Apr 09
In what we’re considering the first “wow” moment in Xbox One’s Kinect environment, Kinect Sports Rivals arrives this week to scan you in. In this game you, the user, are … Continue reading
Apr 05
When you have a product like Kinect, so closely associated with gaming, how do you convince everybody else that they should be installing a motion-tracking camera in the home? Microsoft … Continue reading
Apr 02
At BUILD 2014, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for some future products and services, most of which are coming relatively soon. One that may not be hitting us in the … Continue reading
Mar 27
After shipping out its Kinect for Windows v2 Developer Preview kits in December last year, Microsoft has finally revealed the final hardware design of Kinect for Windows v2. The hardware … Continue reading
Feb 12
While we’ve yet to get up close and personal with gameplay as such, Microsoft has laid out their plan for Kinect Sports Rivals for the Xbox One this week. What … Continue reading
Dec 25
For those of you lucky enough to have caught Kanye West’s Yeezus tour as it came down upon the earth over the past few months, you’ll have witnessed the world’s … Continue reading
Aug 15
If you expected Microsoft to sit down and stop expanding their touchscreen-happy software environment now that it’s clear Windows 8′s aim at touchscreen laptops wasn’t the mega-success they’d hoped it would be, you’d have been wrong. There’s a group called Ubi Interactive out there this week which Microsoft has announced is taking orders on software […]
Jul 19
When I look around the technology space, I can’t think of any single product that is so poorly associated with another device than Microsoft’s Kinect. The sensor, which is supposedly designed with gamers in mind, actually delivers very little value to gamers nowadays. In fact, the Kinect is designed for computers and entertainment – gaming is an afterthought.
Since its release years ago, the Kinect has been bundled with Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and will make a showing in the Xbox One box. Microsoft, meanwhile, continues to pretend that the Kinect is a great tool for gamers who want to get more out of their titles.
Unfortunately, a few game developers have helped Microsoft extend this myth. Electronic Arts, for example, used the Kinect in all kinds of ways in its last version of Madden NFL. But after the novelty wore off and wives got tired of their husbands calling an audible in the middle of the night, gamers went back to their controller and stopped the nonsense.
Let me be clear: Microsoft’s Kinect is by no means a bad product. In fact, it’s arguably one of the most sophisticated devices on the market, and one that’s worth trying out for just about anyone. But to say that it’s a gaming product ignores the true value of the device and what it can offer to tech lovers around the world.
“To say that it’s a gaming product ignores the true value of the device.”
As Microsoft showed with its Xbox One presentation, the Kinect thrives as an entertainment device. Its support for voice commands means controlling devices and entertainment is simple. And with a few waves of a hand, the Kinect can perform all kinds of functions for those who need a more intuitive experience. Gaming, meanwhile, never comes into play.
On the PC side, the Kinect is even more compelling. The device is being used by developers in all kinds of interesting ways, including allowing folks who are used to the mouse and keyboard to enjoy a more intuitive experience when interacting with Windows. More entertaining developers have found ways to leverage its camera for all kinds of fun tricks.
Meanwhile, developers continue to bundle some Kinect functionality into their video games. However, the vast majority of those installations have proven to be unnecessary add-ons that lack innovation and uniqueness and seem like they were tacked on for the sake of placating Microsoft.
The Wii’s dramatic rise and fall should prove to us all that while motion gaming was fun for awhile, it’s yet another idea that has been ignored by savvy gamers.
Getting more out of consoles, however, is not something that savvy gamers mind. In fact, it’s what they’re coming to expect. And in that regard, the Kinect is delivering. The device is the ideal living room companion, the best alternative to a remote, and is quickly becoming a gateway to entertaining content.
In other words, the Kinect has less and less to do with gaming each passing day.
Let’s Stop Pretending the Kinect Is A Gaming Device is written by Don Reisinger & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jul 18
The Kinect has largely been a device meant for gaming on the Xbox 360, but since its release, it’s been hacked and modified in so many ways. We’ve seen many different projects arise from the use of the Kinect, with the latest one being from Microsoft themselves, where they’re experimenting with sign language detection with the Kinect sensor.
Microsoft’s Research division in Asia have been playing around with some new software that gives the Kinect sensor the ability to read most gestures in the American Sign Language using hand tracking technology that’s in the Kinect. The software can also allow non-deaf users to input text and sign it.
The software looks to be surprisingly accurate, even when going at quick, conversational speeds. The software even gives the Kinect the ability to parse whole sentences and flow gestures into the next, which not only looks impressive in the video below, but it could change the way we communicate using sign language.
This basically means that deaf people could eventually talk to their computers or game consoles using sign language gestures. The Kinect allows users to speak commands in order to complete a certain task without pressing buttons, but sign language detection could a completely new level to accessibility options to the Xbox.
Of course, this is still something being tested on in a lab, and it could be awhile before we hear anything about the technology making its way to the public, but it definitely seems like something that isn’t too far-fetched and could easily make its way to the Kinect at some point in the future.
SOURCE: Microsoft
Microsoft Kinect used to read sign language is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Jun 26
On May 22, Microsoft’s Scott Evans said that the next-generation Kinect will be arriving for PCs, but didn’t specify whether it would be possible to use the next-generation console’s Kinect with a PC or if users would have to wait for the Windows-specific model. Microsoft laid the speculation to rest, saying that the Kinect shipping
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