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Kinect Creators To Make PC Controller
Hugh Pickens writes "PrimeSense, the privately held Israeli company that licensed core Kinect technology to Microsoft, is teaming up with PC and peripheral maker Asus to create a similar device for the PC that can be used for browsing multimedia content and accessing the Internet and social networks — basically, the main things consumers use their PCs for. Last month, a Korean game developer claimed that Microsoft was working on a version of Kinect for the PC, but Microsoft hasn't confirmed any such plans."
Sounds like a precursor to Minority Report-like technology. Like we haven't heard *that* song and dance umpteen times before. Still, it sounds neat. And expensive. Damn student salary.
I'm just hoping it doesn't get railroaded by ms or something else.
Farmville just got better!
As interesting as a Kinect-style device for my PC sounds, it just ain't gonna work. You need a room about 4 times the size of my living room to use the things.
I want something that'll scan gestures from a chair position, not an across-the-room position.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
This is good news, now my wrists will get a different type of workout than they normally get when I use a PC.
Sounds like that porn game is actually going to get developed now.
"For years radios had been operated by means of pressing buttons and turning dials; then as the technology became more sophisticated the controls were made touch-sensitive — you merely had to brush the panels with your fingers; now all you had to do was wave your hand in the general direction of the components and hope. It saved a lot of muscular expenditure of course, but meant that you had to sit infuriatingly still if you wanted to keep listening to the same program."
"People don't want to learn linux" hasn't been a valid excuse since '03.
The tech will be handy, but until you don't need to *ask* if it's included on your next bargain PC's purchase (like we expect ballmice, and now laser mice) it will be an expensive extra purchase. Not every tech gets ported even if it IS wildly useful. Exhibit a) Smartphone Touch screens.
all they had to say was "teaming with asus". i am a total asus fanboy
i see this going two ways
1) they lock it up, so linux doesnt get it easily, i.e. most of programers hate the thing, its stays costly and without mircosofts ad budget falls flat
2)they leave it open and its awesome, tho only linux users will have a descent ui for a while followed by smart phones then macs after a few months; then windows gets it and some knock off brand makes it super cheap but then the asus will have the high quality high cost ones and get rich still and they airnt hated by everyone
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Oh great, here come the 324503475234 slashbots clamoring for a "Minority Report" style user interface. (It looks cool when you see it in the movies for a minute or two, but try spending all day every day waving your arms around to browse the web and shuffle your spreadsheets. Your tired arms will be reaching for that mouse real quick.)
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And a bit of an occasional gesture.
If someone suggest the "minority report-style controls" do a simple experiment:
Stand in front of the mirror and do:
- "file moving" (grand gesture - one side to the other)
- "resizing" (grabing and stretching wide)
- "turning and button pushing" (poking at the different spots of the mirror)
Now repeat for 20 minutes. What are you saying? Your arms are kinda tired? Well duh.
Gestures without a surface to put your arms on are exhausting and hard, especially if you have to do it non-stop for a long period of time.
It may improve your physique eventually (giant strong arms, tiny legs from sitting in the chair)
Occasional gestures are fine. Say, silence alarm by "batting it away" or switch from one screen set to the other with rotational gesture. But for most activities - get a good hand rest, or touch-surface, or a mouse :)
Hyperom.com
Why create a similar device when all you need are windows drivers for the existing Kinect?
Starbucks, Harbuckle of Breath.
Personally among other uses, I look forward to this replacing devices like TrackIR -- no more goofy hat or other head gear required.
Owner of technology is is PrimeSense
PrimeSense/KInect tech is scalable. With different camera lens and different lens for laser it can work in range suitable for PC/Laptop or smartphone.
I wonder what's going to be the gesture for the Ctrl+Alt+Suppr key combination. Maybe waving a finger at the computer or mimicking a kick in the groin?
Or maybe, even better: launch it when the user does "facepalm".
Just think of what this could mean to a handicapped person! Clunky interfaces can no be replaced with gestures! Having helped a couple of handicapped users, this is a dream come true.
Maybe I'm missing something here so, /., please enlighten me (as I'm sure you will), but why would I want something that's harder to use than my mouse and keyboard. Seriously, I lean back almost horizontal and slide my body damn near under my desk and I'm basically laying down to do my web browsing and what-not. Why the hell would I want something that actually makes me work?
this whole gesture based interface is great but what we really want is Rommie (CR GR:ANDROMEDA) now that would get all of us going.
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You sit in front of a computer, typically at a distance of less than 1m. You sit maybe 2-2.5m away from your TV screen when using your console
You forgot home theater PCs. These look like consoles, and they play video on a TV like consoles, but they have PC hardware inside and run a PC OS so that the user doesn't have to use fragile, legally questionable jailbreaks just to go beyond what the manufacturer wants him to do with the hardware. But I'll grant that they aren't common... yet.
the coward is using a French keyboard... the gesture would have to be culturally sensitive. For Paris, mime (yes Mime!) rolling down the car window and cocking your head outside to yell insults...
Mate, I do agree that they didn't need to "jail-break" the hardware, they only needed to "break the protocol/encoding". However, it still seems that MS is "royaly not amused":
To support your case, you link to a statement Microsoft made prior to the release of the opensource driver. A statement that was made explicitly about "product tampering."
But look what slashdot reported two weeks after your failed scavenger hunt -- Alex Kipman, Xbox Director of Incubation:
The first thing to talk about is, Kinect was not actually hacked. Hacking would mean that someone got to our algorithms that sit inside of the Xbox and was able to actually use them, which hasn't happened. Or, it means that you put a device between the sensor and the Xbox for means of cheating, which also has not happened. That's what we call hacking, and that's what we have put a ton of work and effort to make sure doesn't actually occur. What has happened is someone wrote an open-source driver for PCs that essentially opens the USB connection, which we didn't protect, by design, and reads the inputs from the sensor.
But yet you insist that Microsoft is "royally not amused" and will involve "law enforcement" (bold-face makes things sound scary, amiright?)
So with that said, can you please stop the attempts at pedantry?
Could be pretty interesting for 3D interactive worlds; these type of worlds have always been far more successful on the PC. Those static/boring standing/dancing animations 3d characters currently have could be a thing of the past. Interaction between avatars could be a bit more "real" with something like this. It certainly is no "Lawnmower Man" hardware however it's an interesting step for metaverses and MMORPGs. Granted, the amount of space (if based on Kinect specs) you would need for your computer station would be enormous, but I think "the computer" really could benefit from these sort of user input technology.
"True refinement seeks simplicity."