| It’s official. We’re now selling Microsoft Surface to commercial customers in Australia! Earlier today, four Australian Surface partners, Amnesia Razorfish, nsquared, Object Consulting and Automatic Studio participated in Microsoft’s launch event. Microsoft Surface now provides Australian institutions and businesses such as Curtin University and ANZ new ways to connect with their students and customers. | ![Michael Kordahi using Surface app[4]](http://blogs.msdn.com/blogfiles/surface/WindowsLiveWriter/MicrosoftSurfaceisavailableinAustralia_104FC/Michael%20Kordahi%20using%20Surface%20app%5B4%5D_thumb.jpg "Michael Kordahi using Surface app[4]")
Michael Kordahi, Developer Evangelist
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ANZ bank will be using Surface to make managing money simpler and more exciting for their customers.
Peter Nikoletatos, chief information officer, Curtin University of Technology said, “Surface will foster new collaboration opportunities and provide an engaging educational tool that will extend the university’s teaching, learning and and research capabilities. Surface is not only a breakthrough technology; it’s also a breakthrough in collaboration.”
We can’t wait to see what creative Surface solutions come out of Australia!
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
Those of you that have been following Surface probably remember the Surface Monster demo we showed at PDC this fall. Luis and Paul tricked out this model to work on Surface and convey images from Surface onto the.. well, it’s a little complicated to describe, but amazing to see. Surface Monster got a lot of people talking about what can be done with Surface’s vision system - it’s not just multi-touch and multi-user, but it sees what is placed on the display.
So Paul has sent his monster on a little trip. The first stop was with Dustin Freeman with DGP at the University of Toronto. This is the same place where Bill Buxton, who pioneered multi-touch interfaces in the ‘70s, did a bunch of his work. Bill is now at Microsoft. Of course, the lab continues to be a place for inspired minds to produce award winning research.
On to the important part. Dustin was doing some research [turning Surface on its side?] and then started playing with the monster. Now he’s got the monster eating bubbles. Of course you’d get sick eating bubbles, right? Dustin made that happen when you poke him in the eye. That makes total sense to me.
Clear? Watch the video.
What should you make of all this?
We’ve shown before how Surface enables people to come together and interact in social settings with each other and with technology as an enabler - not a barrier. For example, the large display lets a banker review investment products face-to-face with their client. Surface makes things simple and breaks down barriers. Everyone can join in. Surface lets customers reach out and touch a corporate brand directly and naturally. Surface is an amazing platform that is not only being used for research, but it is a shipping product that is being used by companies in public settings today.
Yeah, maybe that sounds like marketing-speak. Let me put it this way. The monster is one example of how using tangibles gives even greater reach into the natural – with graspable dials or buttons that can change their function as needed, and require no power or retooling. It’s not a vision. It is real.
Do you have a Surface in your office? Do you have crazy ideas? Do you want the monster to visit you next? Reach out to me on Twitter and let me know.
- Eric
In a few short hours, Microsoft Surface will be front and center on E! (check your local listings) with all the celebs as the network hosts its annual Red Carpet special at the Golden Globes.
Fashion expert Jay Manuel will be using the Surface photos app to give millions of viewers frequent play-by-play analysis of all the stars and their glamorous fashions.
Make sure you tune in to E! this afternoon from 2-5pm Pacific to see Surface, oh, and all those other stars as well. ;-)
Live from the Beverly Hilton,
K Warnick
The National Retail Federation’s annual conference, NRF 2010 (aka “Retail’s Big Show”), is this week. Microsoft Surface will be there, along with a couple of our Surface partners. If you’re at the show, stop by and see us at booth #836.
Customer Solutions Group, LLC (CSG) will be exhibiting their Digital Folio retail application on Surface in our booth. Digital Folio is an integrated retail shopping experience that combines price/product comparisons, third party reviews, interactive demonstrations, product manuals, firmware updates and other information. The application is just completing its initial in-market experiment with Best Buy, and can be configured and white labeled for retailers. CSG will also exhibit their Mobile Photo application that can integrate consumer’s mobile photographs to be part of the shopping experience, and a new social-media client for Surface. Learn more about CSG’s applications at NRF in their press release.
IdentityMine will be showcasing their Retail Map application in our booth. The Retail Map allows customers to browse, find out more about products and finally locate items on a store map mirroring the physical store environment to find exactly what they need. The application also connects the in-store and web site experience using Microsoft Tag, SMS and custom mobile apps. Retail Map leverages Microsoft Surface and Windows 7 across desktop and portable platforms. IdentityMine will have some other applications to show at NRF as well. Learn more about IdentityMine’s Retail Map on their press release.
See you at the show!
