Microsoft Surface – a new type of technology?

I'm not usually one to get caught up in hyperbole, but i'm finding it hard not to think of Microsoft's latest hardware product as anything but something special. It's hard to do it justice in words, so go see the promo videos and judge for yourself.

Putting aside that the promo video voice-over reminds me of the Skynet video from the Universal Terminator 2 ride, Surface looks genuinely exciting. Not only does it simplify things like swapping files to an unprecedented level, but in essence, it moves digital things into the real world, diminishing the gap between the abstract computer and the tangible reality.

For example, the technophobes who can't grasp the idea of files will understand Surface, and will subsequently find things like digital cameras and video extremely accessible. Imagine the effort today of getting a picture from a camera into a digital photo frame. Presumably with Surface, you could just drag it off your camera, and throw it towards the picture.

Unfortunately, it's primarily intended to be installed in hotels and shops, with a home version quite a way off. Personally, I'd replace my coffee table with one of these within a heartbeat.

But of course, it's open for debate. What are your thoughts?

EDIT: As some of the Windows Vista team were wondering how well the actual technology would measure up to the promotional videos, have a look at Microsoft Surface in action.