CES 2011: Asus and Kinect designers offer PC motion controller

<P align=center><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/wavixtion600-200-200.jpg"></P><br /><P>Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus has announced plans to release a motion-controller for PC, designed by PrimeSense – the company that developed the Kinect control tech for Microsoft's Xbox 360.</P><br /><P>PrimeSense has partnered with Eee PC makers Asus, with the PC specialist also promising an online store to sell games and apps that will be compatible with the controller.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Focus on multimedia over gaming</STRONG></P><br /><P>Asus is calling the controller the "WAVI Xtion," with the focus more on multimedia control via movement, as opposed to a heavy focus on gaming as is the case with Kinect. </P><br /><P>"PrimeSense, the leader in sensing and recognition technologies, and Asus, a leading enterprise in the new digital era, announced today that PrimeSense Immersive Natural Interaction solutions will be embedded in WAVI Xtion, a next generation user interface device developed by ASUS to extend PC usage to the living room," reads the launch press release. </P><br /><P>"The WAVI Xtion media center for the PC leverages ultra-wide band wireless link and PrimeSense 3D sensing solution to provide controller-free interaction experiences in the living room. Users can browse multimedia content, access the Internet and social networks, and enjoy full body interaction in a more user-friendly and natural living room experience."</P><br /><P>Asus hopes that third party developers will create apps to sell online at the "Xtion Online Store."</P><br /><P>The news of Asus' new PC motion controller follows a slew of stories about Kinect hacks, with enterprising bedroom hackers making use of Kinect's motion tech in some interesting 'unofficial' ways. </P><br /><P>Asus hopes to release the Wavi Xtion in February of this year. Expect more when we get a hands on with the tech at the PrimeSense and Asus booths at CES this week.</P>

CES 2011: Asus and Kinect designers offer PC motion controller

Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus has announced plans to release a motion-controller for PC, designed by PrimeSense – the company that de...

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How to play World of Warcraft with Kinect

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/WoW_magazinelogo-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Microsoft Kinect has already been hacked a number of times, with the latest unofficial use of the motion control tech being used as a controller for Blizzard's massively popular MMO <EM>World of Warcraft.</EM></P><br /><P>That's right. This latest MS Kinect hack allows WoW players to control their on-screen characters using gesture control.</P><br /><P>This innovative use of Kinect comes courtesy of the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies.</P><br /><P><STRONG>FAAST movers</STRONG></P><br /><P>The university's group of enterprising techies and MMO gamers have developed <a href="http://people.ict.usc.edu/~suma/faast/">a toolkit</A> called the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST), to allow users to map Kinect's image sensing technology to PC games and "VR applications" – with immense potential for future PC gaming and medical rehabilitation applications.</P><br /><P>FAAST allows keen Kinect hackers to access "integration of full-body control with games and VR applications," with the Xbox 360 camera mapping the user's skeleton pattern, body position and gestures onto PC keyboard controls.</P><br /><P>The code is free and available for non-commercial use, with the Institute planning to create games for rehabilitation of motor-skills after a stroke.</P>

How to play World of Warcraft with Kinect

Microsoft Kinect has already been hacked a number of times, with the latest unofficial use of the motion control tech being used as a contro...

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Xbox chief: 2011 is all about the Kinect

<P align=center><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3752-200-200.jpg"></P><br /><P>Microsoft's Stephen McGill has insisted that 2011 will be the Xbox 360's year of the Kinect. </P><br /><P>The Xbox chief believes that, despite a 'brilliant' line up of games for the 360, it will be the motion controller Kinect add-on that defines 2011. </P><br /><P>"As for the future, we've got a brilliant line-up for 2011 but it's ultimately all about Kinect," <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=281686">McGill told CVG</A>. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Blow people's minds</STRONG></P><br /><P>" Kinect is going to blow people's minds. They're [already] buying it, but we've got a line-up of Kinect games that will blow people away."</P><br /><P>Microsoft was aiming to sell 5 million Kinects by the end of 2011, with reviewers conceding that several underwhelming launch titles did not detract too heavily from the potential of the device. </P><br /><P>TechRadar's <a href="">Kinect review</A> suggested that the Kinect was turning the Xbox 360 into a much more rounded console.</P><br /><P>Many major developers will unleash their offerings for the Kinect next year, and hopes are high that the motion and voice controller will begin to show just why Microsoft is so excited about the device.</P><br /><P>Via <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=281686">CVG</A></P><br /><P><a href="http://www.techradar.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Source</A></P>

Xbox chief: 2011 is all about the Kinect

Microsoft's Stephen McGill has insisted that 2011 will be the Xbox 360's year of the Kinect. The Xbox chief believes that, despite a...

