From: "Rich Gauszka" 

But will it phone home and refuse to be touched if it can't?

http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKN2819912120070530
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research will
unveil a coffee-table-shaped "surface computer" on Wednesday in a
major step towards co-founder Bill Gates's view of a future where the mouse
and keyboard are replaced by more natural interaction using voice, pen and
touch.

Microsoft Surface, which has a 30-inch display under a hard-plastic
tabletop, allows people to touch and move objects on screen for everything
from digital finger painting and jigsaw puzzles to ordering off a virtual
menu in a restaurant.

It also recognizes and interacts with devices placed on its surface, so
cell phone users can easily buy ringtones or change payment plans by
placing their handsets on in-store displays, or a group of people gathered
round the table can check out the photos on a digital camera placed on top.

The world's largest software maker said it will manufacture the machine
itself and sell it initially to corporate customers, deploying the first
units in November in Sheraton hotels, Harrah's casinos, T-Mobile stores,
and restaurants.
The company is selling the Surface for between $5,000 and $10,000 each, but
aims to bring prices down to consumer levels in three to five years and
introduce various shapes and forms.

"We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time
when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and
counters to the hallway mirror," Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in
a statement.

Analysts say the first few applications only hint at what is possible.

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