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
If you’ve been roaming about CES, you’ll likely have seen Microsoft Surface. At booths for Microsoft, LG, Kodak and Samsung, Surface is being used to showcase new consumer products. With a large variety of devices encouraging touch this year, the natural user interface and multi-user focus of Surface really stands out.
Don’t forget: NRF starts Saturday.
See more Microsoft coverage from CES:
Eric’s favorite Tweets from CES:
“LG was showing off some Microsoft Surface. I felt like a General commanding a demonstration at a table in a war room. Awesome. #CES” @dtejano
“Microsoft: cars, xbox, windows, cool tablets, slates and many surface tables” @mcannava
“At the Microsoft booth waiting for an intvw. It never fails, every time people see a Microsoft Surface they become 12 years old.” @omarelakkad
“Got to play with #microsoft surface. #CES” @jonsittner
“Microsoft surface + lg chocolate touch interactive display” @doyouwant2cds
“#ces microsoft surface curtis playing” @wampum
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
It's a new year and a new decade. Microsoft Surface is ready to celebrate at a couple of conferences coming up in the next week. If you’re going to be at CES or NRF, you’ll see us there at the Microsoft booth. We’ve also gotten word that a few partners will be bringing Surface units to their booths too. You will find Surface providing innovative multi-user experiences to showcase products at the conferences.
Many folks have asked me in the past how to build an installer for their Surface application. I recommend using Windows Installer XML to do this because it is a free and powerful production quality installer toolset. To get folks started I have put together a sample solution with an installer project that solves some common problems like supporting upgrade, checking for Surface software, and configuring the application to appear in Surface Shell. The sample should meet the applicable Certified for Microsoft Surface requirements.
To build the sample you must have Visual Studio 2008 and Wix 3.0 installed. If you want to reuse the sample make sure you address all the “TODO” comments to customize the sample to your purposes.
Whether or not you're into Dungeons & Dragons, this story just keeps getting better. The team at the Entertainment Technology Center has come out with new video showing Microsoft Surface with their SurfaceScapes D&D project. This latest video brilliantly takes you through how the game mechanics work. Keep in mind that this isn’t a product from Wizards of the Coast, but a student project from a team at Carnegie Mellon University.
The reason this will appeal to a broader audience than D&D gamers is that it shows the strength of starting with a goal based on your user scenario, and then utilizing the right technology for the job as appropriate. They didn’t force the interaction through Surface. You can see in the video below how naturally it occurs with the game-play.
You’ll want to use Surface when you have groups of users who are using technology to work together and share an experience. Not only does Surface’s form factor make it easier for groups to come together, but it also doesn’t get in the way of face-to-face conversation. The added bonus is that the powerful vision system allows for objects to interact with the technology to augment the overall experience.
NEW: The SurfaceScapes team members produced this in-depth video showing gameplay. After watching the video, scroll down for to see the second part of my interview with the SurfaceScapes team.
I recently asked Michael Lewis, one of the seven project team members, to speak on behalf of his team about their experiences creating D&D on Surface. Part one is here. Read on for part two..
Eric Havir: Is there any advice you’d give to other teams that are forming and creating projects on Surface in terms of the tools and skills they’ll need?
Michael Lewis: Mock-ups and iteration are very important. Always get new eyes on what you are developing. It is easy to lose perspective once you know exactly how your product works. Develop informational architecture so that you know what you are building. From a software perspective, C# is essential and so is understanding either WPF or XNA.
EH: At Surface, we also believe in using the right tool for the right job. PCs, laptops, notebooks, mobile, TVs, vertical touch and horizontal touch all have their place. You touched on this in your application in blending the GMs laptop with Surface for the overall application. How important was including this to accomplish your objective?
ML: We made the design decision that a laptop would serve as a nice metaphor for the game master's screen, which is a tool that is used as a quick reference for many of the rules with D&D. Right now we are really trying to focus on the player experience and separating the screen was useful while doing our design. Assuming the project continues on into next semester, we have ideas for a GM control object that would allow for more improvisational GM'ing.
EH: Since this is a gameplay aid, much of the player interaction occurs outside of the computer’s realm. How did you approach determining what to put on the computers versus leaving to the Gamemaster and players?
ML: The quick answer is that we wanted to move the math to the computer so that the GMs could get on with telling their stories and not get bogged down with the rules. We quickly discovered that many D&D players enjoy seeing all the math though, so we want it to be transparent, but not time consuming. Part of addressing that issue was to make sure there is a smooth and intuitive interface, and especially that there is good visual and audio feedback for everything that happens. D&D is all about the narrative, so our design decisions were all about enhancing and facilitating storytelling - whether through cool animations and music to set the tone, or by automating rules that can often slow down the flow of the game.
EH: You used objects to represent characters and interact with menus. What kind of value do you think these pieces added to the end user experience?
