Traditionally, as stated in the previous post, when Microsoft is referring to the three-screen concept they are talking about PC, mobile, and TV. The actual devices behind each of these can vary. In fact I would go so far to say that the devices themselves are not the important component. How a user interacts with the device and how the device is connected to the cloud ultimately should determine how it is categorized within the concept. So, let me start with the PC and what that screen represent (at least in my opinion).
When you’re targeting the PC as one of the “screens” it is common to think of it as a computer with a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. If, however, you look at it as a primarily stationary device that is always connected and where users actively interact with it in close proximity of the display it starts to open up to more devices beyond the classic desktop PC. So, what kind of devices are we talking about?
How about a multi-touch PC mounted in a kitchen? A user walks up to it and interacts directly with the screen as opposed to a keyboard and mouse. But, the interaction takes place within the same general proximity as a traditional desktop. So, from a display perspective it needs to be optimized for close viewing.
An end-user is not going to sit down and type a novel on this device. Instead, they would use it to display recipes, maintain a family calendar, or watch video with a few taps of the finger. Yet, this is essentially still a PC and I do not think many would argue against it falling into the PC screen category. But, it does start the move away from what is thought of as the typical PC. And, I hope it starts you thinking about other possibilities as well. So, let us move a little bit further from the traditional PC again. How about a Microsoft Surface device?
Most of the Surface devices that have shown up in the wild have been in hotel lobbies, bars, and retail stores. And, for the most part they have been little more than a novelty. But, there is reason to believe that there can be more to this than what we have seen so far.
Several months ago I watched a video (of course I can’t seem to find a link to it now) where Microsoft demoed a Surface desk that was tailored to a factory supervisor. The interface itself was more like a sophisticated dashboard than traditional GUI and was fully multi-touch. On this dashboard the supervisor was able to see at a glance a schematic of the factory floor. Individual equipment on the schematic was color coded to indicate if there was a problem. For example, maybe a line was not meeting the production quota that is has been assigned. Or, perhaps maintenance had been recently skipped on the machinery. With a few taps the supervisor is able to see historical performance information as well as future data such as employee shift schedules.
The demo continued by showing additional cool features of the Surface device. For instance, the supervisor was able to perform and enterprise search for an electronic document by simply placing the hardcopy face down on the desk surface. All of this is very interesting and shows some real value.
Ultimately, the interface was seamless, customizable, and geared directly towards complementing the supervisor’s natural workflow. Here again, we have many of the same concepts of the traditional PC. But, it is really starting to open up some exciting possibilities; especially for BI. Certainly there are some big differences between this and the display that sits on your desk. Yet, I’d contend that this is still the same “screen”.
I'm a 30 year old Business Intelligence Consultant, co-founder of Exceptional Geeks, and current resident of St. Louis, MO.