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Xbox chief: 2011 is all about the Kinect

<P align=center><img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3752-200-200.jpg"></P> <br /><P>Microsoft's Stephen McGill has insisted that 2011 will be the Xbox 360's year of the Kinect. </P><br /><P>The Xbox chief believes that, despite a 'brilliant' line up of games for the 360, it will be the motion controller Kinect add-on that defines 2011. </P><br /><P>"As for the future, we've got a brilliant line-up for 2011 but it's ultimately all about Kinect," <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=281686">McGill told CVG</A>. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Blow people's minds</STRONG></P><br /><P>" Kinect is going to blow people's minds. They're [already] buying it, but we've got a line-up of Kinect games that will blow people away."</P><br /><P>Microsoft was aiming to sell 5 million Kinects by the end of 2011, with reviewers conceding that several underwhelming launch titles did not detract too heavily from the potential of the device. </P><br /><P>Many major developers will unleash their offerings for the Kinect next year, and hopes are high that the motion and voice controller will begin to show just why Microsoft is so excited about the device.</P><br /><P>Via <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=281686">CVG</A></P>

Xbox chief: 2011 is all about the Kinect

Microsoft's Stephen McGill has insisted that 2011 will be the Xbox 360's year of the Kinect. The Xbox chief believes that, despite ...

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Opinion: Why I don't want a Kinect for Christmas

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3752-200-200.jpg"> <br /><P>Trust me, it's not cynicism. I'd love to be excited about the new <a href="">Xbox Kinect</A>, and if you'd told me about it a couple of years ago, I'm sure I'd have been eagerly pre-ordering it just like I did the Wii. </P><br /><P><br /><P>Unfortunately for this year's big toy, there's a small problem keeping me from being excited: I've played with one for more than five minutes. </P><br /><P>For the moment, that's all the Kinect I feel the need in my life. Progress is a funny thing. We need the small steps so that the big ones can happen, and we need people to spend money on them so that there's a reason for companies to keep working. To that end, I actually hope Kinect does well. </P><br /><P>The ideas behind it are definitely impressive. Your body is the controller. Wave at the screen and magic happens. Interact without the need for extra devices. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Burned before</STRONG></P><br /><P>Unfortunately, we've been burned like this before – virtual reality, augmented reality, Nintendo Wii, Sony EyeToy. Somewhere between premise and product, the magic has a tendency to slip away, or at least be crushed under the weight of reality. </P><br /><P>We keep spending our money on the next big thing, hoping that this time it'll be different, but secretly knowing that no matter how good it is, or how close it gets to perfection, it'll be gathering dust soon enough.</P><br /><P>The problem with Kinect isn't that the technology isn't interesting, it's that it doesn't really gel with modern gaming. That could be a good thing if it leads to brand new ideas, but I suspect that we're more likely to see what happened to the Wii – lots of party games and standard designs, only with the Kinect equivalent of waggling the controller. </P><br /><P>Purely in terms of wish fulfilment, it's difficult to see how most of the obvious game interactions could be done well without some kind of tool. Not only is gripping a steering wheel peripheral more efficient than holding your hands out like one, it feels better. You can't feel like a master swordsman just by clenching one fist and waving it. </P><br /><P>As for guns, we've yet to see how Kinect plans to handle them, but what can it ultimately offer beyond pointing two fingers at the screen and yelling 'bang'? If anything, Kinect's open controls feel more limited than a primitive controller. </P><br /><P>Something like a DualShock may be more of an abstraction of the action than making the right moves, but it quickly becomes invisible. When you press B, you press B – the console doesn't have to work out whether you really meant to press X, or bring up the menu, or were just picking your nose. </P><br /><P>Playing via a console also removes the subconscious expectation of haptic feedback. Hitting an enemy with a force feedback rumble effect can feel weighty, but swinging your fist through empty air in exchange for a mere sound effect has no, well, punch. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Appealing technology</STRONG></P><br /><P>All this said, despite my lack of interest in the initial selection of games – most of which seem to be variants of old stuff like <EM>Wii Sports</EM>, <EM>Nintendogs</EM> and dancing titles – the technology does appeal. </P><br /><P>As a multimedia control system, Kinect definitely has merits (even though I suspect that a traditional remote control would be faster and less prone to error), and there'll certainly be some interesting games and projects that make good use of it in the near future. </P><br /><P>The irony is that, right now, the best use for Kinect wouldn't be replacing existing control systems, but supplementing them instead. Head-tracking to control vague camera movements. Leaning around corners in-game by actually leaning. </P><br /><P>On a wider level, maybe detecting the number of people in the room and adjusting a few settings automatically. Think along the lines of force feedback – the sort of things you don't really notice until you don't have them any more. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Kinect with the PC</STRONG></P><br /><P>Transplant that to the PC, and software developers could finally live the dream of writing an application that really does watch out for the worst possible moment to crash and delete all your hard work. </P><br /><P>The trouble is that such subconscious improvements aren't the kind of things that sell £130 worth of hardware, or warrant claims of extending a console's life by several years. Just ask Nintendo, which has yet to get much other than laughter for its Wii Vitality Sensor (a pulse monitor) despite its possibilities for action, horror and fitness games. Still, there's time. </P><br /><P>The real benefit of Microsoft's Kinect push isn't that it'll take over the world, but that a technology with definite potential will spread. If and when we see some great games that use it, I'll consider picking one up. Until then, my mouse, keyboard and standard Xbox controller are all I need to control my digital life.</P>

