Time Magazine: Microsoft almost made the iphone

Lead: The Internet edition of the Time magazine published in Saturday titled "Microsoft should have made the iphone" (Yes, Microsoft could Have invented the iphone. Here, according to the commentary, the Surface coffee table computer, which first appeared on the iphone, has a vision similar to the iphone for future computing, only to lose this important opportunity in terms of equipment size, pricing and the understanding of the applicable population. The following is the full text of the article: Surface coffee table Computer distance Ballmer (Steve Ballmer) announced his retirement plan for the past one weeks, but the entire blogosphere is still talking about his performance as CEO. In commenting on Asymco's Hollis Dediu (Horace dediu) blog, daring Fireball's John Croober (John Cruber) said the following: "Theoretically, Microsoft could have pioneered iphone--, of course, It's not a real iphone, but a disruptive device that lays the foundation for future mobile computing, making mobile computing the most used and attractive computing platform for most of the time. That would not have damaged Microsoft's lucrative existing business – at least not in the short term. "I said earlier that I don't think Microsoft can dominate mobile technology for the simple reason that the technology companies that dominate the old paradigm rarely continue to dominate the new era," says Post. But Kroeber's remarks about Microsoft's invention of the iphone have sparked my thinking. At first glance, this seems absurd. In terms of Microsoft's various qualities, it seems almost absurd to say that it nearly made the iphone, and it's like designing a plot in the form of a Disney director's film, "Pulp Fiction." But I quickly recalled that Microsoft, under Ballmer, had actually developed a device that was very similar to the iphone in many ways, and it was much earlier than the iphone, and many of the top technologies were developed by Microsoft. Developed with the iphone at the same time however, there is a key difference between Microsoft's invention and the iphone: It's huge and impossible to put in a pocket, and it's called surface--not a tablet computer developed by Microsoft, but a tea-table computing system that Mr. Ballmer showed at the May 2007 D conference. This surface coffee table computer looks elegant, with a smooth multi-touch interface. Although it uses Windows Vista system, it completely abandons the Windows interface and employs a more modern, straightforward, and participatory touch interface. Microsoft's Demo app has a lot in common with the iphone's popular features, including looking at pictures and playing games. If Microsoft releases surface Steve Jobs (Steve Jobs) launches IphonE a year later, it is likely to become a laughingstock, was a "cottage" hat. Note, however, that these two products are thanks to the contributions of researchers such as Jeff Han (Jeff Han), who demonstrated much earlier than the iphone and surface for multi-touch. But 2113.html "> Microsoft Surface's development is almost at the same time as the iphone. For the first time, they showed the reporter a picture of the secret technology, which was slightly earlier than Mr Jobs's release of the iphone at CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) in January 2007. When I first saw the iphone, my first reaction was: "This is a pocket version of the surface! The development of deviations surface includes a Windows PC and a DLP projector, as well as multiple cameras for capturing various gestures on the touchscreen. The product is expensive, which may be why Microsoft initially used it only in business environments such as hotels, casinos and stores. Shortly after the product was released at the D conference, I wrote in Slate, an electronic magazine, that it seemed a bit overqualified for such a clever idea. The product named Surface, which was released 6 years ago, is still there, but I think it's not inappropriate to describe it as disappointing. (I'm not sure if I've seen the device anywhere else, but I did see one at Microsoft headquarters earlier this year when I was in the Xbox a conference.) I know that once a company uses the name of a product for a more sexy product, it shows that they have lost confidence in the old product, and surface is a good example-Microsoft has named the new tablet surface, And the original Surface coffee table computer named Pixelsense. At a cocktail party in the 2007 D Convention, Bill Gates told attendees he thought surface-style computing equipment would end up on everyone's desk, but it might take a long journey. His words may be true--in essence, Lenovo deepwater products such as the consumer version of the surface, the price is ordinary people can afford. But Lenovo may have to tweak the product's interface Windows 8 is not designed for this application. Missing out on important opportunities anyway, when you try to imagine how Microsoft could grab the iphone before it was born, the most obvious way to think about it when the mobile computing market came across was to evaluate the Windows Mobile system at the time. The system uses the small Start button, the interface is also very outdated, so the extreme lack of imagination, but Microsoft seems to be very satisfied. But surface proved that Microsoft's future user interface is what it looks like, the only mistake is the size of the equipment, the applicable crowd and price. The true fate of this idea is not put on everyone's desk, but intoQuite a few people on the phone, and the wave will start immediately. So it's not hard to imagine what it would be like for Microsoft to invent the iphone. Only the Microsoft researchers in surface are still in the early stages of development, put into his head the idea of presenting the technology to Ballmer and ask himself if Ballmer said, "That's great-can we put it in our pockets and sell it for hundreds of dollars per set?" "What will the technology industry look like today?" (PEI)