The latest old thing

So Microsoft are bringing out a multitouch table. Glancing at the videos on the site, it hardly seems that compelling - the kind of thing marketing people who've never met a real human being think is "compelling". Well maybe.

Problems I can see. Robustness. How well is this going to cope with people spilling drinks, stubbing out cigarettes, putting their feet on the table. Are bars really going to what their subtle ambient lighting (probably chosen for maximum affect on people's propensity to spend money) to be wrecked by the blue glow of these things. Are the people in bars really going to want to pull to a backdrop of cheery techno graffix? And really - why? My guess: these things will end up in Hotel chain lobbies and will be mostly ignored.

As for the house... Microsoft still don't seem to have realised that people for the most part don't want ugly techno-gear in their living rooms (particularly in Europe, where our living rooms are not so, um, massive). My wife didn't spend all that time comparing sofa fabrics, and picking colours for the walls, only to plonk an ugly transluscent plastic thing in the middle of the room. There's a reason people are putting flat screens in their living rooms, and its not because of the quality.