Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Kinect Is Really Dead Now, Basically (gamespot.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the end-of-an-era dept.

Microsoft has confirmed that it is no longer producing the Kinect adapter that is needed to connect the Kinect to an Xbox One S, Xbox One X, or other Windows device. This comes after Microsoft announced in October 2017 that it was killing off the Xbox One's Kinect camera. GameSpot reports: "After careful consideration, we decided to stop manufacturing the Xbox Kinect Adapter to focus attention on launching new, higher fan-requested gaming accessories across Xbox One and Windows 10," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to Polygon. The representative declined to say if Microsoft would ever bring Kinect back. However, the company confirmed that the adapter "will no longer be available" to purchase.

67 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. A shame, really by IRGlover · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A bit of a shame really. While it was a useless gaming product, it was actually an interesting and useful device for creating body tracking or depth mapping software as these capabilities were wrapped in a pretty straightforward API.

    1. Re:A shame, really by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      Useless gaming product? My kids played with it for hours.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    2. Re: A shame, really by lord_mike · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Kinect was probably the most innovative thing Microsoft has ever done. It was amazing that it worked as well as it did. I will never understand why its mere existence was so hated by so many people. Microsoft, of course, also shares the blame for mishandling the Xbox One version, and then running away from this amazing tech due to a few vocal complaints.

    3. Re:A shame, really by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1, Troll

      Most products for or by gays tend to be pretty damn cool, so there's that.

    4. Re: A shame, really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It was able to tell how many people were in front of the TV, what they were doing, and send that information back to a server.

    5. Re: A shame, really by ArtemaOne · · Score: 2

      It's because they weren't creative enough. They implemented it in only the most gimicky ways, and it was aftermarket use (that made Microsoft no additional money) that really made it shine on the PC. Someone will create a product almost as good or better as this source has gone away from a corporation that could not use it effectively.

    6. Re:A shame, really by phorm · · Score: 2

      It wasn't useless, but it was definitely under-used (and hard to make use of). In the face of emerging modern VR, it looks like it's something that MS doesn't really want to sink a lot of money in anymore.

      This is sad though, because even though the current VR stuff is great, I've often caught myself thinking that something like Kinect could augment it better. For example, most VR kits involve holding some sort of controller and/or vests, sensors etc to determine body motion. This is something Kinect did pretty good, and would pair nicely in a defined space. My understanding is that the more modern Kinect was also a lot better at seeing finer movements.

      So instead of a controller, how about a headset combined with an external sensor like Kinect. The headset maps your in-game motion to what you see, and the Kinect maps motion of your limbs to the in-game character. That means you would have free arm/leg movement, possibly even some hand operations etc. The big problem would be that it likely would degrade when not facing the device, but if there were kinect-like devices built into the perimeter sensors (e.g. with Vive) that would hopefully be good enough to capture the majority of motion in various orientations.

    7. Re:A shame, really by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      I wish it was easier to use on Linux, especially to control Kodi. I've tried to hack together multiple solutions with no success.

      --
      Twinstiq, game news
    8. Re: A shame, really by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2

      I wonder how much of the decision was due to Apple. For those that don't know, MS didn't come up with the technology originally; the licensed it from a company called PrimeSense. Apple bought out that company in 2013. While the purchase would not have affected the MS license of the current technology it might have limited -any technology upgrades that MS might have negotiated later. Apple as a company doesn't license out their technology very often. Now this wasn't just a move by Apple to harm MS; Apple's new iPhone X uses a heavily miniaturized and advanced version of the same tech in the new face scanning sensors.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    9. Re: A shame, really by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

      The XBOX One + Connect was one of Microsoft's missed opportunities.
      It could have been an ideal smart home hub as well as a game system. It had very good voice control as well as the motion sensing. The Xbox has standard USB ports so you could have added any interface you wanted to it for home control.
      Add in the fact that they never really made it a viable Roku competitor for video or ever got a good music service going and it just becomes so sad.
      Kind of like WindowsPhone which was a good OS but lacked apps. Mainly Google Apps. What can I say if you have a phone OS it makes sense to support people with more market share than you do but not less.
      Hense Apple supporting iTunes on Windows and Google support iPhone.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    10. Re: A shame, really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Let's see: the NSA had wiretapped most of the Internet and had installed equipment in among other places a special room at AT&T's offices in SF. Consipracy theory, idiots like you said, except it was proven to be true.