Opinion: Why I don't want a Kinect for Christmas

Trust me, it's not cynicism. I'd love to be excited about the new Xbox Kinect , and if you'd told me about it a couple of years...

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Kinect set to detect finger movements

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/kinect-accessories-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Microsoft is set to quadruple the accuracy of its Kinect motion control tech, according to latest reports.</P><br /><P>An anonymous source tells <EM>Eurogamer</EM> that Microsoft wants to improve the accuracy of Kinect, in order for the controller to detect hand rotation and finger movement. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Finger detection and hand control</STRONG></P><br /><P>Microsoft's Kinect team is developing compression tech that will allow more data to be transmitted from Kinect to the Xbox 360, allowing for a quadrupling of the controller's accuracy, according to the source.</P><br /><P>Microsoft can upgrade the Kinect firmware via online downloads. The controller's depth sensor is currently set to a 30 frames per second limit and a 320x240 resolution limit, though this can be increased. </P><br /><P>At a 640x480 resolution, Kinect should be able to detect finger movement and hand rotation, for example. </P><br /><P>Kinect's USB controller interface is capable of around 35MB/s, but currently only uses around 15 to 16MB/s. </P><br /><P>Microsoft is still to comment on the latest revelations about the potential increase in Kinect's ability to identify finger movement and hand rotation. </P><br /><P>TechRadar has contacted Microsoft UK for further comment.</P>

Kinect set to detect finger movements

Microsoft is set to quadruple the accuracy of its Kinect motion control tech, according to latest reports. An anonymous source tells Eurogam...

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Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN14UBi7T5d6SZwQKbvZY-IDYLbrThZByLS7J9HCXs60_27dqjtccaHoW22p7amfiMaIGnhpZ-8xsq-I94gTIFvXHcXGMJXgsc4zSgcFWEfWBXVnK2wcwHgW1S5zQ55MzpPBh8a4TPaQ/s1600/10x1215kinectswarovski.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN14UBi7T5d6SZwQKbvZY-IDYLbrThZByLS7J9HCXs60_27dqjtccaHoW22p7amfiMaIGnhpZ-8xsq-I94gTIFvXHcXGMJXgsc4zSgcFWEfWBXVnK2wcwHgW1S5zQ55MzpPBh8a4TPaQ/s320/10x1215kinectswarovski.jpg" width="320"></a></div><br> Hey, you know that Kinect thing that Microsoft recently launched and hasn't been heard of since? Well, it's such a boring and useless creation that somebody had to try and spruce it up. Enter DS Styles, with a bag of 5,000 Swarovski crystals and the courage to use them.<br> <br>

Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)

Hey, you know that Kinect thing that Microsoft recently launched and hasn't been heard of since? Well, it's such a boring and usele...