ML: Especially with 4th Edition D&D, the game is very tactile. Even older versions that didn't use miniatures as much, the dice added a very tactile element to the experience. From the earliest conceptual stages we knew we wanted to maintain that element - which was a large part of why we chose to work on Surface. The miniatures were a natural analog to use for characters, as players tend to identify more with the physical objects than virtual representations. The decision to use a second object to interact with menus was driven primarily from a game design standpoint. We had originally planned to have the miniatures also be used to interact with the menus, but found that caused a lot of problems during gameplay. Quite often, player characters are clustered together, surrounded by both player and non-player characters, and other landscape elements - this caused space issues with centering the menus around the characters themselves. Using a second object was a nice solution, as players can just naturally drop it in a clear area of the screen and not have to worry about overlapping with the other objects on the Table.
EH: What was it like working with object tags, and was it different from what you expected?
ML: Tags were interesting. It allows for a different way of interface that, until you try, it is somewhat foreign. It is a hybrid of analog and digital control.
EH: Were there any surprises?
ML: We didn't really think about the perspective issue. It makes total sense once its realized, but I think we were so used to having our interfaces with computers being a specific orientation, we didn't realize that looking from multiple angles would be such a challenge.
EH: What’s been the most difficult part of the experience creating an application for Surface? ML: Some of the major challenges have had to do with orientation. We constantly have to be aware that the device is looked down on from all angles. We loaded a few games on there like Command and Conquer that have isometric views and became disoriented when looking at it as we moved around the table. The orientation has led to a lot of our design choices concerning the camera as well as the user interface. Physical dice and graphics capabilities too.
EH: Did the team spend a lot of time working with Surface before they started working on the actual project?
ML: Fortunately, two of our three programmers worked on a different Surface project during the spring semester last year. Still, they had to spend time getting the third programmer up to speed, as well as re-familiarizing themselves.
EH: To get to the point you showed in the very first video back in October, how much coding would you say it represented?
ML: Around 8 weeks. This includes the initial brainstorming and research, etc. And not all the things we [created] could be seen in the video.
EH: What language did you code in?
ML: We are using C# and use XNA.
EH: What application development tools did you use? (i.e. Expression, Visual Studio, etc.)
ML: We are creating our software in Visual Studio 2008.
Thanks Michael!
Again, don’t forget to check out part one of this interview. If you're a developer, you can download the Microsoft Surface SDK Workstation Edition now for free.
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
Back in October, we reported (and nearly every other online tech/game publication) on Dungeons & Dragon’s being brought to Microsoft Surface. It took the internet by storm with a three and a half minute video. It wasn’t a full-fledged product from Wizards of the Coast. This was a student project from Carnegie Mellon University to look at expanding tabletop role playing games.
NEW: As part of their project, the SurfaceScapes team members were required to produce a three minute promotional video for their project. After watching the video, scroll down for my interview with the team.
I recently asked Michael Lewis, one of the seven project team members, to speak on behalf of his team about their experiences creating D&D on Surface. Read on..
Eric Havir: What is your team’s area of focus at Carnegie Mellon University?
Michael Lewis: We are students at the Entertainment Technology Center. The ETC is a multidisciplinary Master's program that brings together students from technical and artistic backgrounds to create new and innovative experiences.
EH: You have a team of seven people. What is the mix of areas of focus/expertise?
ML: We have three programmers, two artists, one writer/sound designer and a producer.
EH: The video went up on Sunday, 18-Oct-09. When did you start working on the project? ML: Although we began pitching the project to the faculty last semester, the real work didn't start until this current semester, on 23-Aug-09.
EH: Which came first, the team or the project?
ML: The project idea came first.
EH: How did this project come about? What was the inspiration for taking on Dungeons and Dragons on Surface?
ML: Three of our team members; Michael Cole, Whitney Babcock-McConnell, and Dyala Kattan-Wright, were working on a project for Surface last semester when the Mike and Jerry from Penny Arcade stopped by. There was a drawing application up [on Surface] and Mike started drawing maps and suggested Dungeons and Dragons would be cool on Surface. That was the seed for the idea. Our team then got together and pitched the idea to our faculty to work on it this fall. The pitch was of course accepted over the summer.
EH: How did you settle on using Surface for your project?
ML: We were using Surface last semester when Mike and Jerry gave us the idea for the project. Afterwards we looked at some other platforms too, but the object recognition as well as orientation of the screen on a table made Surface ideal for what we wanted to do. It didn't hurt that the ETC already had a couple units too.
EH: What was the first thing you created on Surface during the exploration?
ML: A Zelda-like map explorer. Then the infamous virtual dice.
EH: I am not a D&D player, but I see tabletop games as being very applicable for Surface. Was exploring the future of computer interaction part of the goal for the team? Or were you more focused on role playing and how to bring that to computing?