      The government was illegally using the above to spy on US citizens. Conspiracy, until it was proven to be true.

      The government was sitting on a bunch of zero day exploits it intended to use to compromise technology for the purpose of spying. Also true.

      Social media companies collect data on and build profiles of non subscribers without their consent True.

      Tech execs altered their platforms to greatly favor Clinton over Trump. True.

      Samsung TVs can watch you and listen to you at any time and send this data to the servers of a third party company. Not only true, but unapologetically listed in their EULA with no supported way to turn it off.

      Apple lowers performance on older devices intentionally. Apple fanbeings really railed at this one, except it's also true.

      Donald Trump colluded illegally with "Russians" to "hack" (whatever thay means) the election. Totally false, and probably the one thing on this list you believe without question.

      How about wanting more liberty and freedom from control and at least stop trying to take mine away. People like you diminish all of us with your presence, and if you can't handle actually having to make your own decisions then go back to your mom's basement, if she's not sick of you too.

    11. Re: A shame, really by randombilly · · Score: 1

      And yet my life has changed perceptively zero as a result of those truths. With the exception of maybe the ads I see are more likely to be stuff Im potentially interested in. And I love to buy stuff! Put the chip in me.

  2. Such a shame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...Kinect Party is one of the most accessible games ever made for young kids, even my 2 year old could join in enthusiastically - "Daddy - Birds on the Sofa!", "Watch out Daddy Lava on the floor!!!"...ah well...

    1. Re:Such a shame... by _merlin · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yeah, I don't get the Kinect hate. My brother went down the Xbox path because of the Kinect and the superior dancing games it supports. My kids had plenty of fun playing them at Christmas. It's not something I'm into, but my brother and my kids sure have fun with it.

    2. Re:Such a shame... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The hate was mostly from more hardcore gamers. Motion controls are suboptimal compared to a traditional controller since they provide less fine control, and they kept producing games that forced you to use a control scheme that required the motion controller. Dancing games would be one of the few exceptions because there the body motion is the whole point.

    3. Re: Such a shame... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Depends on the context: the tech is undeniably cool(I picked one up when I heard they were getting axed just to play with that); but Microsoft was uneven in exploiting those cool capabilities and the device gained a rather tarnished reputation back when it was a mandatory pack-in as part of Microsoft's "Um, Xbox becomes all-things living room dominance hub?" scheme at launch.

      If you want what it does it was quite competitive indeed; but otherwise it was pretty much a $100 and mandatory microphone. Given the grim history of failure among optional console peripherals that never cracked the "our game won't support it because nobody owns one"/"why buy one when no games use it? problem it isn't hard to see Microsoft's incentive; but that doesn't change the fact that they failed; and until they backpedaled on the issue it was a pretty substantial increase in Xbox price without commensurate benefit.

    4. Re:Such a shame... by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      Yes, game controllers are worse than mouse and keyboard. But motion controllers are even worse. In fact, I'd say the gap between game controller and motion controller is greater than the gap between game controller and mouse and keyboard.

    5. Re:Such a shame... by GNious · · Score: 2

      Odd, I've seen PS Move players absolutely own regular players in PS3 shooters due to the added precision and flexible control.

    6. Re:Such a shame... by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      My brother went down the Xbox path because of the Kinect and the superior dancing games it supports.

      I thought the 'Xbox path' was genetic. You learn something every day.

      --
      No sig today...
    7. Re:Such a shame... by mnt · · Score: 1

      I found the lag between jumping and the avatar jumping very noticeable, but it created some entertaining evenings.

    8. Re:Such a shame... by Joce640k · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I don't get the Kinect hate. My brother went down the Xbox path because of the Kinect and the superior dancing games it supports.

      Those dancing games are totally fabulous, how could people hate that?

      --
      No sig today...
    9. Re: Such a shame... by lord_mike · · Score: 1

      No one was forcing you to buy them.

