Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface

Since the early 1980’s, Microsoft has been a pioneer of innovative computer software and hardware. MS DOS and Windows 95 were the first real popular operating systems that Microsoft put out (at least what I remember); and Windows XP and Vista are the newer revolutionizing ones. The future is now with Microsoft Corp. with their newest and most futuristic technology yet: The Microsoft Surface.

The Microsoft Surface can most easily be described as a small coffee table with a touch screen on top that forever changes a consumers’ perception of the personal computer. This coffee table has no mouse, no keyboard, no USB cables; everything is done with the hand. This machine has been quietly developed as the biggest innovation in computing since the personal computer. Everything on this computer is done with the tip of your fingers. You can draw little pictures with your finger, or even paint on the screen with a brush. Uploading pictures on a computer is as simple as putting the camera down on the peripheral. Upon doing this, pictures flood the screen. This is just one of the many innovations of the Microsoft Surface.

The Surface is built for business. Think of the possibilities of a table computer with a vivid color display screen. Expensive upscale restaurants as well as the most popular fast food chains at McDonalds could adopt this state-of-the-art technology in their venues. The Surface would feature sweeping menus where customers could scroll through and click with the touch of their fingers. When they were done ordering, they would press “order” and the waiter or waitress would come with the food. Splitting the bill with friends will never be complicated again, where single menu items can be dragged and dropped next to the customers’ credit card. Businesses everywhere would profit from making such an investment.

While the Microsoft Surface has many advantages, the $10,000 price tag might put a strain on consumers’ wallets. Restaurants with many tables will have to dish out a lot of cash to get their hands on these brand new toys. A brand new technology is never a perfect technology; these machines are expected to have some kind of problems. Fixing this kind of peripheral is also bound to be expensive. For pictures or music to be uploaded from cameras, phones, or mp3 players, all these gadgets will have to have wireless capabilities to work with the Surface. Consumers will have to wait awhile before getting their hands on this ten thousand dollar jewel as it will only come out in 2009. In my opinion, this machine seems revolutionary, but I have posted a film poking fun at this oversized table computer. Enjoy!

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4217348.html

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070530-what-lurks-below-microsofts-surface-a-qa-with-microsoft.html

Second Life

Second Life

Most everyone is fascinated by video games and virtual reality in this day and age. Games such as The Sims show just how people are obsessed by living and creating things in a virtual world. A few years ago, a computer game called Second Life emerged as a pioneer of internet virtual reality. Second Life is a growing community of people living and creating their world around them while walking around with their character, or avatar. Recently, businesses have been using this virtual world as a business to business tool that includes product placement and testing, advertising, store layout design and market research.

Everything in game, from houses to clothing is created by the users and is sold for real currency through the game money called Linden Dollars. People have been making a living creating clothing, accessories, pets as well as houses, and there is already a virtual real estate millionaire in the game. With over two million users and the amount of press this second world is getting, it just makes sense for businesses to tap into this vast market, and they have done just that.


Companies such as Amazon.com, American Apparel, Telus and Cisco Systems have been communicating with customers online as well as creating virtual stores. Avatars can browse through, and buy books at an online Amazon.com store where they can preview books and talk about books to other visitors of the store. American Apparel sells their clothes online for the avatars to wear, as well as having a real online store where customers can purchase real clothes. American Apparel have employees online who communicate with consumer avatars who collaborate with them on new possible product designs.


Other companies have been using this world as a market research and business to business tool. Some companies have conferences online linking people from around the world with their in-game avatars. Cisco Systems employees help Second Life have discussions with customers regarding their services; this interaction enhances the relationship between the consumer and the producer, which is good for any company There are also many other innovations that Second Life offers and will be offering in the near future for businesses as well as the consumers. There are a few potholes in this quest for virtual business. Firstly, the market is still not very big and quite limited to the people who play the game online. Second, the privacy of in-game meetings is virtually non-existent since other avatars can come into the conversations. There is also not that much profit to be made since a lot of people create their own things in the game.


Overall, this innovation is new, but can pave the way to new virtual commerce online, where a customer will enter their favorite clothing store online and ‘walk’ through and browse clothes buy things at a real register. This simulated store scene could boost online sales for stores since the customer feels as comfortable as when he or she would shop in real life. To top all of this off, Harvard is going to start offering online classes in their virtual campuses in Second Life, and all of the US presidential candidates have avatars on Second Life. Wow, that's pretty exciting!

http://many.corante.com/archives/2006/12/12/second_life_what_are_the_real_numbers.php

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b72CvvMuD6Q

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/04/using_second_li_2.html

POSitouch Restaurant Solutions

POSitouch restaurant solutions

Restaurants have long used the same techniques to taking customers’ orders. Waiters and waitresses have for a long time used pen and paper to jot down what appetizers, wine, supper and dessert their customers wanted. This method is a good one, but can sometimes lead to mistakes by the cooks who have trouble reading what the waiter or waitress wrote, or orders being mixed up. POSitouch, the specialist in point of sale computer system have turned this old method upside down with none other than computer technology.

Gone is the time of pen and pencils at restaurants because our society is moving forward in the 21^st century. POSitouch are the pioneers of the point of sale software and hardware for restaurant ordering. Instead of pen and paper, waiters and waitresses now use a device that is quite similar to a PDA with a built in program with interactive menus and wireless system to send information instantly throughout the restaurant.

Why use this system you ask? Well there are a multitude of reasons. First of all, the restaurant’s menu is uploaded into the PDA, so when customers are taking orders, the servers just have to click the item name with a stylus, a pen-like object, and once all drinks and food have been chosen, the server will just have to click ‘send’ and the information is sent right to the kitchen or the bar. This helps prevents servers from going back and forth to the kitchen or to their current computer system where they tally up the bill. What is so great about these devices is that they have a credit card reader which makes paying the bill much faster since it is done right at the table. There are countless innovations that go along with this software such as setting up a map of the restaurant and corresponding tables, so orders are never mixed up.

There are some positive such as increases in revenue since there are less mistakes being made and more customers getting tables on busy nights since the service will be faster. At the same time though, there are some cons. Problems with the system being down and costly support services are a couple of things slowing down the spread of this technology within restaurants. If the software crashed, employees would have to go back to pen and paper. The support of having employees come and fix the system could tally up some pretty expensive bills for the restaurant. Another big con is the initial investment to be made into these systems, where the software, hardware and the training required to teach the employees would be very costly.

I think that the pros outweigh the cons in the use of this technology. Computer technology is being used everywhere, and it only makes sense for restaurants to adopt new technologies. Since what customers look for in restaurants is not only the great tasting food, they love to have rapid and accurate service.

http://www.positouch.com/

http://www.ampmservice.com/products/restaurant-pos/positouch/features/

http://www.dinersoft.com/askdave/daveaugust00.htm