Microsoft Surface as a gaming table

I just saw this video this morning and have some mixed feelings about it.

First off, I doubt Surface will be in the average consumer price range. Second, I get the impression that the technology itself is physically large and heavy. While I think something like this is surely on the way, I think it will be much more likely to be tablets/palmtops and or projectors. That being said, the animated dire wolf was awesome. I totally thought that it was one step closer to the 3d chess game we saw in Episode 4.

Regardless of all my grumpy criticisms, I love that we really are sitting on the cusp of future gaming world. Looking at the comments in this Gnome Stew article I can see that not everybody is fond of technology in their game space. In fact, some of the comments seemed down right Ludditian. I tend to run a tech tool heavy game because the fun of play isn't about doing math or tweaking stats, but in narration and story. The moment I have to look up a rule or pull out a calculator I suddenly get drawn out of the game. So the more of that I can front load and have ready to go, the more enjoyment I get from the game.

Of course this has bit us once or twice in terms of software bugs or typos, but that weighed against bogging down in the 4e rule set, we'll continue to risk it.

How tech heavy are your games? Does everybody at the table have a laptop or palmtop to run their characters/encounters? Would you use this Surface product if it was affordable or would you miss minis?