    10. Re: Such a shame... by NeoMorphy · · Score: 1

      Some work well. Wii Resident Evil 4, wiimote in the fake hand gun and you didn't need aim assist, you could control movement with the analog joystick while aiming with the wii gun. More fine tuned than using wasd and more immersive than point and click. After that, point and click is not as much fun.

    11. Re:Such a shame... by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

      I don't consider console game players to be "gamers".

      I'm a snob about it.

      LK

      --
      "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
    12. Re:Such a shame... by wardrich86 · · Score: 1

      I second this. I bought it for my kids years back and they STILL love it. It's got the best "The Floor is Lava" too! Apparently the developers initially created it with the expectation of people trying to stay out of the lava, but the playtesters instead seemed to enjoy jumping IN the lava, so they added the extra bit where you could crouch into the lava and jump out to make a splash. 10/10 devs.

    13. Re: Such a shame... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      While there was some hate from hardcore gamers, the main problem with the public in general is that it came standard with the XBox One which made it $100 more expensive. Many people didn't feel they should be forced to pay for an accessory they may not have wanted. Rather than sell a version that didn't have it, MS just made it mandatory by making it always on, always listening. That turned off many people. By the time MS undid all of that and released a model without the Kinect, many people had bought the PS4 instead.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    14. Re:Such a shame... by Voyager529 · · Score: 1

      Disclaimer, not an Xbox person (#PCMasterRace), but the hate is pretty easy to explain.

      Mass Effect 3, even ending notwithstanding, had a rather notable response on a number of fronts. A whole lot of them had to do with the time constraints, difficult to achieve under normal circumstances, but far harder when EA and Microsoft were telling them they needed to add trendy stuff too, it took away development time from things that really could have used more development efforts. One of the things that fell squarely into this category was the Kinect integration - they even had a nifty promo video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?....

      But let's focus on the Kinect aspects specifically. It boiled down to a number of voice commands to issue orders to squadmates and change weapons and similar functions that were otherwise performed through menu options. This sort of thing screamed 'forced mechanic' since the delay could be a problem during combat, but it gets even worse when we think through it a bit more. That sort of functionality could be readily accomplished with any Bluetooth headset, and would have allowed voice commands to be present on the PC, too. Plenty of gamers have such headsets for multiplayer, and 100% of the functionality the Kinect provides could be done just as well with non-Kinect hardware...but in order for those options to be available, the Kinect must be used. I'm still dealing with the damn Starchild in 2018 because a game that didn't need Kinect was forced to add it in a way that only needed Kinect to satisfy the requirement from Microsoft in 2012.

      That's just one example of a game for which Kinect usage was a lateral move at best, and detrimental to the game as a whole at worst.

      Now, I think there are games that lend themselves to the Kinect control paradigm. Others in this thread have excellent examples, from "the floor is lava" to dancing games to sports titles. It's a good mechanism that readily competes with the Wii remote and the Playstation Move controllers, exceeding them in a number of cases. However, the hate ultimately comes not from the demographic of those games, but the demographic of games which lend themselves to standard controllers. When those players were 'heavily incentivized' to use the Kinect for reasons of dubious benefit to the games being played, that is the source of the hate.

  3. Re:Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... by 91degrees · · Score: 1

    It's not clear if they're discontinuing the Windows version. Hopefully that will remain. It makes sense. It's possible that someone will come up with a use for it.

  4. Mine is sitting on a robot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    And it never saw a PC or an XBox. Too bad, very good product.

    1. Re:Mine is sitting on a robot by mnt · · Score: 1

      Comparable Products that come to mind: Intel RealSense, Structure Sensor (hackable iPad addon), Orbbec Astra 3D, etc.

    2. Re:Mine is sitting on a robot by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      How did you connect to the Kinect One without a PC or XBox (I thought it was very USB dependent)? Any specific hardware you can recommend? I would like to get a kinect hooked up to a project I'm working on. Mostly want to get the depth/color/IR imagery, don't need (although would like) all the post-processing (skeleton, etc.)

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
  5. What about Skype? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    What about tools like skype. Does the Xbox have other video accessories?

