ON THE CUTTING EDGE: Xbox + Social Media = Kinect
Microsoft’s Kinect (code name Project Natal), an Xbox 360 add-on, uses a camera, infrared depth sensor and multi-array microphone to scan body measurements and map joints, creating an avatar that allows the console to “interpret gestures such as a swing of an arm to hit a tennis ball with an invisible racket, or picking up a bowling ball on a rack to toss and rolling it down the lane,” reports Online Media Daily. But that’s not all:
It recognizes faces and connects them with profiles stored in the console, and scans in the player's body measurements and maps joints to create an accurate representation of the player.
Several players in multiple locations can play the same game, depending on the title, through Xbox Live. The platform also has a video chat feature. After the games conclude, some offer video or still shot highlights of game play or stats players can upload to a variety of blogs, Web sites and social sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. …
The sensors and multi-array microphone technology in the platform also will enable people watching movies through Xbox Live to interact by voice and body gestures, according to Erin Hofto, a Microsoft spokesperson. She explains that giving the audio command "play move" will start the movie playing or speaking "fast forward" will speed through frames.
Navigating through the menu becomes physical without a keyboard, mouse or controller. "It's fun to dream about all the possibilities," Hofto says. …
Kinect goes on sale in November in time for the holidays, along with more than 15 video game titles focused on sports, fitness and entertainment. The technology aims to entice less-than-savvy gaming enthusiasts to get off the couch and interact with the game console.
Microsoft, which has had a history of lame nomenclature (second item) came up with a winner with “Kinect,” a neologism that combines “kinetics” and “connect” to describe the technology clearly and succinctly.
This is not a good price for just an add-on. Not even a console. Will definitely not consider getting one.
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