Hasta La Gadget!

When word first reached Microsoft that the open-source community would hack the Kinect, the company’s response was pretty heavy-handed: “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products,” a rep told CNET, pledging to “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” But now that Kinect mods blow our minds on a near-daily basis, Redmond has changed its tone. Microsoft’s Alex Kipman told NPR Science Daily listeners that as far as the company’s concerned, the Kinect hasn’t actually been hacked thus far, and that Microsoft actually left the camera’s USB connection unprotected “by design” to let the community take advantage. Though he and fellow Microsoftie Shannon Loftis wouldn’t commit to official PC software drivers for the device, he did say that the company would “partner sooner rather than later” with academic institutions to get the hardware doled out, and suggested that some universities started playing with Kinect even before its commercial launch. Read a transcript of the pertinent section of the podcast after the break, or listen for yourself at our source link starting at the 18:22 mark.

[Thanks, Fred T.]

Continue reading Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea

Microsoft: I’m a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Nov 2010 12:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is a little confusing, but it looks like there’s another Kinect driver out in the wild, and this one is actually available for download. The folks at NUI Group, who posted results first, are working on an SDK and Windows driver for all the capabilities of the device, which they plan to release as open source once their $10k donation fund is filled up. Meanwhile, hacker Hector Martin has performed a quick and dirty hack of his own (three hours into the European launch, no less) and has released his results and code into the wild. Sure, pulling data from the IR and RGB cameras and displaying it is a lot different than actually making sense of it, but if you’re just looking for a way to plug your Kinect into your computer and squeeze some fun visuals out of it (and you’re smart enough to deal with some pretty raw code), it looks like Hector is your man of the hour. Peep his video proof after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Open source Kinect camera driver now available for download

Open source Kinect camera driver now available for download originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Indamixx — get it?! — may be a relative dark horse in the race to tablet supremacy, but those looking for something a touch outlandish can’t possibly ignore the company’s latest. The self-titled Indamixx 2 slate has just recently broke cover, with a prototype boasting Intel’s single-core 1.66GHz Atom N450 (a dual-core chip is slated to hit the finalized version), 2GB of RAM, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, Ethernet socket and analog audio input / output jacks. There’s no exact word on the screen size or resolution, but the kicker is the software — this guy’s loaded with Transmission 5.0, a music-centric OS that’s actually built around MeeGo.

The creators say that they chose MeeGo due to its fondness of multitouch inputs, and based on the videos we’ve seen of it running, it definitely looks like a wise choice. Moreover, those looking to use this for more traditional tasks will be thrilled to know that they still can, and considering that it’s Linux underneath, the limits are near-endless when it comes to tweaking options. For those in no position to wait for the final build, you can hit the source link in order to snag “beta hardware” for $999; we’re hoping that those who wait will be treated to far more sensible pricing, but there’s no question that we’re intrigued either way. Hop on past the break to see this bad boy get down.

Continue reading Indamixx 2 Atom-powered MeeGo tablet touts rockstar looks, $999 price tag

Indamixx 2 Atom-powered MeeGo tablet touts rockstar looks, $999 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Nov 2010 12:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s always been tension between Apple’s tight control of the iOS App Store and the DRM-free license requirements of the GPL, and it seems like things are coming to a head over VLC, the open-source video player. As you’ll recall, VLC was just released for the iPad and iPhone in the past few months, but the port was done by a company called Applidium — not VLC developer VideoLAN, which holds the copyright and licenses the code under the GPL. VideoLAN now says that since VLC for iOS includes Apple’s FairPlay DRM, it’s in violation of the GPL and must be pulled — and that “concerned users are advised to look for applications on more open mobile platforms for the time being.” That’s certainly fair enough, although we do find it a bit sensationalist that the takedown notice was sent to Apple and not Applidium, since it’s technically Applidium that violated the GPL. Then again, the statement was written by VideoLAN developer Rémi Deni-Courmont, who is also senior MeeGo software engineer, so we can see why he’d be interested in promoting a “more open” project. Whatever the case, it doesn’t seem like VLC for iOS is long for this world — you’d best go grab it as quickly as possible. Like, now.

Update: It seems like there’s significant dissension in the VideoLAN ranks, as the project’s official Twitter page now says there are no problems and is linking to another forum post with some armchair legal analysis of Apple’s App Store Terms and Conditions. That sounds like we’re in for months of arguing, since huge GPL projects like VLC have layers upon layers of nested copyrights, and no one person can really pursue action without the consent of everyone else, but we’ll keep an eye on things. In the meantime, we’d suggest VideoLAN find a lawyer or two to give them a definitive answer on the GPL / App Store question — it’ll save everyone a lot of time and frustration.

VLC for iPhone and iPad may disappear thanks to GPL complaints — go get it now originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The suggestion has been made countless times that manufacturers who customize their devices’ builds of Android (that is to say, nearly all of them) should have the decency to offer users the option of reverting to a completely clean, stock version of the platform if they so choose. The concept came up at a press lunch featuring Google CEO Eric Schmidt last week, and the dude responded with an interesting explanation for why they don’t require that of their partners: “if we were to put those type of restrictions on an open source product, we’d be violating the principle of open source.”

Of course, “the principle of open source” is open to wild differences in interpretation, the source of well over 20 years worth of intense debate in the developer community and the reason why countless types and versions of open source licenses exist (GPL, BSD, MIT, and so on). We’d also argue that the fact that Google is allegedly placing a range of arbitrary restrictions on certified devices (that is, those that feature the Market and other Google apps) gives them the platform they need to impose one more… but hey, Schmidt’s an opinionated guy, and until Android stops growing by leaps and bounds, there’s probably not a great capitalism-inspired argument that can be made here. Peep the video of the luncheon after the break.

Continue reading Google’s Schmidt says requiring stock Android would violate ‘the principle of open source’

Google’s Schmidt says requiring stock Android would violate ‘the principle of open source’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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