TechnoCloud

Deep in TechnoCloud Towers is a room which I use to showcase consumer technology. This allows colleagues to familiarise themselves with the home entertainment gadgets that their budget or interests wouldn’t normally bring them into contact with.

There’s no doubt which two gadgets excite the most interest - the Apple TV and the Wii.

For all its limitations, Apple TV has a wonderfully intuitive user interface that people ‘get’ first time round. Simple, elegant and no manual required, it’s in theory a good mass market proposition, even though it’s shown few signs of breaking into the mass market…

The wii impresses in a different way. It’s always interesting to see the energy levels rise as soon as you show the motion sensor controller. It brings out the kid in almost everyone as they at first shyly and then with abandon launch themselves into Wii Sports, after a basic explanation of the principles behind the controller.

As the iPhone and potentially the Microsoft Surface are likewise showing, user interface design on consumer technology devices remains in its early phases as more intuitive and satisfying ways emerge to issue commands. That TV remote is already starting to feel pretty dated…

Hats off to the New York Times’ David Pogue for this highly original piece of reporting on the iPhone hype.

To the tune of Sinatra’s famous ‘My Way’, take it away, David…

It’s not often these days that you see a piece of technology that makes your draw drop, yet Microsoft have done that to me with Microsoft Surface. If there’s a better piece of gadget eye candy I’d like to see it (although Scoble saw it two years ago the showoff!).

Microsoft Surface is a touchscreen computer that allows you to interact with pieces of digital content as if they were physical objects on the table - to move, expand and even transfer content between physical devices, to create a music playlist through drag and drop using your fingers. It even recognises physical objects on the table and allows you to interact with them, from a wifi camera to a beer glass (so you can order another).

Check out the video below to see it in action.