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Microsoft Surface:

"Because We Couldn't Build an iPhone Knockoff Small Enough"

"We started trying to add iPhone like interaction on the Zune, but when we realized that would take some real engineering know how to get something this cool into an affordable device that small, we decided 'if you can't make it smaller, it's easier just to make it bigger!'"

In the interest of explaining what Microsoft's marketing speak really means, here's my take on their positioning statement of this revolutionary new concept.

Here's what Microsoft says:

Similar to the way ATMs changed how people got money from the bank, Microsoft is changing the way people will interact with all kinds of everyday content...

Similar to the way cinder blocks changed tender love making, Microsoft is doing absolutely nothing to change the way people will interact with all kinds of everyday content because...

including photos, ...

deciding whether to crop my photos in landscape or portrait is generally a personal decision that doesn't require family, friend, or group input.

music, ...

Buying music at the iTunes Music Store is, and will remain a personal activity, so long as people maintain individual tastes in music (although it might be a hit with binars or something)

a virtual concierge, ...

People will continue to use real concierges because while Chez Gauche's marketing manager might have a boyfriend who is a talented graphic artist who produces snazzy collateral, only a person who has eaten there knows their cook sucks and that the meal to die for in the 5ieme Arrondisement is the Ratatoille at "La Pomme".

... and games.

It's like Monopoly (the game, not our business practices) except instead of $9.95 at your local Target, this will cost a few grand at your local CompUSA and like tables from IKEA, "some assembly required, batteries not included (and yes, it will require you to run an extension cable)".

Common, everyday tasks become entertaining, enjoyable and engaging, alone or face-to-face with family, friends or co-workers.

Our lives are like the hollow crysalis a butterfly leaves behind when it flies away, so we were desperate to invent something where you'll spend several grand on a table (which only really goes with the decor in Building 16 ) so you can continue your habit to invest in products which instill a fleeting moment that your life has some kind of meaning.

I disagree with "do nothing".

An acquaintance of mine recently wrote on his blog that "The situation in Sudan is complex, and defies easy categorization."

He's right there, but he comes to a conclusion of "what do we do about Darfur? As much as it kills me to say it, I think we do nothing. I think we take a long, hard look at the facts and accept that we can't stop it. I think we let the conflict burn itself out in the hope that brutality today will give way to a genuine and lasting peace tomorrow."

(Rather than posting an alternative viewpoint on his blog, I thought I'd post my position on mine. His blog contains a lot of insightful information-- I simply disagree with his conclusion. But I also don't want to start some kind of cross-blog flamewar, so you'll have to ask me for the URL)

That said, there is a humanitarian crisis in Darfur. When a doctor sees a terminally ill patient he can't cure, or whose life he can't extend, he will at least try to ease the patient's suffering. In the same way, as individuals, we can find a charity that is helping the refugees. I personally like UNHCR (http://www.unhcr.org).

Moreover, our government can, through official channels support these humanitarian efforts. We can sponsor resolutions in the United Nations to bring peace keepers to bear on the security and welfare of the refugees even if we don't directly engage the bellicose parties.

We should alleviate the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of refugees because we can.

Longer term, people who have families, mortgages, and jobs are generally not the kind of people who go around shooting other people for fun and profit. Finding a way to vitalize the economy of the affected countries should be a US, UN and World Bank priority, and the US should play a part. We can vote in upcoming elections against the ilk of the neoconservatives like Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Perle, and Bolton or any candidates that would deign to build an administration wherein these crackpots' voices would have any gravity.

While I don't think economic sanctions or an embargo is going to directly resolve the situation "it just drives up the street price" (of guns) and going "back to using machetes" is definitely an improvement. They have less cash to buy more bullets, and I'd much rather take my chances running from a machete than a bullet.

Plus, antagonists with machetes only makes the UN peacekeepers' jobs that much easier. Reminds me of the Indiana Jones scene where the "guy with the scimitar" engages the "guy with the gun". (Spoiler alert: guy with gun wins)

If we had the political capital to establish a real "coalition of the willing" (you know, the hundreds of nations who were smart enough not to get tangled up with us in Iraq) to cobble together a meaningful peacekeeping force until whatever pressure we mount economically or politically produces a lasting peace, that would be the start of putting the warring factions on notice that the old rules don't apply anymore.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but "do nothing" strikes me as an abrogation of our human obligation to act in our own and our fellow man's best interest.