Is this the future of bar hopping in the 21st century? Amongst the demos shown by Microsoft today at the official Australian launch of the touch-sensitive Surface table, was this futuristic wine selector.
As seen in the video below (not from today's event, but showing the same app that we saw), drinkers can browse their wine selections by placing their hands on the Surface table, and scrolling through options like acidity, body, depth and by choosing either red, white or Champagne (no spirits that we could see, though).
But the real "wow" begins when the alcohol actually arrives - plonk the glass down on the Surface table, and immediately a series of digital information tabs appear, as if protruding from beneath your glass. Slide your finger over them, and you can peruse background information and maps on the wine regions that produced your drink.
While we've seen Surface in action before, notably as a way to plan your overseas backpacking holiday at a Lonely Planet shop, this latest example takes the prize for being one of the most ambitious visions we've seen for Surface yet.
And Microsoft isn't holding back on the hype, calling Surface a "major advancement in computing", and loaning Arthur C. Clarke's famous quote that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".
Right now, Surface appears to be a technology looking for a killer app. That Surface is amazing to watch, there is no doubt - demonstrations we've seen have left participants standing around slack-jawed, if a little unsure about the practical implications.
Microsoft isn't short of ideas: at today's press launch, there was talk of Surface being used in schools, bars, hotels and banks.
In Australia, the ANZ has signed up to use the product, as has Lonely Planet, though we're yet to see them appear in shops and public spaces (apart from an appearance during the Australian Open tennis). In the US, the screens can be found in some key locations, including some major hotel chains.
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| A closeup showing a corner of the surface table - tapping the icon in the corner re-aligns the interface in your direction. The small circle shapes can be dropped onto the screen while using the Lonely Planet app to represent the number of people travelling. |
Microsoft says the technology is a push towards more "natural" user interfaces that leave the traditional keyboard and mouse behind. Unlike normal touchscreens, Surface can cope with many touch points at once, and uses five hidden infra-red LED cameras to recognise shapes like hands and special tag symbols by their reflection (special business cards tagged with Surface symbols can be dropped onto the table to trigger the appearance of personal data, like Flickr photos and contact information - like a personal data file without the USB key).
Right now, there doesn't seem to be any question about the technology - more about who is ready for this Star Trek-like vision of computing. One wonders whether Surface has a future in tablets, for example.
Microsoft researcher Bill Buxton has said the company regards Surface as a "a family of products, from handhelds to slates, to tables to walls", showing that the company wants this to go far.