Microsoft Surface is in the spotlight again. Some of you may have seen it in use during the E! network’s annual Red Carpet special at the Golden Globes this past weekend. At this event, fashion expert Jay Manuel used the tabletop computing platform during his “play-by-play” analysis of the stars’ designer duds, notes a post on the Surface blog. However, an even more interesting use of the technology comes from the recent installation in Las Vegas.
A Microsoft Surface machine has been installed in Vegas’s Hard Rock Cafe where a combination of Microsoft technologies that also includes Silverlight, SharePoint, and Windows are used in combination to present the company’s online collection of rock memorabilia to diners. Even cooler, the Cafe features something called the “Rock Wall,” an 18-foot-wide, 4-foot-tall touchscreen showcase of the Hard Rock’s treasures just like those found on Memorabilia website here.
This unique, customized experience lets Cafe diners interact with the rock history showcase on the giant glass screen while waiting for a table. They can also interact with the collection using a Microsoft Surface computer to zoom in and out of the memorabilia. The collection, which includes things like handwritten lyrics by John Lennon and Michael Jackson’s sequined glove, consistently draws a crowd eager to play with the Microsoft technology.
In addition to the Rock Wall and Surface computer, the Cafe’s customers can also interact with the memorabilia collection using 19” touchscreens installed in the restaurant’s booths.