ML: The goal was really to explore how to enhance table top role playing games. Role playing has been brought to computing in the past, but Surface offers a unique opportunity for maintaining a lot of the traditional roles and expectations of table top gaming, while still enhancing it in significant ways. That said, Surface allowed us to really explore the possibilities of merging physical objects with virtual interfaces and we've spent a lot of time learning how to best utilize that, and working out some of the problems that arise when creating new interfaces for a traditional table top game.
EH: Today, Microsoft Surface is a commercial product focused on retail, hospitality, health care, etc. You’ve written a game-aid that has a niche audience. What’s the future for this application? Do you see this moving beyond proof-of-concept into retail role playing gaming centers or the home at some point?
ML: We would love to see a future iteration of our work used in game stores or at conventions to both be a new space for veteran players as well as a draw to bring in new players.
EH: What has been the best part of your experience relating to the Surface development?
ML: The use of physical objects on Surface has aided our design in so many ways.
EH: We know the great praise that the app has been getting on the internet must be VERY cool! Were you surprised at the reaction, or did you know you had lightning in a bottle?
ML: We initially intended for only a few of our contacts to see the video, so in that way it took us by surprise. But from talking to D&D players in the area, as well as at PAX in September, we expected some interest from fans of the game - although the response has still been overwhelming.
EH: You’ve still got some time left on your project before it is complete. I’m sure you have papers to write in addition to the work that has already been done on the application demo. What are you going to be focusing on next?
ML: We want to make sure we have a really polished player-side experience. That means more work on the UI both in terms of functionality and aesthetic. We've done some user testing, but of course we always want to do more of that.
EH: When we last chatted, you were talking about bringing the application to PAX East. Given the reaction on the internet to your demo, what are your feelings about that? Are you afraid of getting mobbed? :)
ML: We definitely want to go now-- let people play with what we have. The experience should be much different than watching the video online. It will be a great playtesting session.
Thanks Michael!
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
Holland America is adding Microsoft Surface to Mix, its new lounge venue. According to the press release, issued this morning, the ms Veendam is in full operation, then ms Rotterdam by mid-December followed by three additional ships.
While you’re enjoying your leisurely cruise, you can play games and listen to music on Surface while relaxing with a drink in one of the three specialty bars in Mix. The games include checkers, chess, air hockey, Tetris, cards, football, basketball and skee-ball.
I can’t wait for my next cruise!
- Eric (follow Surface on Twitter and Facebook)
Here are a few items on Microsoft Surface you may have missed this week*.
New Book: Developing for Microsoft Surface
nsquared has released the first book for developers and designers on Microsoft Surface.
Video: Microsoft Surface PDC09 session
If you missed our session at PDC on multi-touch for Microsoft Surface and Windows 7 for .NET developers, the video is now online.
CNet’s Ina Fried takes a look at the Microsoft Store
From Ina: “But by far the biggest draw is a product that isn't even for sale--the Surface tabletop computer.” Just to set the record straight.. it’s not for sale in the store, but if you’re a business, get one.
I also hear that Scott Guthrie was out in Denmark as part of his European tour and presented a Carlsberg app on Surface. Very cool.
* Let me know if I missed anything and I may sneak it in to next week’s update.
Cheers.
Eric
The people over at nsquared have released the first book for developers and designers getting started on Microsoft Surface. Aptly titled, Developing for Microsoft Surface: Crafting Exceptional Experiences, provides the more than just the essentials for developing software on Microsoft Surface. It provides insight into what makes creating experiences on Surface different. It also goes through theory and onto hands on labs for practice.
Don’t forget to pick up Visual Studio 2008 and the free download of Microsoft Surface SDK 1.0 SP1 Workstation Edition if you don’t have a Surface to start out on.
I can see from downloads of the SDK over the weekend and the traffic on our Partner QuickStart this morning that Microsoft partners must be returning to the office from PDC. In case you missed it, here’s a recap from the past week.
New from this week: Surface SDK 1.0 SP1 supports XNA Game Studio 3.0 and later
- Eric
Prior to SP1 the Surface SDK supported only XNA Game Studio 2.0, which lacked support for Visual Studio 2008. Most people don't know it, but our the Surface SDK 1.0 SP1 release added support for XNA Game Studio 3.0 and later. And starting with version 3.0, XNA Game Studio supports Visual Studio 2008.
Note: You can download the Microsoft Sruface SDK Workstation Edition from Surface.com.
Just install XNA Game Studio 3.x before you install the Surface SDK. If you already have the SDK installed, install XNA Game Studio 3.x and then repair the Surface SDK through Programs and Features in Control Panel. Then in Visual Studio, create a new project, and select the Surface Application (XNA Game Studio 3.0) template under Visual C# > Surface > v1.0.
