Hasta La Gadget!

Chromecast may deliver on promises of sending wire-free video to TVs, but it’s not hands-free — or at least, it wasn’t. Leon Nicholls has unveiled a homemade Kinect app for the desktop that gives him gesture-based control of videos playing through Google’s streaming stick. While there’s just two commands at this point, Nicholls hopes to open-source the code in the near future; this isn’t the end of the road. If you can’t wait that long, though, there’s a quick demonstration available after the break.

Update: A few days later, Nicholls has posted the source code for his project; you’ll need to whitelist your Chromecast for development to use it.

Filed under: HD, Microsoft, Google

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Source: Leon Nicholls (Google+)

If you had your eye on Ubi Interactive’s multitouch software, you’ll be glad to now that it’s now on sale. For those unfamiliar with the product, sit back and relax. I’ll take you to a world where any surface can become a touchscreen. As long as you have a computer that runs Windows 8. And a projector. And a Kinect. For Windows.

The Ubi program allows you to interact with Windows 8 programs from a projected display, as if your wall or canvas were a giant touchscreen. It uses Kinect for Windows – which is different from the one that works with the Xbox 360 – to map your fingers or hand and register their input.

Ubi Interactive says that Ubi will work with any projector as long as it has a “high enough intensity for the image to be visible in your lighting conditions.” The computer running Ubi doesn’t have to have a touchscreen itself. It just has to run Windows 8 and the resolution of the display being projected should be at least 720p. Its biggest restriction is that it will only work with Windows apps that have been optimized for touchscreens.

You can order Ubi from Ubi Interactive’s website; it costs between $149 to $1499 (USD) depending on the version you want. The Kinect isn’t included with the software, but then again the total cost of a Ubi setup is less than what you’d shell out for an actual wall-sized touchscreen.

[via CNET]

With several companies developing technologies that can turn any surface into a touchscreen, it should be widely available soon. Those who want to try it out before it’s cool, however, should look towards Ubi Interactive’s software that combines the talents of Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows sensor and a projector. So long as the software’s installed on a Windows 8 computer, the sensor tracks and detects movements users make on the projected image. Interactions are the same as any tablet or smartphone, including launching icons by tapping on them and expanding areas with pinch-to-zoom. Merely a concept in 2012, the software is now available on Ubi’s website with prices ranging from $149 to $1,499, depending on the display size and the type of customer support. Sounds like even an Average Joe can nab one, assuming they already have a projector and one of Microsoft’s $250 motion / voice detectors.

Filed under: Misc, Microsoft

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Via: CNET

Source: Kinect for Windows, Ubi Interactive

Back when Microsoft announced the Xbox One, the company also announced several new policies that did not sit too well with gamers. For starters they stated that gamers would need to connect to the internet at least once every 24 hours in order to keep playing the console, and also how the Kinect was required in order for the Xbox One to function, leading many to worry about how Microsoft could technically spy on them. The always-on requirement was later rescinded and now it seems that Microsoft has decided to backtrack on the Kinect requirement as well.

According to Microsoft, they have announced that the Xbox One will no longer require the Kinect device to be plugged in at all, and will continue to function even if the device is not plugged in. However we guess it’s obvious that if you don’t plug it in an turn it on, there are games and features that require the Kinect and without it, well, it won’t work as intended, but for those who aren’t planning on getting many games that rely on the Kinect and were worried about privacy, we guess this should assuage your fears.

The Xbox One will still come with the Kinect bundled, so if you were hoping that this could mean cheaper Xbox One bundles sans Kinect, you might be out of luck.

Microsoft: Xbox One Will Continue To Function If Kinect Not Plugged In original content from Ubergizmo.

Another backflip? Back in May, Microsoft said that you’ll need have the motion-sensing Kinect plugged in at all times in order for your Xbox One to function, but now they’re reversing course once again.

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