Kinect - SlashGear

‘Kinect’ Stories

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Motion control could save Windows 8

Chris Davies, May 21st 2012 Discuss [0]

You don’t have to be a Minority Report fan to appreciate Leap Motion’s new tracking sensor technology: there’s something tremendously appealing about being able to wave your hands at your computer and conduct the digital world. Motion control has already proved itself more than just a gimmick in gaming, and now it has a chance to not only do that in mainstream computing, but perhaps rescue Microsoft from one of its more contentious Windows decisions. Play it right, and Leap Motion – and others with it – could kill touch in traditional computing before its even had a chance to get started.

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Microsoft releases Kinect for Windows 1.5

Ben Kersey, May 21st 2012 Discuss [0]

Kinect might be a great way to experience motion gaming on your Xbox 360, but the sensor accessory has a use on desktop PCs too, with a full blown SDK being offered by Microsoft to take advantage of the hardware. Now the company has updated the SDK to version 1.5, bringing with it some new features to let developers further utilize the motion tracking hardware in their applications. Read The Full Story

Rumor: Microsoft bringing Internet Explorer to Xbox 360

Michael Crider, May 10th 2012 Discuss [0]

The Xbox has always been pretty Internet-focused, but over its lifetime the Xbox 360 has become the media and social hub that Microsoft dreamed of in the early 2000s. There's just one thing missing: a real web experience. According to unsubstantiated claims from The Verge, the company is planning on bringing the ubiquitous Internet Explorer to the Xbox 360, adding it to the apps, television, streaming movies and music, and social functions already in place. Read The Full Story

Kinect Play Fit tipped for 360 with Joule tracker

Chris Davies, May 8th 2012 Discuss [0]

Microsoft is reportedly readying a wireless fitness monitor that, along with a "Kinect Play Fit" upgrade to the Xbox 360 dashboard, will enable cross-game health tracking. The accessory, believed to be called Joule by sources speaking to The Verge, will collate ongoing fitness performance between Xbox games, motivating users to stay in their sweetspot for pre-set weight loss, strength or cross-fitness goals. Read The Full Story

$99 Xbox 360 with two-year contract official

Ben Kersey, May 7th 2012 Discuss [0]

Looks like the rumors turned out to be true. Microsoft has officially announced that you’ll be able to purchase an Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle for $99 on a two-year contract. That will net you the 4GB version of the console, plus a $15 a month subscription fee that will also include an Xbox Live Gold membership so you can fully experience online multiplayer. Read The Full Story

Microsoft researching sound only gesture system

Ben Kersey, May 7th 2012 Discuss [0]

The Kinect has made motion controls a reality for consoles, and we might soon be seeing similar technology make the jump to PCs and laptops. Rather than using a dedicated motion sensor bar, Microsoft Research is developing a technique called SoundWave that would detect motion and implement controls using only the microphone and speakers on a laptop. Read The Full Story

Augmented Reality Sandbox makes mudpies with Kinect

Chris Davies, May 7th 2012 Discuss [0]

AR isn't just about flashing Google Project Glass alerts up in your line of sight, it's also about getting your hands dirty with some mediated reality thanks to an Augmented Reality Sandbox project by UC Davis. The handiwork of researchers at the W.M. Keck Center for Active Visualization in the Earth Sciences, the digital sandbox uses a projector and Microsoft Kinect sensor to track the contours of the sand and overlay a real-time topographic map complete with virtual water flow. Read The Full Story

$99 Xbox 360 and Kinect with two-year subscription tipped

Ben Kersey, May 2nd 2012 Discuss [0]

What if you took the classic cellphone business model and applied it to consoles? Did your mind just explode? Microsoft is certainly hoping it will. The Verge reports that Microsoft will be offering a $99 Xbox 360 and Kinect as part of a two-year subscription starting from next week. The $99 upfront cost would net you the hardware, and you would continue to pay a $15 monthly subscription over the course of two years. Read The Full Story

Multi touch table achieves 3D effect using Kinect

Ben Kersey, Apr 30th 2012 Discuss [0]

Interactive tables aren’t anything new, but what about one you could potentially build by yourself on the cheap? That’s what one internet dweller has done, using a 2D projector, kinect unit, and four infrared lasers. The table appears to have a 3D holographic display, but it’s a clever piece of trickery: the Kinect tracks the user’s head in relation to the table, and the projector adjusts the image as necessary to give the illusion of a 3D space. Read The Full Story

Dragon Ball Z Kinect announced for October release

Ben Kersey, Apr 13th 2012 Discuss [0]

Looks like more and more developers are jumping on the Kinect bandwagon. Bethesda Studios announced yesterday that Skyrim would be able to take advantage of Kinect voice commands in an update coming later this month, and now a beloved franchise will be receiving the same motion capture treatment. Namco Bandai has announced Dragon Ball Z Kinect, due in October. Read The Full Story

Skyrim will see Kinect support later this month

Ben Kersey, Apr 12th 2012 Discuss [0]

Bethesda Studios today announced that the Xbox 360 version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be receiving an update enabling Kinect support. The update will be available for free later this month. Bethesda say that they’ve added 200 voice commands into the game, including support for dragon shouts. Instead of scrolling through an endless menu of commands, now you’ll simply be able to call out the necessary shout. Read The Full Story

Kinect on Windows Phone 8 in the pipeline

Chris Burns, Apr 10th 2012 Discuss [0]

The technology that drives the Kinect system for your Xbox 360 as well as your Windows PC will soon be coming to Windows Phone in miniature. Several sources (one of them drunk, the others said to be entirely reliable) have spoken with VR-Zone's Theo Valich about Kinect NUI (Natural User Interface) and its future with Windows Phone 8. This technology will be coming to Windows Phone 8 codename Apollo or one of its updates and will have the platform transformed in no time flat. Read The Full Story