Kinect on our PCs and set top boxes is coming...but not exactly from Microsoft
In an interview with the BBC, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the Kinect motion control interface released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 will be coming to PCs "in the right time."
But Belgian middleware company SoftKinetic might just beat Microsoft to the punch with its own white-label gesture interface for Atom-based PCs and set-top boxes.
Microsoft denies link between Xbox failures and Kinect
On the same day when Microsoft announced that it had sold eight million Kinects, the company is now finding itself facing criticism as consumers claim the accessory is reportedly causing "red ring of death" failures on Xbox 360 consoles.
A report from the BBC as well as posts scattered across Microsoft's Xbox support forums have highlighted the issue. The problems appear shortly after the Kinect is connected, and will render the console unusable. So named because the normally green lights of the Xbox 360's power button turn red, the "red ring of death" indicates a serious error that typically cannot be fixed without sending the console back to Microsoft.
Ballmer CES keynote: Microsoft sells 8 million Kinect controllers
It wouldn't be the Consumer Electronics Show without Microsoft kick-off keynote. For about a decade, cofounder Bill Gates assumed the role. More recently the burden belongs to CEO Steve Ballmer.
Considering all the accolades given Apple chief executive Steve Jobs during 2010, I wonder if he would give the keynote if asked. After all, Job's is tech's CEO-darling of the hour, he runs the tech company with largest valuation and Apple's most successful products -- at least released during the new millennium -- are consumer electronics: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and newer MacBook models. Apple's products have lots more to do with consumers and electronics than do Microsoft's. Ballmer's company mostly sells to enterprises and earns nearly all its profits from software. Apple sells hardware, and of course bundled software and services, to consumers.
Could Kinect be Microsoft's iPod?
On November 8, 2010, one of my most anticipated packages arrived from Amazon: a 250 GB Xbox 360 Kinect combo. Kinect is one of the more popular devices to leave the doors of Microsoft. The Redmond, Wash.-based company initially expected to sell two million of them during the holiday season but upped estimates to five million due to high preorder sales. Not a day goes by without reports about how someone has hacked Kinect for some other use besides gaming. I think this suggests demand for natural user interfaces will expand beyond touch, and go mainstream. Couple that with the high cool factor Kinect offers and this could be the device that reinvigorates Microsoft's consumer image. Could Kinect be Microsoft's iPod?
I think so. In case you don't remember, Apple was largely a forgotten company in the mid 1990s. There were no mainstream products, Macs were very expensive for most consumers to buy and most businesses chose the certainty of Windows. Things began to change when Apple cofounder Steve Jobs returned to the company in late 1996 and became interim CEO the next year. In 1998, he launched the trendy, translucent iMac. But there wasn't much room for Mac sales to grow -- most people used Windows PCs. Apple needed something new.
Kinect hackers presented with legitimate opportunities in 3D interface design
Hacking the Xbox 360 Kinect controller is all the rage right now, but it's not exactly sanctioned by Microsoft. The future for 3D gesture-based controls, however, looks extremely promising and Belgian software company Softkinetic launched a content developer program for engineers looking to make a legitimate entry into the field.
Ever since an open source PC driver was devised to turn Kinect into a standard USB device, amateur developers have been coming up with clever new ways of using the "controllerless controller."
Microsoft says Kinect sales steady: more than 100,000 units per day
Microsoft on Monday announced that Kinect, the sensor attachment for the Xbox 360 that supports motion-based controls, has been sold to more than 2.5 million customers worldwide in just 25 days.
"We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand," said Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.
Microsoft's Lync: Unified communications meets Kinect, XBox and iPhone
Formally announced at a New York City press conference, but with a live video pop-in from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in Seattle, the latest edition of Lync, Microsoft's unified communications environment will be accessible among huge enterprises, small businesses, and even home-based consumers and gamers.
The actual Lync product unveiled at the rollout, a major update to Microsoft's long-time Office Communications Server (OCS), will run on Microsoft Exchange servers to deliver integrated conferencing services to the predictable desktop PCs, along with specially LCD-outfitted desktop phones, smartphones, laptops equipped with Web clients, and XBox game machines.
