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I don't know that anyone goes around complaining that their table is just too darned thick, but this carbon fibre "Surface" Table has been fashioned to a scant 2mm.
Posted by Nick Broughall at 1:30 PM on December 15, 2008
It may not look it, but the poker table you see in the image above is a high-tech marvel of DIY electronics. Built over the course of about three months and costing about seven grand to make, Andrew Milner's poker table includes wireless RFID technology inside, RFID tags on a deck of cards, some HD cameras and some self-coded software to output a professional, automated HD video stream of a Texas Hold'em game that can be broadcast either to a TV in his house or over the internet. While having RFID tags on all the cards may sound like an unwieldy solution, the chips are flexible and thin, and don't effect the shuffling or handling of the cards in any way.
We've got a video of the table in action after the jump, as well as a brief interview with Andrew himself.
If you walked into a friend's house to see this 2.5m stainless steel hourglass, you'd probably think he makes too much money. If he unfolded the sculpture for 10-person dinner seating, you'd know it.
"Stylish and amazing decoration" says manufacturer Lumigram. "Oh yes!" we say, because we are glad they keep adding glowing class and elegance to our sad dark lives, specially these Holidays. To me, nothing says smart and sophisticated Xmas better than their dashing LumiTable fibre optics table runner, available in elegant red, stylish green, and always-fashionable blue.
Microsoft announced the SecondLight table a few days ago, offering plenty of explanations as to how this modified, quasi-X-ray Surface table works and how one might use it, but little in the way of visual aides. The dual-projection system, by which the table identifies where it is being touched and projects a second, alternative image didn't sound like the kind of thing that would look, well, seamless. As it turns out, it does. Say what you will about the SecondLight's incredibly complicated design, but you can't deny that, in motion, the hidden overlay concept is pretty impressive. [PCPro via Slashdot]
Red Bull has teamed up with Canadian design company Cocoon to develop a functional DJ table that represents "Red Bull's sponsorship of an actual nightlife experience." The table features a backlit logo panel, ventilation for laptops and slots for vinyl records and large CD booklets. As you will see in the image after the break, it also features a curious cutout on the undercarriage where you feed your cords. I am shocked and appalled that a wholesome product like Red Bull could be the catalyst for such immaturity.
As much fun as it is to tinker with Microsoft's multitouch Surface table, most of its applications have been decidedly gimmicky. By offering a lower price (sooner than MS), more compact design, and more complete suite of software, SmartTech wants to bring multitouch tables to the people who would probably most appreciate them — kids. From the video (and press release), it looks as if the SMART Table has a nearly identical — if not better — set of capabilities to the Surface: multitouch, gesture support, a 27in screen and a super-simple SDK. Details are slim at the moment, but the price is a comparatively low $US7000, so expect to see the SMART Table popping up in more affluent school districts as early as Spring 2009. [SMART via Crunchgear]
Microsoft is at least considering releasing a consumer-priced version of its Surface computer, if a marketing research survey is to believed. The survey is centered around a device called "Oahu," which, from its description, sounds a lot like the table we've all come to know and love: a multitouch flat screen that sits like a table top and allows for multiple users to interact with it at once.
Everybody knows that no real bachelor pad is complete without a pool table, but if you want f@$#ing awesome bachelor pad status, you gotta have it rise from the floor James Bond-style. This ridiculous mod uses a side-sliding trap door in the floor and a hydraulic lift to make a pool table appear where there was none before. Wooooweee, is that your pool cue or are you just happy to see me? [Ballerhouse -Thanks A.J.!]
Contemporist has a great post on Inamo, one of the newer restaurants in London's West End, which boasts fully interactive tables with touch technology. The tables function use overhead projectors and touch panels on the tables that work together to display things like menus, as well as rotate through a series of seven tablecloths according to the patrons preference. Customers are also able to order directly from the digital menu, reducing waiters to little more than human FAQs.
