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Develop Your Own Programs With Xbox Kinect SDK

The Xbox Kinect is one of the hottest selling electronic devices on the market. It’s completely hands free technology makes the user the remote and allows them complete control with body movements and voice commands. On June 16th Microsoft, teamed with Xbox, released the Kinect Software Development Kit to the general public. It is still in the beta stages, but the possibilities now available to everyone are limitless.

Requirements for the Kinect Developer Kit:

The developer kit requires only a few things; a Xbox Kinect device, and a computer that runs on Windows 7. Apart from that, it is up to the user to define their own limits. Once you hook your Kinect device up to your computer you need to download the free software development kit from the website. Don’t worry though, you needn’t be a computer genius, programming junkie, or coding expert to use this. It comes complete with numerous tutorials that show you how to use the voice command, facial recognition, movement tracker, and the other numerous features that the Kinect has.

The amazing thing about the release of this programming kit is the endless possibilities it has created. Using a device for hands free control of something is truly breakthrough, giving that power, and the ability to develop new applications for it to everyone, that goes beyond what words can describe.

To test the Kinect SDK, there was a small convention of programmers, developers, and other people with similar interests who were used as test bunnies. They were given the device, the programming kit, and a computer, and put to work to see what they could create. Many were able to make simple programs and find new ways to use the Kinect within just 24 hours!

So what exactly can people accomplish with this? Truthfully, anything is possible. There is even speculation that this program may help doctors and surgeons when it comes to performing surgery. Others want to use this new gift in an attempt to use it to help their football team. And even more have thought of ways to use the hands free abilities as a way to remotely control other devices.

Now what can we expect for the future? Thousands of ingenious ways to use the Kinect. There are so many people out there who have great ideas, but lack the means to implement them. There are thousands of gamers, enthusiasts, students, and people in general who are able to find new ways to use the Kinect that the developers at Microsoft and Xbox may have never thought of. I’m sure that with the release of this development kit, something amazing will be discovered.

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The Hottest Electronic Device On The Market: Xbox Kinect

When it comes to innovative technology, Microsoft and Xbox hit the ball way out of the park when they launched their newest product; the Xbox Kinect. Their catchy slogan “You are the controller” speaks the truth and defines their product very well. With the Kinect, you literally are the controller and there are numerous options, combined with the amazing hands free technology, which appeals to a wide variety of consumers.

From gamers, to fitness seekers, movie watchers, and advent TV viewers, the Kinect has features that appeal to them all, making it one of the best consumer electronics available. The games combine movement with stunning video graphics and deliver an intense experience that gets everyone off the couch and on their feet. The completely hands free technology means that your every move is recorded and it also recognizes your voice so that you can give verbal commands from anywhere in the room.

For the people in the house who are not ‘gamers’ they can also benefit from the Kinect being installed. It gives you completely hands free control of your television. Allows you to sort through your movies, play live TV, and so much more! The versatile features on the Xbox Kinect make it the perfect product to market.

The Xbox Kinect has been one of the fastest selling electronic products in history. In the first 60 days of its release, the Kinect sold an amazing 8 million units. As of March 9th of 2011, there have been 10 million units sold. Those numbers are mind boggling. As I type this Microsoft is already working on new ways to expand the features of the Kinect so that it appeals to an even wider range of people. Facebook, Bing, Fun lab, and tons more new and inventive features are on their way for consumers!

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Xbox 360, Sony PS3 Or Wii – Which One Has Maximum Sales

It is not astonishing that the Xbox has bagged the top position on its sales considering the superior quality that it brings out. This has enabled it to over-power Sony PS3 and Wii, shooting to the top position of gaming consoles. Latest Microsoft reports say that sales have surpassed 3.5 million units until October and has been on a steady increase even after that. It has managed to maintain the same position for 5 months now.

This constant increase depends mainly on the availability of the gaming software. It is also the area where Microsoft has earned bonus points over others, because it has 6 out of the top 10 console games obtained for the month, along with such popular games like Halo: Reach and Fable111. This is enough to show that without sufficient software even the best of gaming stations can take a back seat.

If this is the status of gaming hardware[ a downfall], the gaming software on the other hand is on a rapid increase of sales and with Microsoft holding most of the top gaming softwares, Xbox can be at no other position than the top. In gaming, the user always looks for more thrilling games which is proved in the greatest Call of Duty: Black Ops. Xbox 360 supposedly gathered 59% of the Black Ops market in comparison to the 36% of PS3.

Sony and Nintendo have more cause to worry for the tough competition thrown by Xbox 360 Kinect’s popularity. And unless they can come up with better ideas, Microsoft has all the chances of remaining at the top. In October, the sales were prominent with Microsoft at 325000 units against 250000 units of PS3 and 232000 units of Nintendo Wii, speaking volumes for itself.

This result makes Microsoft the only console to have sold more units every successful year. It is important to note that these figures have been obtained before the launch of Xbox 360 Kinect which claimed to have sold over 1 million units in one day. The competition gets tougher with the approach of Christmas, for the new releases by Xbox360 Kinect and Sony PlayStation More, will determine their positions too.

On the whole, sales of video game hardware all over the industry has fallen by 26% to $280 million for October, while video gaming software sales have risen by 6% and accessory sales have shot up by 18% to reach a target of $142 million. Constant updates can be obtained through Twitter and Facebook Fan page.

Check the top ten games for the month of October !

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How To Control The Kinect’s Motors From Windows

HaxOrs have found out how to manage the Kinect’s motors ( official website)from Windows, a huge leap in the direction of the entire control of the latest Microsoft Gaming Product. This demo describes the functions of motors within kinect responding to a tiny app on the desktop. You never know, it might turn out to be just the opening for the $20,000 reward offered for an open-source kinect!

But it is not the love of money which provoked the hacking! It is believed that the person behind this is the same person who was responsible for the hacking of Play station Eye in 2008 and he has already managed to obtain video streams from both cameras to output to his PC. But there has been no word of his releasing the code. It was tracked just 3 days after its releases in the US and it is not yet launched in UK!

Watch the video here:

Via CrunchGear.