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Microsoft Kinect SDK for Windows 7 available Spring 2011

Samuel Gibbs — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:30:00 EST

Impressed by the latest and greatest Kinect hack? Wait till you see what they can do with a full SDK.

That's right, Microsoft is about to unleash a full blown Kinect SDK for Windows 7. Developers will be able to utilize Microsoft's own drivers and libraries, giving them access to more than the raw camera data. The SDK will allow coders with more interest in what the Kinect can allow them to do, rather than how it works, to use the RGB camera, microphone array plus all the motors that move the Kinect around.

The initial release, scheduled for 'Spring 2011,' will be aimed at academics and enthusiasts, for use in non-commercial software. Microsoft will then firm up commercial licensing details later in the year for those who want to utilize the Kinect for paid-for software. Can you see Kinect-powered home automation? It's certainly going to be exciting to see what developers can create with full access to the device.

Microsoft Kinect SDK for Windows 7 available Spring 2011 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DepthJS for Chrome lets you use a Microsoft Kinect to browse the web

Vlad Bobleanta — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST

A team from the MIT Media Lab has built a Chrome extension that uses Microsoft's Kinect to navigate on Web pages and around Chrome's chrome. The extension is called DepthJS and is available on GitHub, has an AGPL license and therefore is obviously open for outside code contributions. A demo video showcasing DepthJS is after the break, and you truly can't appreciate this without watching the video.

So mere days after we saw a proof-of-concept of Kinect controlling Windows 7, here it is expanding to Web browsers. This is clearly one controller that is not going to stay forever tethered to an Xbox 360, as Microsoft may have originally intended it to. We expect to see even more exciting ways to use a Kinect to control all kinds of things in the future.

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DepthJS for Chrome lets you use a Microsoft Kinect to browse the web originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Kinect controlling Windows 7, exciting proof of concept

Sebastian Anthony — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:15:00 EST

While hackers were quickly developing open-source drivers for Microsoft's new, depth-sensing motion capturing Kinect, it seems like Microsoft has an official partner in the shape of Evoluce, the multi-touch gesture experts. In a video (after the break), you can see two people using Kinect and Windows 7 to rotate and zoom 3D models, paint on a canvas, and browse websites.

The video, for the most part, isn't particularly impressive, but as always it's a proof of very exciting concepts. Instead of two people playing with banal holiday snaps, imagine some kind of interface that can be manipulated by multiple people at the same time -- a war game, perhaps. If you had Kinect on top of your computer monitor, you could lean back in your chair and surf sites with tiny hand gestures, rather than controlling a mouse or keyboard -- sign me up!

The most exciting thing, though, is that -- hopefully -- the software won't be too expensive. With an open-source driver in the wild, Evoluce can't charge too much. It's obviously in Microsoft's benefit to sell Kinect directly to Windows 7 (and 8!) users, too, so the software might even be bundled!

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Microsoft Kinect controlling Windows 7, exciting proof of concept originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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