SDK Introduction

Hi there! My name is Robert Levy and I’m the Program Manager for the Surface SDK. I’m responsible for driving our APIs and UI controls in addition to the overall experience developers go through in building awesome apps for Surface. Before joining Surface, I worked on the Windows Mobile SDK. One of my favorite parts of that job was interacting with developers on the team blog and conference circuit so I’m very excited that our secret is out so we can now start up this blog to share our excitement and some more product details with you on an ongoing basis.

I’ll be putting up a couple posts each month to give you a peek into what my part of the team is up to. My plan is to talk about our goals with the SDK, the concepts it embodies, our process for building it, and how we’ve addressed some complex issues. That said, please post a comment if there are particular platform-related topics you’d like to see discussed.

Oh, one more thing up front… for v1, we’re focused on delivering a great platform by working closely with a short list of strategic partners & ISVs. Eventually the opportunity to purchase hardware & the SDK will expand but we know that staying focused on our current v1 targets is the best way to ensure the delivery of a great product that can later be expanded to serve other markets (including the consumer market). Those interested in future opportunities can visit Surface.com and write to the email address at the bottom of the “Partners” section.

-Robert

Comments

• Anonymous
  November 05, 2007
  Something that I haven't been able to find out, is whether or not Surface is only going to be offered as a complete hardware and software package. More and more vendors are implementing multi-touch displays, including the folks over at Microsoft Research. I've also seen manufacturers such as Samsung implementing LCD displays that incorporate optical sensing technology directly into the panel. So what is being done in the table form factor now, could be done in the future in something like a tablet pc. As a result, it would be nice to see Surface technology available in the standard Windows SKU so that developers can produce applications that run on more than just the table. We can dream can't we. :)

• Anonymous
  November 05, 2007
  "what is being done in the table form factor now, could be done in the future in something like a tablet pc." I've had the exact same interest. In fact, I've thought since I've seen the surface that this is exactly the type of interaction paradigm the Tablet PC needs. I think the reason Tablet PCs really haven't taken off (besides failings in hardware) is the lack of really compelling software. I think it's very important that the next generation of tablet applications exist in a separate environment which encourages new standards of design. This environment, to me needs to throw out the idea of drop downs, toolboxes, and even windows, and just work on immersing the user in a completely pen/touch environment. I liken this sentiment to the way Windows Media Center currently functions (adapting for remote control use and adhering to a full screen environment apart from Vista). I think the whole surface paradigm fits that perfectly. I think tablets would fit the 4 points of surface - direct interaction, multitouch, multi user (thru multiple linked tablets), and object recognition (thru wifi and some of the new 4pixel scanning LCDs Samsung and Sharp are bringing out). I've also considered that tablets would be a great companion to the surface. Picture this: A student comes home after class with his tablet, places it on the surface, and like the wifi camera, all his notes and textbooks spill out onto the Surface. Can you imagine the fluid user experience between the surface and the tablet if both are created with the same software development standards? It's just so compelling! Anyway, these are my own fanciful ramblings. It's exciting to see someone who's thinking like me, kettch, and I also can't wait to hear if the Surface team is thinking like me too. P.S. I'm someone with a strong desire and ability to develop these sorts of applications, so count this as legitimate interest in that arena.

• Anonymous
  November 05, 2007
  The comment has been removed