According to CNet, the Microsoft Surface team is putting together a partner advisory group to help it build out a developer SDK. The article further states that Microsoft is projecting an SDK release sometime in April of 2008.
I'm looking forward to this.
I hope that as the Surface team appreciates the fact that multi-touch is not just a Surface computing feature and that there's more potential here than just for this device.
Yeah, I'm sure the group is interested in seeing commercial success for their $10,000 boxes, but the concepts are broader. The Tablet PC/UMPC community should have a stake in this too. Why? Because, as these devices reach out to add multi-touch and/or multi-user capabilities, it would be a shame if the Surface team doesn't share its experiences and knowledge--and who knows, source code with others.
The kiosk community probably would provide the greatest quality matches for what the Surface team is looking for, however, Surface computing shouldn't be kept this niche.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for building focused 1.0 devices. The iPhone is a great example of this. Makes lots of sense. I just think that especially in the case of the Tablet market, projector-based systems and the like, we're approaching the point where there's "touch convergence," if you will. The Surface team should be part of this.
Another area where Tablet PCs, UMPCs, and Surface Computing have a lot in common, is the need to "hide" the Windows shell. On UMPCs, Microsoft provides the Origami Experience as a touch-enhanced user experience. Surface, I assume, has or needs something too. My guess is that while building out optimized shell experiences and apps there will be many components and experiences that can be shared between these projects.
For instance, take the music industry. The Tablet PC is a great match for stage personnel, engineers, musicians, and the like. Well, what about a virtual patch board built using Surface technology? Or a multi-user, multi-touch board used to plan out lighting or staging? It makes sense for the design of these devices to benefit from each other rather than to be constructed in isolation.
I hope the Surface SDK team keeps that in mind as they seek out partners to work with.


Incremental Blogger