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Microsoft Kinect on target for 5m sales by Xmas

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/kinect-accessories-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Microsoft is already half way to reaching its five million Christmas sales target with Kinect, having already sold over 2.5 million units since launch.</P><br /><P>Microsoft sold a million Kinects within the first 10 days the new motion controller had been on sale, with the platform holder confident that it is set to hit its targets for this coming Christmas season.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Stocking the shelves</STRONG></P><br /><P>The initial sales target was to sell three million units, which it looks like the Xbox 360 manufacturer is easily going to achieve by early December.</P><br /><P>"We are thrilled about the consumer response to Kinect, and are working hard with our retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments of Kinect to restock shelves as fast as possible to keep up with demand," Microsoft's president of the Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick stated.</P><br /><P>"With sales already exceeding two and a half million units in just 25 days, we are on pace to reach our forecast of 5m units sold to consumers this holiday."</P><br /><P>The news follows the busy Black Friday weekend over in the US, traditionally the busiest Christmas present buying weekend.</P>

Microsoft Kinect on target for 5m sales by Xmas

Microsoft is already half way to reaching its five million Christmas sales target with Kinect, having already sold over 2.5 million units si...

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Kinect Mated to a Gesture Control Robot

<P><img alt="Kinect Mated to a Gesture Control Robot" border="0" height="150" src="/113559matter.jpg" width="200"></P><br /><P>It's raining sight capable robots ever since Microsoft's Kinect motion controller went open source. Willow Garage, a team of researchers and robotics experts, has paired Xbox 360's Kinect with a robot that is capable of gesture control. The team behind the robot is well known for developing their own open source Robot Operating System (ROS), which has gained popularity among robotics experts.<BR><BR>Its line of PR2 robots have also been used for robotics research. The team has successfully mated Kinect with their PR2 robotics system and ROS for a gesture controlled robot interface. The video released by Willow Garage looks impressive, and holds great promise in engineering, defence and other civilian applications. With enough improvement, such a system may provide enough precision to perform remote medical procedures, explosive detonation and mine sweeping, and other implementations where robotic interfaces could be successfully paired with precise human control.</P>

Kinect Mated to a Gesture Control Robot

It's raining sight capable robots ever since Microsoft's Kinect motion controller went open source. Willow Garage, a team of researc...

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Kinect for Xbox Hits India for Rs. 9,990

<P><img alt="Kinect for Xbox Hits India for Rs. 9,990" border="0" height="150" src="/113558matter.jpg" width="200"></P><br /><P>Kinect for Xbox 360 that brings controller-free gaming to the living room got an enthralling response of over 1 million units sold in the first ten days. Today, Microsoft India has introduced Kinect for Xbox 360 for the Indian audience. Microsoft will offer Kinect in two editions - Standalone bundle and All-in-one bundle. <BR><BR>Microsoft announced that it will make the Kinect available officially from November 4 and today, after 20 days, it's being made available in India. Promising controller-free gaming fun with your family and friends, Kinect certainly offers a new perspective to gaming and entertainment. Read our hands-on with Kinect here. New Xbox 360 Slim owners can connect the Kinect Sensor directly. Old Xbox 360 console owners will have to make use of the power cable that comes with the bundle for connecting it.<BR><BR>The standalone Kinect for Xbox 360 unit along with Kinect Adventures disc would be sold for Rs. 9,990. All-in-one bundle with Xbox 360 Slim console and Kinect Sensor would cost Rs. 22,990. EETimes published a report that Kinect's Billing-of-Materials costs roughly around $56 and the Kinect Sensor is sold for $150 in U.S. while it's Indian price is Rs. 9,990 ($222 approx.). Sony has been selling PlayStation 3 console at a loss even till the February of this year. <BR><BR>Even when you add the manufacturing and packaging cost, the price difference still seems unjustifiable to many. After the Kinect Sensor is sold, Microsoft would be earning a significant amount from software (games and game licenses). <BR><BR>Keeping all the costing apart, Kinect indeed is a next-generation controller-free sensor that offers a good gaming experience to all age groups.</P>

Kinect for Xbox Hits India for Rs. 9,990

Kinect for Xbox 360 that brings controller-free gaming to the living room got an enthralling response of over 1 million units sold in the fi...

