
Microsoft's Kinect: The New Mouse? - mjfern
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/microsofts-kinect-the-new-mouse/?ref=technology
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smoody
I'm I the only one concerned about concentrated pin-point beams of UV light
being shined into my eyes for hours-on-end when using Kinect? I know we can't
_see_ the UV light, but that doesn't mean it can't hurt our optical wetware,
right?

If it were in our visible spectrum, how bright would it be? As bright as a
flashlight shining in our eyes? Brighter than that? Less bright?

Obviously I know not what I talk about and this is all FUD, but I haven't seen
it addressed anywhere.

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piaskal
I think they are using IR, not UV.

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brg
Indeed it is IR, [http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/11/tonights-release-
xbox...](http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/11/tonights-release-xbox-kinect-
how-does-it-work/).

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tomdeal
The Kinect is a very interesting piece of technology. Because it is REAL. You
can buy it, you can use it. Of course, it is not the end of the mouse and
keyboard as we know today, because it is just the first step, but it is here,
not just a prototype in some lab.

That said, I don't think it will replace mouse and keyboard, because the way
we interact with our computer is based on the periphery, the mouse and
keyboard. Without mouse buttons, we can't click on something that good (there
are possibilities for clicking with a gesture, but it sucks, at least at the
moment). We can't type text with gestures, perhaps we have to dance letters?
:) So in order to use motion based computer interaction on a daily basis, we
need to invent some new interface link between the computer and our body. The
Kinect is a very first but also a very good step in the right direction,
because it is here, it is open, and it is not too expensive to use it. And it
is a lot of fun to play with :)

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JonnieCache
Not this kinect, because it reduces the human hand to a stumpy block. No
recognition or awareness of fingers. Pretty understandable.

However, this means that I can't yet point at my projector and snap my fingers
to send a mouse click or other signal. I have to wave my other arm or shout.

When they crack this, then we will see some really amazing UIs.

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MortenK
I believe the "new mouse" is not gesture-based control like the Kinect, but
rather eye tracking such as tobii.com. Gesture-based control is great for
certain things like controlling a TV or similar, but simple fatigue will be
the problem in using it for more "typical" computing scenarios. Just try and
stretch your arms in front of you for two minutes, you'll see what I mean.
Eye-tracking on the other hand, can very well be used for standard computer
use, and it's an amazing (dare I say magical) way of interacting with a
computer. This is given the right software naturally, as a standard eye-
tracked mouse cursor is not really that great. In any case, the next 5-10
years will be interesting in terms of UI and peripheral development.

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aroberge
I don't understand all the hype. The playstation eyetoy had similar
functionality (as far as I can tell - not having tried the kinect) at least
two years ago. Is it really that much better?

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bradleyland
There are significant technological differences. EyeToy is primarily a camera.
Kinect is a camera coupled with two IR emitters that project a dot pattern on
the room. The presence of the dot pattern and Kinect's ability to interpret
the dot pattern projection on to 3-dimensional surfaces drastically improves
the Kinect's "perception" of a 3D environment when compared with EyeToy.
EyeToy relies primarily on motion detection algorithms that interpret a
composite, 2D image.

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rkwz
_Microsoft views Xbox-Kinect as a potentially big, new technology platform
that others build on, extending its reach and reinforcing its value — a rerun
of the Windows-Office story._

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forgotAgain
So Microsoft finds itself with a surprise hit on its hands and the marketing
machine goes into overdrive.

I guess it's fortunate that our schools are broke. It's the only thing that
would prevent them from wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on Kinects.
It's obvious they would revolutionize how teachers teach students cursive
writing skills.

Just think, gym teachers could insure that every student has a fluid jump
shot.

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zacharyz
So how long until they are integrated into displays then?