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  6. Unfortunately... by mikael · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... while it was a great method for user input and getting players to move around rather than remain sitting, advertisers were starting to use to the device to collect marketing data about users:

    "Xbox One can essentially work like TV that watches you, bringing marketers a huge new trove of data,"

    https://kotaku.com/xbox-ones-t...

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    1. Re:Unfortunately... by decipher_saint · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Pretty much. I know a couple of devs who found creative uses for it on PC.

      For the most part I was ambivalent toward it until it became an inseparable part of the already disastrous XBox One launch platform. They practically handed Sony market share. I think the hate for it mushroomed after that point (to be fair the seeds were already planted between gamers who enjoy sitting motionless versus any kind of motion control.)

      Microsoft is a frustrating company to follow around, they sometimes come up with brilliant ideas and then utterly demolish them through incompetence.

      --
      crazy dynamite monkey
  7. Re: A shame, really (weaboo have no shame really) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    > creating body tracking

    Body tracking for a hologram is pretty weird though...

    (Reportedly a major Kinect market is Japan where the otaku use it with a Win PC freeware called MMD, to create 3D models and dance videos of the eternally 16 year old virtual j-pop starlet called Hatsune Miku. She is a piece of music synthesis software who has no tangible body and performs as an advanced projection in "live" concerts but the fans want their own doujin.)

  8. Re: The camera in Rocksmith... by Whooty+McWhooface · · Score: 2

    Being able to see myself snap a G-string while fingering a minor was helpful

    Huh? There's a joke in there somewhere, I just know it....

    What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

  9. Agreed Re:Such a shame... by ET3D · · Score: 1

    Kinect is the only reason I own an Xbox 360, and the lack of backward compatibility for Kinect titles is the reason I haven't upgraded to a One. Sure, it's getting less use now, but when the kids were smaller, the Kinect got a lot of action. For controller based games I have an HTPC.

    It's unfortunate that Microsoft never understood what could be done with it, and what shouldn't be done with it (UI navigation).

  10. there goes my dream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    of communicating with my computer thru insults... and the computer actually listening

  11. UI killed it, IMO Re:Such a shame... by ET3D · · Score: 2

    A major problem IMO was that the Kinect is terrible at UI navigation, and Microsoft forced that, instead of allowing (and even forcing) controller use for UI segments. Kinect Party and Avengers: Battle for Earth are great partly because they allow navigating menus with the controllers, instead of struggling with the Kinect for that. Disneyland Adventures is terrible because most of the game is spent using the Kinect for avatar creation and navigation, so the actual fun minigames (and they are fun) become a small part of a generally frustrating experience.

    But yes, the hate from hardcores is just because they're small minded.

  12. China is still making adapters by Megane · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Not having used a Kinect before, I wanted to see just how special this adapter was. Apparently Kinect uses a special plug that combines USB and 12V power. Microsoft's adapter for the Xbone version presents this as a USB 3.0 B jack.

    There seem to be a lot of third-party adapters out there for the 360 version. They have a wall wart, an orange-tongue "USB" jack for the Kinect, and a USB A plug. It is also possible to hack off the end of the connector, which seems to only use USB 2.0, and splice in a 12V 1.5A power supply and USB connector.

    So basically this is just another special proprietary variation of a standard plug, simply because they didn't want to have a second plug in the Kinect for power. Not that it's anything new, Microsoft has been pulling this bullshit ever since the original Xbox used plain USB with a two special connectors for its controllers. (To be fair, it probably had better durability for insertions/removals.)

    At least with USB 3 for the Xbone version, why couldn't they have used the official extended power management support? Then at least it could use some kind of standard power inserter or powered hub. Or was that from USB C?

    As long as China can find a supply of connectors for the Xbone version, I'm sure you will see replacements out there soon.

