Coffee Table Mac?

Remember the Microsoft Surface? It was a prototype device bringing an iPhone-like touch interface to a full sized table computer. The specialty home automation vendor Savant Systems has announced the "Apple-based" "ROSIE Coffee Table Touchpanel Controller." Apparently it duplicates the functionality of the company's in-wall touch-screen controllers, but in a 40" display mounted into the top of a coffee table. They don't specify in what way it's "Apple-based," but I would guess this thing probably integrates a Mac mini and one of the main selling points is its iTunes integration. They also don't say anything about it being multi-touch, so I suspect it's just a really big touchscreen. At the moment this thing is still vapor-ware, and of course there's no pricing info, but I wouldn't expect something like this to come cheap.

View Tags

Source: http://www.cepro.com/article/rosie_coffee_table_automation_a…

Categories

Hardware Odds and ends

Remember the Microsoft Surface? It was a prototype device bringing an iPhone-like touch interface to a full sized table computer. The...

Add a Comment

Sign in »

4 Comments

Filter by:

ggolinsky

rofl.
I love the fact that they used Apple technology for this, and I hope they sell it for a lit less than the M$ Surface.
I've always like the idea, but not for a general use computer, just because of the way you have to hunch over it.
Still, very cool, and making use of the best OS out there? Also cool.

September 06 2007 at 3:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Lauram

This concept makes no sense to me. The purpose of a coffee table is to put stuff on top of it, not just coffee but the newspaper, books, the TV remote, some files you might be working on, a bowl of fruit or popcorn, kid's toys, a vase, your laptop, whatever. That's what it's for and that's how people use it. Who has a coffee table with nothing on it, except just after you've cleaned the house and just before the guests arrive? So what is the point of a music player that you have to clean off every time you want to use it, and who wants a coffee table you can't actually use as a coffee table because you have to keep it cleared off in order to use it as the biggest, bulkiest iPod ever?

September 06 2007 at 1:12 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

drklrdbill

I have a coffee table mac already, it's called a MacBook Pro

September 06 2007 at 10:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

shaun

If you owned one of those would you really use it to put your coffee on?

I doubt it is a mac mini in there as I'm sure the video card would have trouble with that display...maybe it's a mini thats been upgraded?

September 06 2007 at 10:29 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply