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Microsoft Surface, a coffee-table style piece of furniture with a large built-in touchscreen, can be used by multiple people without an external keyboard for navigation. The 42-inch x 2-inch coffee table runs Windows Vista and has Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connectivity. Hardware, however, is not Microsoft's forte, and Microsoft will follow the same business model as with Xbox, with Surface being built and sold by Microsoft. Microsoft will not license the reference design to other vendors and for add-in of Microsoft software. This has made Microsoft a rich company, but that business is slowly dwindling, and Microsoft will also need applications customized for furniture. Microsoft controls the hardware and should have no problem doing so. In the furniture business, Microsoft is just one more little guy-and the master of its destiny. Several casinos, hotels, and retailers will deploy Surfaces in 2007, and their IT groups will handle the coffee tables as special items, since they are. Microsoft also plans to promote Surface for consumers, which put it in reception areas and executive offices.
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Information Sources, Inc.
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