Microsoft on track to sell five million Kinects by year's end
Any doubts over Microsoft's foray into motion-sensing gaming may have been erased as it announced Monday it was on track to sell five million units of its new Kinect controller. In just the first ten days, one million Kinects were sold, which included sales from both the US and Europe.
Kinect launched on November 4 in the US and last Wednesday across Europe. It is slated to launch Thursday in Asia, and in Japan on Saturday. By the holidays the company expects some 60,000 retailers worldwide to carry it, with 17 titles available.
Will you connect with Xbox Kinect?
Overnight, Microsoft launched its innovative and somewhat imitative Kinect game controller ("Look, ma, no hands!"). If you stood in line at Midnight -- and, more importantly, if you used Kinect in the wee hours afterwards, please share your story, either in comments or by sending email to joewilcox at gmail dot com. I would prefer email because you can be identified and I can more easily ask followup questions. If you're planning on Kinecting, particularly if you preordered, I ask you to share that story, too. Most importantly is why. Why Kinect?
The game controller's success is hugely important to Microsoft, which needs something more to reinvigorate its consumer brand image. Good start: Successful game titles like Halo Reach, next week's Windows Phone 7 U.S. launch and great TV commercials for Bing, Internet Explorer 8 and Windows 7. Kinect is about generating buzz by generating long lines of Xbox enthusiasts. From marketing and branding perspectives, the games begin outside stores before one controller is sold.
$400 Xbox Kinect bundle due November 4 in US
Microsoft has fired the first salvo in a battle for motion-sensing superiority that is sure to last through the holiday season. The Redmond company said Wednesday that it would introduce a Xbox 360 bundle that would include Kinect for $399.99 beginning November 4.
The console is Microsoft's redesigned 250GB Xbox 360 which retails on its own for $299.99. The company had announced in July that the Kinect system would be a $149.99 add-on, so buyers would save $50 on the bundle. Like the standalone Kinect offering, the game Kinect Adventures, would be included.
Xbox Live Gold subscription price to rise for the first time
On November first, Xbox Live will get more expensive than it's ever been.
Since launching in 2002, Microsoft's Xbox Live subscription gaming service has retained the same price in the U.S.: $7.99 per month, $19.99 per 3 months, and $49.99 per year. Monday, Director of Programming for Xbox Live Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb announced a price increase coming to the service on November 1, 2010 which will raise it to $9.99 per month, $24.99 per 3 months, and $59.99 per year.
Microsoft's Kinect gets pricing, holiday season release date
Microsoft announced pricing and availability on Tuesday for its Kinect motion sensing controller for the Xbox 360, saying the device would be available November 4 at a price of $149.99. The release of the Kinect means that Microsoft would square off this holiday season against Sony, who also plans to release its own system.
Microsoft would bundle the Kinect controller and an Xbox 360 console with 4GB of internal memory for $299.99. The console itself would begin selling on its own for $199.99 on August 3, however.
Which drew the bigger crowd in San Diego? Microsoft Store opening or Apple iPhone 4 launch?
Thousands of people swarm San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall Apple Store for iPhone 4
Apple and Microsoft faced off in the same San Diego mall today. Microsoft opened its fourth retail store. Apple launched iPhone 4. Both events drew long lines of fans. But the Apple line was ginormous by comparison, and the two groups were demographically quite different. To my bitter disappointment, Fashion Valley Mall management kept the Apple and Microsoft store lines far apart. I secretly hoped for a mixing of the two groups. Fanboy conflict would have made good news, and the combustion might have set off a mushroom cloud marking where San Diego once was.
Microsoft's Project Natal 360 motion controller becomes 'Kinect'
Even before the doors of the Electronic Entertainment Expo got to open, the name of Microsoft's Xbox 360 motion controller has been revealed. Formerly known by its project name, Natal, Microsoft's camera-based motion controller will be known as Kinect when it comes to market later this year.
The Xbox 360 add-on was first shown off at last year's E3, and promised to bring a new "controller-free" experience to the four-year old gaming console. Similar to both Nintendo's Wii controller and the Playstation Eye, Kinect will utilize the player's bodies, voices, and even facial expressions to interact with their Xbox 360.
Recent Headlines
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.