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Microsoft Does a U-Turn on Kinect Hacking

<P><img alt="Microsoft Does a U-Turn on Kinect Hacking" border="0" height="150" src="/113522matter.jpg" width="200"></P><br /><P>Ever since DIY electronics company Adafruit Industries successfully unlocked Xbox 360's Kinect motion controller to the open source community, there has been a barrage of awesome implementations of the motion controller in practical applications. <BR><BR>As expected, Microsoft, wasn't amused, and issued threatening statements over the development. Speaking to CNET, a Microsoft spokesperson had said, "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products. With Kinect, Microsoft built in numerous hardware and software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tampering. Microsoft will continue to make advances in these types of safeguards and work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant."<BR><BR>The threats didn't deter the open source community, which went on to release some impressive examples of the capability of the motion controller. Microsoft has apparently realized the futility of their approach and effectively endorsed the open source viability of their Kinect platform. In a complete contradiction to their stand so far, Microsoft's  Alex Kipman issued a statement saying, "The first thing to talk about is, Kinect was not actually hacked. Hacking would mean that someone got to our algorithms that sit inside of the Xbox and was able to actually use them, which hasn't happened. Or, it means that you put a device between the sensor and the Xbox for means of cheating, which also has not happened. That's what we call hacking, and that's what we have put a ton of work and effort to make sure doesn't actually occur. What has happened is someone wrote an open-source driver for PCs that essentially opens the USB connection, which we didn't protect, by design, and reads the inputs from the sensor."<BR><BR>That clears up the scope for any reverse engineering lawsuits from Microsoft, but what Shannon Loftis, the Studio Manager of Microsoft Game Studios, said pretty much clears up any ambiguity regarding the legality of the Kinect hacks. Speaking on the Kinect mods, Shannon elaborated, "As an experience creator, I'm very excited to see that people are so inspired that it was less than a week after the Kinect came out before they had started creating and thinking about what they could do." Microsoft may have issued a typical corporate kneejerk reaction to the open source exploit of the Kinect, but it has since then realised the potential of this endeavour to generate more sales. Like they say, better late than never.</P>

Microsoft Does a U-Turn on Kinect Hacking

Ever since DIY electronics company Adafruit Industries successfully unlocked Xbox 360's Kinect motion controller to the open source comm...

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Kinect Equips Robot with Spatial Awareness

<P><img alt="Kinect Equips Robot with Spatial Awareness" border="0" height="150" src="/113507matter.jpg" width="200"></P><br /><P>Adafruit's recent success in bringing the Xbox 360 motion controller Kinect to the open source community has opened up a host of possibilities for researchers with limited funding. In the latest string of Kinect enabled research showcases, MIT researcher Philipp Robbel has mated the Kinect sensor with the iRobot Create Robot kit. <BR><BR>Robbel's creation gets spatial awareness, thanks to the Kinect, letting it analyze and build real time reconstruction of its surroundings for what can be called true sight. It can then use its inbuilt wireless communication module to remotely send data back to the host computer. One can spot a host of engineering, military and research possibilities for a relatively inexpensive robot with these features.<BR><BR>The robot is also capable of recognizing human gestures, so it can be controlled on field, by multiple persons without the need for separate controllers. Robbel's research intends to build a team of robots working cooperatively in search and rescue missions. The original idea is to allow the robot to rescue humans and then follow their leads (using Kinect's human detection capabilities) to get to others.<BR><BR>Robbel's KinectBot is far from a complete product; it's more of a proof of concept, pending further tests of its 3D imaging capabilities. However, if and when it does make the cut, this just might be the first proper implementation of the Kinect system in a serious engineering product. <BR><BR><img align="baseline" border="0" hspace="0" src="/11350719kinectbot600.jpg"></P><BR><BR>Robots thus far have mostly been relying on radars, lasers and ultrasonic devices paired to simple algorithms for navigation. Anything fancy involving camera based imaging has required massive complexity, which hasn't been feasible for most robotic research projects. This limitation has been a major hindrance to developing prototypes with true spatial awareness, which has always been the prerogative of high budget military and space research projects.

Kinect Equips Robot with Spatial Awareness

Adafruit's recent success in bringing the Xbox 360 motion controller Kinect to the open source community has opened up a host of possibi...

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Xbox 360 sales double following Kinect launch

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/controllers/kinect_video-200-200.jpg"> <br /><P>It looks like Kinect is successfully attracting new and casual gamers, if recent Xbox 360 console sales are anything to go by.</P><br /><P>Sales of the Xbox 360 console have doubled since the launch of Microsoft's new motion-control tech earlier this month.</P><br /><P>Microsoft has already sold well over a million Kinects and hopes to hit <a href="">five million Kinect sales</A> by the end of 2010.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Xbox Black Ops</STRONG></P><br /><P>UK Chart-Track figures, corroborated by trade mag MCV, show that Microsoft's console experienced a massive boost in sales over the last week, following the arrival of Kinect on 10 November.</P><br /><P>Xbox 360 sales have also, no doubt, been boosted by the arrival of Activision's latest blockbuster in the shape of <EM>Call of Duty: Black Ops</EM></P><br /><P>The Xbox 360 version of <EM>Black Ops</EM> accounts for around 55 per cent of all copies sold to date.</P>

Xbox 360 sales double following Kinect launch

It looks like Kinect is successfully attracting new and casual gamers, if recent Xbox 360 console sales are anything to go by. Sales of the...

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Report: Xbox Kinect costs just £35 in parts

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_005-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>A report has suggested that Microsoft's claim to be making a profit on each Kinect for Xbox 360 it sells is by no means an exaggeration, with a predicted bill of materials cost of just $56 dollars per unit. </P><br /><P>The <a href="http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4210649/Kinect-s-BOM-roughly--56--teardown-finds-">EETimes report</A> on a teardown by UBM TechInsights suggests that the total cost of materials is just under £35, which given that it sells for £130 in the UK, represents a significant mark-up. </P><br /><P>Considering that Microsoft is apparently spending a billion dollars split between marketing Kinect and its Windows Phone 7 mobile OS, you can safely project that a good percentage of that profit is going on advertising. </P><br /><P><STRONG>R&D</STRONG></P><br /><P>Of course, there are other factors such as research and development to consider, something that Microsoft has already publicly stated cost hundreds of million dollars. </P><br /><P>The console is already selling well in the UK following its launch this week, with demand outstripping supply for the time being. </P><br /><P>And with the busy Christmas shopping period now in full swing, you'd imagine that Microsoft's big investment will begin to show some returns in the coming weeks. </P>

Report: Xbox Kinect costs just £35 in parts

A report has suggested that Microsoft's claim to be making a profit on each Kinect for Xbox 360 it sells is by no means an exaggeration,...

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Kinect for Xbox 360 on sale now

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/KinectAdventuresScreenshots/RR_Shot-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 has gone on sale, with the latest gaming peripheral already tipped by some major names to be the biggest seller this Christmas if supply can meet demand. </P><br /><P>The motion and sound sensor peripheral extends the now-mature Xbox 360 into a completely different beast, with Microsoft hoping that the prospect of playing games without a controller will push them ahead in the family gaming market. </P><br /><P>Neil Thompson, the UK's General Manager of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division said: "We are delighted to put Kinect into people's living rooms and turn science fiction into science-fact.</P><br /><P>"Kinect transforms games and entertainment experiences, offering an intuitive and simple way that everyone will enjoy."</P><br /><P>Although the Kinect has earned some criticism for its launch titles, the technology itself has earned praise and the potential is far from being realised just yet. </P><br /><P><STRONG>Brisk demand</STRONG></P><br /><P>Best Buy – a company that has only recently made its entry to the UK market – is expecting 'brisk demand' but appears concerned that there will be a shortfall in units available to buy.</P><br /><P>Harry Parmar, Commercial Director at Best Buy UK, said: "Following the success of the Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3 and its Move device, increasingly consumers are looking to gaming devices as a way to have fun with friends and family and to keep active. </P><br /><P>"We are preparing ourselves for brisk demand for the Kinect, especially with Christmas present-buying now on most people's minds. </P><br /><P>"Availability is very limited and on a first-come, first-served basis, but we expect deliveries between now and Christmas."</P>

