletop display. In the works (and the rumor mill) at Microsoft for years, the surface computer lets users directly interact with maps, images, music, videos, and more simply by “grabbing” the information with their hands and manipulating it via touch and gesture, without the use of a keyboard, mouse, or other input device. And the Surface system has the ability to recognize physical objects bearing digital ID tags similar to bar code: users could simply place merchandise or another tagged item on the Surface computer to access information about it, conduct a transaction, or access additional content.
Imation Corp. yesterday announced a new water-resistant and smear-resistant surface for inkjet printable material. Dubbed AquaGuard, this new surface cover material should start appearing on Imation optical media in the second quarter of this year.
AquaGuard uses a proprietary surface which uses nanoparticles to grip and hold ink, locking printed images in place. This helps to resist smears and color bleeding when exposed to water or humidity. Imation said discs with this technology, which is already available in Japan, are compatible with all models of leading inkjet-based disc duplication and printing equipment from Primera as well as disc printable systems from Epson.
Quote from Techlounges review:
“When I first heard of this keyboard and saw pictures of it on Cooler Master’s website, I got the impression that it had a reflective aluminum surface. As such, I assumed that the surface would smudge extremely easily and that the keyboard would be more for showing off than for practical use. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled out the keyboard and realized at least some of my assumptions were wrong. The surface of the keyboard is brushed aluminum and it does not smudge, which is a huge relief. Not only does this keyboard not smudge, it looks outstanding. Read on…”
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