Yesterday Ballmer took the stage and presented "the tablet of Redmond". They called the Surface, recycling - honestly with a little imagination - the name of a gadget that many of you will never have heard before.

I toyed with the first Surface studies dell'MSNBC of New York in 2008. A touch of a forty-inch wedged into a small table to be displayed on display in the living room of the house. Unable to carry around without the help of a moving company. The innovative interface and incredibly organized. Light years ahead of any other product available touch then and still today.

The idea for Surface was great. The marketability of consumer difficult to apply. The prohibitive cost. A flop, commercially speaking. But the project, now sold to Samsung and rebranded PixelSense with the name, was a testing ground for what would come next.

In Redmond are not idiots. Some have taken the corner in time. Him to Not all the blame. Everyone makes mistakes. But if in thirty years of history have managed to maintain its monopoly in operating system market and consumption in the Office automation, surely significant.

Do not argue with the brain typical of hackers obtuse. Do not take out to argue that Linux is not so. When we find the penguin installed in a billion computers will then talk about it.

Since the launch of the iPad, Ballmer and his performances have been good if it studying the moves of others. They refined the idea behind the first Surface. They focused on a single operating system that converged on all platforms. Same user experience for PCs and tablet. For better or worse, Windows 8 will mark the development of computer consumables for the next five years.

The accusation was predictable and expected to Surface. Type a tablet is a tablet and not a PC. And if one needs a PC you buy a PC and a tablet. As an ontological principle makes sense. Philosophical purism, to honor the late lamented Steve Jobs. But he said made sense. Coming from anyone else is obvious. Also because the market has not remained static.

Surface lures all users who want a tablet is more of a tablet. Because the iPad is no longer enough. Might as well buy a laptop, you say. It is not the same thing. Because it lacks the touch experience that is a feature that many do not want to miss.

The mix of touch and physical keyboard is a plus not a small. A full screen available. Without software keyboard which occupies half. And then think to business customers. Surface runs on the full Office suite. Word, Excel, Powerpoint and family. There seems little? Any idea of ​​the impact of Microsoft Office on the budget? No? Have fun reading the numbers just to get an idea.

The only real unknown is the price. Not yet arrived. As well as dates of availability in various countries. If Microsoft really wants to impose itself has to follow an aggressive policy on the cheap. 600 euros were already so many for such an object. I have a vague feeling that if it cost twice as far off. In any case the market will decide its future.