Kinect for Xbox 360 on sale now

Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 has gone on sale, with the latest gaming peripheral already tipped by some major names to be the biggest...

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Star Wars Kinect scheduled for Christmas 2011

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/images/kinfinal-200-200.jpg"><br /><P>Microsoft is set to bring out a number of hardcore gamer's favourites with full Kinect support in 2011, with a <EM>Star Wars </EM>Kinect title scheduled for release later next year.</P><br /><P>Kinect creative lead Kudo Tsunoda informed the BBC that the <EM>Star Wars</EM> Kinect game, being developed by Terminal Reality, is scheduled for a release next Christmas.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Jedi motion</STRONG></P><br /><P>"We have a Kinect Star Wars game coming out for next holiday," Tsunoda told <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/11720937">NewsBeat</A>, in no uncertain terms.</P><br /><P>"I think you could just easily imagine being a Jedi and using Kinect to make you feel you're part of a Star Wars experience, building yourself up into a Jedi. I've seen a bunch of the game and its super compelling."</P><br /><P>The <EM>Star Wars </EM>motion-control title was first shown off to games journalists at E3 2010, although no further information has been released on the title until now.</P><br /><P>Tsunoda added that a Kinect version of <EM>Forza Motorsport</EM> is due next year from develoers Turn 10.</P><br /><P>"Forza… is the best racing game of this generation of consoles… Those are the two games I'm most excited about."</P><br /><P>Microsoft Kinect is <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/kinect-for-xbox-360-on-sale-now-906966">finally out today in the UK </A></P>

Star Wars Kinect scheduled for Christmas 2011

Microsoft is set to bring out a number of hardcore gamer's favourites with full Kinect support in 2011, with a Star Wars Kinect title sc...

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Updated: Kinect games: here's what you can buy