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    1. Re:China is still making adapters by phorm · · Score: 1

      Yeah, Kinect is cool but I really do *hate* the non-standard plug. I have most of my game stuff etc in a separate room with AV routed through an amp and then all the various plugs available on a wall plate with keystone jacks. That is, all the plugs except:

      a) The older Gamecube-type controller for my wii (wiimotes are fine, and it otherwise has USB), so that's only for playing the older GC games
      b) The sensor bar on the wii, not a huge issue as it's a 2-wire connection that can rather easily be rewired to either use something keystone-friendly or local power
      c) That damn oddball Kinect plug

      Everything else uses standard keystones for USB, HDMI, ethernet or AV, but I have never been able to find a Kinect keystone. I even considered trying to print something once. Eventually I gave up and just put a pop-out receptacle in behind the TV. But a keystone would have been nice. Sad to hear that even XBone didn't use a proper connector. Given that you can drive monitors and fairly power-hungry devices from USB3 I'm fairly sure it would have been sufficient to juice up the Kinect.

    2. Re:China is still making adapters by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      It's actually a USB standard plug. It's just supremely obscure (USB C made it obsolete), and I cannot find anyone else using it. But the USB standard committee put it forward.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    3. Re:China is still making adapters by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Do you have a link on the adapters for the XBox One Kinect? I couldn't find any.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    4. Re:China is still making adapters by iMadeGhostzilla · · Score: 1

      According to this scheme https://i.cloudup.com/gsEOYAqI... it should be brown (+12V) and grey (GND)

    5. Re:China is still making adapters by Megane · · Score: 1

      Please do find a reference to it being standard. From the pictures I've seen, it is not the USB 3.0 version of the B connector. (The B connector is the one that you find on the back of most ink-jet printers.) That one has the bump on top centered over an old B connector, while the Xbone Kinect plug has its bump off to one side, over something that looks like an A jack on the back of the console. USB 3.0 didn't need a special A connector, because it was already backward-compatible with the extra pins.

      The adapter which Microsoft is discontinuing provides power and a standard USB 3.0 B jack.

      Here is a guide to the various official (and some unofficial) USB connectors:
      https://www.cablestogo.com/learning/connector-guides/usb

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    6. Re:China is still making adapters by Megane · · Score: 1

      All I found were for the 360 Kinect, but China tends to fill whatever need they see, so if it is at all possible for them to find the plug, they will be making them soon.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  13. Re:Which is it? by sh00z · · Score: 1

    Really dead, or basically dead?

    Are slashdot headlines written by tweens now?

    Actually, it's literally dead.

  14. Something MS is good at by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    Embracing, tainting, extinguishing.

  15. Re:Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Luckily, connector shells are cheap and ubiquitous on eBay. If you want a normal connector, solder one on.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  16. This timing sucks by kimvette · · Score: 1

    As happened with 3D TVs, I waited for them to get the tech right, then put off a purchase because we were upgrading from an apartment to a house so we wanted to get a larger 3D set. By the time the house was ready 3D TVs were killed off and the ones with the specs I wanted were no longer available as "new old stock."

    Now that I am going to be ready to upgrade from my Xbox 360 to an Xbox One along with other AV upgrades (mostly to get 4K capability) they're killing off the Kinect.

    The universe hates me. :D

    Obviously the solution is to buy now before stock runs out, but...

    --
    The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
    1. Re:This timing sucks by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Good luck. I tried to buy an adapter last month. Everywhere was sold out (including the MS store).

      Although, if you find a bunch, please please let me know.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    2. Re:This timing sucks by iMadeGhostzilla · · Score: 1

      You can find videos on the Web how to DIY, and since it's relatively simple someone will probably offer an adapter. On the Kinect side it's USB3.0 type B (looks like it's glued but it isn't, you just need to pull it strongly, and can put it back after), but two of the pins are +12V DC and ground. One solution is to open the Kinect and soldier those two wires in, then connect to a 12V 3A DC supply, and the rest is just USB 3 type B to standard USB type A to your XB X/S or PC.

  17. "New, higher fan-requested gaming accessories" by FilmedInNoir · · Score: 1

    What are those exactly? What are fans requesting? If Kinect was hated because it required bodily movement are the new devices going to be controlled by the undulation of fat folds and farting?

    --
    Sig. Sig. Sputnik
    1. Re:"New, higher fan-requested gaming accessories" by zifn4b · · Score: 1

      What are those exactly? What are fans requesting? If Kinect was hated because it required bodily movement are the new devices going to be controlled by the undulation of fat folds and farting?

