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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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Resolving Problems Related To Watching Movies On Media Player

Resolving Problems Related To Watching Movies On Media Player

Are you having difficulty in watching some digital movies on media player? Just read this article which will help you.

When surfing on internet, sometimes we get some very interesting digital videos which we like to watch again and again in our leisure time but sometime our browser does not support with that version of Media Player and we become very desperate to watch that video but waiting for that video to download online casinos will become one more torture when your internet is giving you a slow speed.

So what is the solution to get those digital videos? Yes, of course, there is one solution and that is FreeMake, a free video proselyte for the Windows users which has many useful tools.

The users of FreeMake get more comprehensive features unlike other video converters. The features of FreeMake are as follows:

• It is very easy to proselyte videos into most famous video formats such as WMV, 3GP, MP3 DVD, AVI
• automatically upload selected videos to YouTube, burn files to DVD
• create DVD photo slideshows with melodious background music
• Convert audio/video files which are supportive to various devices of multimedia such as iPhone, iPod, PSP, Blackberry, and Xbox.

Apart from all these features, FreeMake contains the following special editing features like rotate, cut, join multiple videos and store them into one file, and flip.

Download Freemake

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Call Of Duty – Black Ops – Breaks All Records – Best Selling Game Of All Times

Well I was really wondering, when I got the list of Top 10 games for the month of Oct, why Call of Duty was not in the list. Well may be, there are other reasons than it being popular !

Call of Duty, has managed to create a ‘record of sorts’ because it has surpassed all earlier records in game sales to touch a figure of over $650 million with 5 days of its launch only. It earned $360 million from the retail sales in a mere 24 hours in the US and UK only. It can boast of being the most popular as no other game has reached anywhere close.

It would not be wrong if you say it has created a history of sorts by pushing all other games way behind! It is well known that Black Ops is a continuation of the all time loved Modern Warfare 2. this maybe the best of the Call of Duty series and projects highly enhanced clear graphics, exotic weapons, sophisticated game play and on the whole a greater distinction than earlier versions.

Over 7 million units were sold, 36% for PS3 and 59% for Xbox 360 (this may be coz more Xbox has outgrown sales compared to Sony PS3 / Wii). It was the solution for the high urge for improvised feelings by giving deeply attractive audio visual effects along with thrilling game play ideas creating an astounding atmosphere to hold the gamer’s attention. ‘There is a soldier in all of us’ is the title the game says and it has been proved right too. It is an M-rated game.

Presently basking in this unexpected super success, the team of game developers have done a great job and should be given due credit for. Resources report that Call of Duty has become the first entertainer to create history of setting 5 day launch records for 2 successive years in all form of entertainment. Yet another piece of information says that with a record breaking performance on Xbox LIVE, which house the world’s biggest Call of Duty gaming group, Call of Duty: Black Ops has already created a legacy of its own as one of the biggest video games in history.

Though the game was initially opened on Xbox, it is fast gaining popularity on the Sony PlayStation 3. It has also earned the title of best selling video game launch of all times on Amazon.com and at Game stop. Call of Duty: Black Ops boasts of the largest number of pre-orders of any video game till date, which bodes very well for sales especially during holidays. The percentage of people playing online games and the hours they spend on it, exhibits how important online gaming is and how it has become a vital source of entertainment. A big drawback however in the video gaming industry is the poor titles that are being released. But with Call of Duty: Black Ops, that drawback has also been proved wrong!

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Top 10 Games For Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP, PC

I wrote how Xbox has more sales, when compared to Sony PS3 or Wii in one of the previous post. I was curious to see what games folks are playing. Though this data is subjected to change, a compilation will not hurt. Given below are the top ten games for October:

1]NBA 2k11 – Xbox, Wii, PS2, PSP,PC.

2] Fallout: New Vegas – Xbox, PS3, PC.

3] Medal of Honour –Xbox, PS3, PC.

4] Fable 111 – Xbox.

5] Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 11 – Xbox, PS3, Wii, PC, NDS.

6] Halo: Reach – Xbox.

7] Just dance 2 – Wii.

8] FIFA Soccer 11 – Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP, NDS, PC.

9] Madden NFL11 – Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS2, and PSP.

10] WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 – Xbox, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP.

Wait a second now, wondering where Call of Duty is in the list ?? Did gamers decide not to play as the Cuban govt would not like it ?? 😉

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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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Solve The “Another settings option for an Xbox connected to Windows Media Center” Problem

Fixing Windows Media Center Extender error message when connecting to Xbox

If you want to use the Extender for Windows Media Center (to connect your PC to an Xbox 360, in this case), and have your Windows Firewall turned off at the same time, then you are bound to get an error message. This is because, when you are running the Windows Media Center Extender, your Windows Firewall is a necessity that allows your Media Center PC to communicate with the Xbox 360. Moreover, your firewall should also be updated to the latest version for this to work smoothly.

This article will guide you to first turn off the firewall settings required to let the Extender do its job and connect your PC to the Xbox console. Then, you will be shown how to turn your firewall back off – if that is the setting that you prefer.

Starting Windows Firewall

  1. Open the Run dialog from Start -> Run.
  2. Enter services.msc.
  3. In the Services window that is launched, scroll down to locate the Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) option.
  4. Double-click on this option.
  5. In the General tab, under the Service status heading, it will display Stopped. Click on the Start button just below it.
  6. Click on OK.
  7. Exit the Services applet.

After this, you can run the Extender for Windows Media Center once more, and this time things will go through smoothly.

After you have finished extending your PC to your Xbox 360 using the Windows Media Center Extender, you can once again turn off the firewall using the following steps.

Switching off the Firewall

  1. Go to Start -> Run, and enter firewall.cpl.
  2. In the Windows Firewall window that comes up, under the General tab, select the Off (not recommended) option.
  3. Click on OK.

Remember that to carry out all of the above actions, you need to be logged in as an administrator. A guest account will not let you change the firewall settings of your computer.