The use of this interruptive sound accomplishes two important ends for Microsoft: it focuses our attention and creates an emotional link to security for the Surface.
Imagine if the way that email was monetized was putting ads in the middle of your email stream, or putting an interruptive video ad or something like that in your inbox.
As a software and hardware designer specializing in embedded control systems I found that the classic USA cubicle office arrangement generated intense stress due to the almost continual hubbub, noise and other interruptive mechanisms.
The new status of the consumer, the migration away from interruptive messages, and the technologies and platforms that make listening more important than talking are disrupting traditional business models and making the jobs of CMOs tougher.
"Many people think of Internet advertising as an intrusive, interruptive experience, with dancing aliens jumping across the screen and perpetual pop-up windows, " Moloney says, adding that Scottrade favors ads that provide information that is meaningful to customers, such as a real-time stock chart it offers through an ad on Yahoo.