      If your claim were true, the Wiimote would not have been a huge success. Try again. The Kinect was well known for not tracking body movements very accurately.

      --
      We'll make great pets
    2. Re:"New, higher fan-requested gaming accessories" by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      "What are fans requesting?" Answer: Gooble Boxes.

    3. Re:"New, higher fan-requested gaming accessories" by jittles · · Score: 1

      What are those exactly? What are fans requesting? If Kinect was hated because it required bodily movement are the new devices going to be controlled by the undulation of fat folds and farting?

      If your claim were true, the Wiimote would not have been a huge success. Try again. The Kinect was well known for not tracking body movements very accurately.

      Pretty sure you have that backwards. You have to buy an additional sensor pack for the Wiimote to even get it to remotely track right. And I can tell you right now that my nephew can kick your ass at Wii bowling without making any more gestures than you would make while playing CoD on the xbox. If you have the kinect set up in the right space it tracks the body quite well. If it's in too small of a space, or you're too close, it can certainly miss actions.

  18. Re:Which is it? by jdschulteis · · Score: 1

    Really dead, or basically dead?

    Are slashdot headlines written by tweens now?

    Mostly dead--which is slightly alive!

  19. So sad... Kinect joined beloved friends like... by zifn4b · · Score: 1

    ...the Nintendo Power Glove. Truly a sad loss for us all.

    --
    We'll make great pets
    1. Re:So sad... Kinect joined beloved friends like... by freeze128 · · Score: 1

      "I love the Kinect. It's so... bad!"

  20. Re:Xbox itself not far behind... by zifn4b · · Score: 1

    Looks like Xbox placed 3rd in a 3 way race this holiday season

    I was almost compelled to pick up one for 200 bucks just because I could use it as a media center with a 4K blu ray player. Ultimately, I decided I'll just wait for standalone 4K blu ray players to go down in price.

    --
    We'll make great pets
  21. Re:Xbox itself not far behind... by xjerky · · Score: 1

    I bought an LG 4K Blu-Ray player for $100 a few weeks ago at Best Buy. Didn't have any smart features like Netflix or Youtube but my Sony Android TV handles that, anyway.

    --
    A sentence you'll never see on an Internet discussion board: "You know what? You're right."
  22. Re: Always On Killed It by lord_mike · · Score: 2

    Always on and listening doesn't seem to bother Amazon Echo users. That was Amazon's best selling product this Xmas.

  23. The rest of the story... by zarmanto · · Score: 2

    There's a component which I believe is missing from this story: Apple purchased PrimeSense back in 2013, which is the company which used to license the Kinect sensor array technology to Microsoft. Apple is now using the same patented tech in their FaceID system on the iPhone X.

    Those are the facts; now on to the speculation: I would expect the licenses which previously covered the Kinect have since expired, and the two companies have been unable to negotiate mutually beneficial license terms, going forward. (Or to put it more bluntly: Apple probably just told Microsoft to kindly shove it.) Further, Microsoft no doubt knew this was coming well before now, so Microsoft has probably spent the past several years investigating whether or not it could forge a way ahead for the Kinect which does not rely upon the PrimeSense patents... and this new information seems to imply that they never found one.

    1. Re:The rest of the story... by iMadeGhostzilla · · Score: 1

      Kinect v2 has different tech from Kinect v1, from a different company. Primesense was pretty upset when MSoft decided to switch techs and were desperately looking for a buyer. I imagine if there's anything in the Primesense contract that would have prevented MSoft from developing v2 and v3 the split wouldn't have happened.

  24. Re:Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... by moogaloonie · · Score: 1

    It can be used for marker-less mo-cap by both Poser and iClone via plug-in. That made it pretty useful to a lot of people.

  25. Interesting: being used for security at casinos by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

    Saw one of these in Melbourne casino on every table, they also had a normal camera but perhaps depth or infrared? Was beneficial to them?

    It was the newer, large model for the Xbox One.

  26. Re: The camera in Rocksmith... by Pezbian · · Score: 1

    Win some, lose some.

    It was "A-Minor", by the way. xO231O on a 6-string with standard tuning.

    --
    In a world of the blind, the one-eyed man is king--and the two-eyed man is a heretic.