An article I read during the week on SMH boasted Microsoft’s Surface application which is being used at a bar in Las Vegas.

Microsoft, together with Harrah’s Entertainment, allows it’s users to use Surface to order drinks, watch You Tube Videos, play touch type games and even flirt with other users.

Being all touch screen, there is not input devices besides your fingers that are required for the interaction. Each of these touch screen devices go for US$10,000

The system is smart enough to record behavioural patterns and can be used, for e.g., to track a user’s gambling habits.

Another application that was used in this Las Vegas bar is called Mixologists. Through touch screen selection, the user can create a cocktail with their choice of alcohol and send the order through to the bartender (that would be something I’d love to see at the bars in Sydney).

Harrah’s claim that they are trying to make systems more networked. So if you order a drink at a bar, and later use of the touch screen applications down at the casino, it will remember your profile and offer you the same drink again.

After making a deal with YouTube, Harrah’s entertainment systems allow people to access YouTube videos to watch on their touch screen devices.

Flirt, is another application used on these devices and it allows users to text or video chat, take and email pictures and exchange contact details – another dimension to meeting people in a bar.

Playing games, seeing the bar menu, getting local information, etc, are some of the unlimited capabilities of this system. You can only but imagine what sort of applications bars, casinos and retail shops can add on to this.

A few companies have signed up to this idea, including some casinos (imagine playing roulette on this!) as well as hotel groups such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts in conjunction with T-Mobile.

One thing I remember reading ages ago, was that if you put your mobile device (or camera) on the table on the Surface application, it will attempt to connect, via bluetooth (or otherwise) and be able to access content from your phone such as pictures taken and so on.

A brilliant concept, and a new way of digital interaction on your finger tips (literally!)

To view some videos by Microsoft, have a look here:

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