Hasta La Gadget!

It’s often noted that the technological predictions of the horrible, yet strangely prescient film Minority Report are fast becoming a reality. And it seems that Tom Cruise’s hands-free data surfing may be arriving much sooner than 2054. The gravity of innovation is pulling us towards completely frictionless
interfaces. Goodbye keyboards, goodbye mice. Soon the term “remote control” will become just another “grandpa word,” joining the likes of “dungarees” and “whipper snapper.”

There have been several attempts at gesture-based control released to the public, but with limited success. The technology just wasn’t there yet. But as the hardware improves, we will find greater interactivity with our electronics using little more than hand gestures and vocal commands.

What may signify a big jump forward in consumer acceptance of the frictionless interface is Microsoft’s gesture-based Kinect gaming system. The system will be released this fall and hopes to compete with the Wii for potential gamers who are intimidated by the mess of buttons and gizmos offered on traditional PlayStation or Xbox controllers.

For the interface, Microsoft turned to Israeli-based PrimeSense which created a technology that utilizes various types of cameras and audio sensors to bring users into the game. The five-year-old company doesn’t have plans to manufacture any gizmos directly, but hopes to make the technology ubiquitous in the electronic wares of others. The company says they already have other collaborations in place to bring the tech to TV and PCs in the future.

“If you see it, just say it,” says Microsoft’s Kinect, but only in the US, UK, Mexico and Japan to start — those are the only four countries that will support Kinect voice control by the motion-sensing peripheral’s November launch. So said Microsoft PR manager Lidia Pitzalis in an interview with Eurogamer Spain, adding that Germany, Italy, France and even Canada and Spain would have to wait for a Spring 2011 update for additional language support. Microsoft claims it’s a matter of accents throwing off the voice recognition, as the company’s already had to build separate software versions for US and UK English, but if you’re an Italian who can fake a good Cockney, you’re still out of luck, as Microsoft’s reportedly disabling voice control entirely in said regions until it can formally support it. And game companies wonder why we try so hard to hack those DVD drives…

Update: Canada will in fact have voice support, according to Microsoft. So long as you speak English and not French.

Kinect won’t support voice recognition in some countries until 2011, putting on airs won’t help originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 03:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Man, leakers don’t sleep! That hush-hush Kinect beta program is indeed in full effect, and while hardware is en route to giddy testers, the accompanying Xbox 360 Dashboard update has already been distributed — and promptly leaked. Joystiq has a gallery of screenshots from the new interface, including a revamped Avatar editor and some navigational alterations to account for using your body as the controller. We like this just for the humor value, including the note above instructing you to take a break if you get “sore” and the full-page list of prohibitions against talking about or showing the beta program’s interface. Ah well.

Kinect beta Dashboard update gets leaked as soon as it arrives, hardware kits are ‘being packed’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poor Milo. Our virtual friend has been in our heart for about as long as Kinect (née Project Natal) has been in the public eye, always doodling, always playing with snail, rarely able to escape the confines of dark developer studio. When we talked to Milo’s “father” Peter Molyneux at the last Engadget Show, he kept referencing this TED Talk demo he recently gave, and sure enough, video of that speech is now available online. The 11-minute presentation delves into a number of the setups / “magician’s tricks” used to make Milo an interactive and at times empathetic character, and how natural voice recognition was implemented (thanks in part to Microsoft’s TellMe database) so that the player isn’t limited to simple yes and no responses. Curious about the moral ramifications of an artificial adolescent aggressive to mollusk? Definitely worth a look, as is our last Engadget Show episode if you missed it; video after the break.

Continue reading Peter Molyneux brings Milo, Kinect, and snails to the TED stage

Peter Molyneux brings Milo, Kinect, and snails to the TED stage originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well… this is interesting. Prior to Kinect hitting the masses in November, one Eedoo looks to be doing the world one better (or worse) with the eBox. In what can only be described as a bizarre tale of mystery, a Lenovo co-founded company has decided to produce what amounts to an Xbox 360 knockoff as well as a motion sensing peripheral that unquestionably takes inspiration from Kinect. In fact, we don’t even know if conventional controllers are a part of the deal, but word on the street has this one getting official in November and shipping early in 2011. Beyond that, details are few and far between, but you can follow the links below for a couple of videos (one’s after the break) and a smattering of cellphone snapshots.

Continue reading Lenovo side project to launch Xbox 360 / Kinect knockoff in China: hello, eBox

Lenovo side project to launch Xbox 360 / Kinect knockoff in China: hello, eBox originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Aug 2010 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Cinaoggi  |  Interfax, Chinagame  | Email this | Comments