Just to beat a dead horse into the ground, here are our top ten picks for potential Surface interactvity gadgets, in no particular order.
1. Zune — Clearly the Zune is a no-brainer for the Surface device. You drop on your player, connect wirelessly (for the first time since you bought it, even!) and start caring and sharing your music and movies. What could be cooler? Come on, iPod. Wirelessify yourself!
2. Porn — You drop on your “media disk” on the table surface and begin the solo fandango. Dude. It’s a touchable surface. ‘Nuff said.
3. Internet Tablet — Big table meet little table. I didn’t put laptop on this list simply because it seems much cooler to have a small surface be able to drag and move content onto a bigger surface. Imagine using something like the upcoming Foleo as a “window” onto your data. This could also be just a simple frame, but we like things to be complex.
4. RFID Poker Chips — Harrahs, Starwood — think about it. You drop your chips onto the table, the table knows how much you’re losing. It’s the ultimate in Casino management and makes you think you’re in space world while you slowly go broke and/or get drunk.
5. XBox — You know you want to play Risk on this thing or, barring that, Command and Conquer. This is almost perfect for strategy gaming and only somewhat compelling for shooters or arcade platformers.
6. Bong — You pack a bong up with the finest tobacco available and take a huge hit. Five minutes later you’re stoned as all hell and demand to see kooky visuals. Why bother turning on that Sega Saturn when you can just play with the bong itself? Microsoft’s Surface technology will enable you to create ambient, prismatic landscapes of color and shape on the surface of the bong. Too bad six months from now, you’ll break the bong while cleaning it out in the shower when your parents are out of town.
7. Books — Put an RFID key in the spine of any book and make it come alive. Imagine giving students a true hands-on lesson. Instruct students to physically show where key battles took place in the Revolutionary War and such. You could even make geometric math problems interactive and thus, more fun.
8. Coaster and plates — You wouldn’t want to scratch up that wonderful Surface with all that crystal you’ve got. Plop on a coaster and watch as the Surface alerts you when your frosty beverage dips below its optimal temperature. Do the same thing with a nice plate and keep your busboy on his toes.
8. Booze — In the great pecking order of Important Things, booze is usually at the top of the list. It’s be very heaven if you could set a can on the table and have Surface recommend other tasty brews and mixes you might enjoy. How will it know what you’re drinking? An RFID swizzle stick. Also great for advertising to the drunk.
10. Spoon — Used to shovel food into the mouth, a spoon would find itself right at home on the Surface. It could, uh… sit there and do nothing because it’s just a spoon on a really expensive table.