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/DanceCentralScreenshots/DanceCentral_MTVGames_ScreenshotEmiliaHUD_EMBARGOEDUNTILJUNE14-200-200.jpg"> <br /><P>At its <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/microsoft-at-e3-2010-the-highlights-696452">E3 keynote in June</A>, Microsoft talked up a range of games that will work with the <a href="http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gaming/games-consoles/controllers/microsoft-kinect-905010/review">Xbox Kinect</A> motion-sensing gaming system, which goes on sale in the UK on 10 November.</P><br /><P><br /><P>With these titles, promises Microsoft, "your living room will become a zoo, a stadium, a fitness room or a dance club."</P><br /><P>And on 16 September, Microsoft announced a <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/microsoft-announces-five-new-kinect-games-716794">further five Kinect games</A>, with a less casual slant. These five games are:</P><br /><P><STRONG>codename D (Grasshopper Manufacture, Microsoft Game Studios)</STRONG><BR>From the makers of <EM>killer7</EM> and the <EM>No More Heroes</EM> series. You must fight to survive an amusement park filled with twisted and eerie creatures.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Project Draco (Grounding, Microsoft Game Studios)</STRONG><BR>The director of <EM>Phantom Dust</EM> and <EM>Panzer Dragoon</EM> releases a 3D flying shooter. Use Kinect to control your dragon and train it as a partner in combat.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Haunt (NanaOn-Sha, Microsoft Game Studios)</STRONG><BR>Dodge traps and outwit ghosts in a haunted house.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Steel Battalion Heavy Armor (Capcom, From Software)</STRONG><BR>This all-new game revives the <EM>Steel Battalion</EM> series. Set in Manhattan, 2082, where computers and almost all modern technology have been lost, the American army lands in New York to begin its first big offensive of a ground war.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Rise of Nightmares (SEGA)</STRONG><BR>Rise of Nightmares is a horror game promises to use the new controls of Kinect for Xbox 360 "to give players the ultimate fright."</P><br /><P>Here are the Xbox Kinect games that were announced at E3.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Star Wars</STRONG><BR>Microsoft and LucasArts <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/new-star-wars-game-announced-for-microsoft-kinect-696100">announced</A> that they will bring <EM>Star Wars</EM> to Kinect in 2011.</P><br /><P><STRONG>EA Sports Active 2</STRONG><BR>EA has <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/ea-sports-active-set-to-be-kinect-compatible-696431">confirmed</A> that its forthcoming <EM>EA Sports Active 2</EM> title will be fully compatible with Microsoft's Kinect motion controller for the Xbox 360.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Kinectimals</STRONG><BR>Like Tamagotchi for the Xbox generation, <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/in-pictures-microsoft-kinectimals-upgrades-the-pet-sim-696509">Kinectimals</A> lets you adopt animals such as a tiger cub. Your Kinectimal will come running when they hear your voice, respond to commands like "jump," "roll-over" and "play dead," and purr when you scratch them behind the ears.</P><br /><P><img alt="Kinectimals" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/Kinectimals%20Screenshots/tiger%20in%20glade-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Your Shape: Fitness Evolved</STRONG><BR>Ubisoft's calorie burning fitness game lets you interact with virtual environments, adding visual effects that respond to your movement and impact. Choose a personal trainer to help you meet specific fitness goals and take yoga or Martial Arts classes. As you exercise, you'll get feedback on your progress. </P><br /><P><img alt="Your shape" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/YourShapeSS/SHAPE_screenshot_combat%20master_WEB--MS%20PRESSKIT-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Kinect Joy Ride</STRONG><BR>Described by Microsoft as "the first controller-free racing game," Kinect Joy Ride is a Kart racing game where you steer with an imaginary steering wheel. Try explaining to your neighbours what you're doing when they peer in the window.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273471">Joy Ride review on CVG</A></P><br /><P><img alt="Kinect joy ride" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/KinectJoyRideRaceScreenshots/Race773-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Kinect Sports</STRONG><BR>Probably not one for people in upstairs flats, <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/in-pictures-rare-embraces-kinect-sports-696537">Kinect Sports</A> has you jumping, running, boxing and kicking balls. <EM>Kinect Sports</EM> features football, beach volleyball, bowling, table tennis, boxing and track & field events.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273540">Kinect Sports review on CVG</A></P><br /><P><img alt="Kinect sports" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/KinectSports%20Screenshots/Volleyball%20002-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Kinect Adventures</STRONG><BR>Jump, dodge and kick your way through levels that include floating in outer space, riding the rapids, mountaintop obstacle courses and an underwater observatory.</P><br /><P><a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=273517">Kinect Adventures review on CVG</A></P><br /><P><img alt="Kinect adventures" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/KinectAdventuresScreenshots/RiverRushWidescreen-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Dance Central</STRONG><BR>Described as " the first full-body, controller-free dance video game with fun choreography for beginners and experts," <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/in-pictures-harmonix-s-dance-central-for-kinetic-696571%20">Dance Central</A> promises to introduce you to over 90 dance routines created by professional choreographers. Features tracks from Lady Gaga, No Doubt, M.I.A. and others. We're liking the look of this one.</P><br /><P><img alt="Dance central" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/DanceCentralScreenshots/DanceCentral_MTVGames_ScreenshotMoHUD_EMBARGOEDUNTILJUNE14-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>Forza 4 Kinect</STRONG><BR><EM>Forza 4</EM> will be Kinect enabled, and in the Kinect mode you'll be able to steer with an invisible steering wheel, just like when you were a kid and you sat in the passenger seat of your parents' car.</P><br /><P><img alt="Forza kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/home-entertainment/gaming/consoles/images/Kinect/Kinect_games/FM_6/FM_4-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Other Kinect games available or coming soon include:<EM><BR></EM></P><br /><P><STRONG>Child of Eden</STRONG><BR>In <EM>Child of Eden</EM> you must save Project Lumi, a mission to reproduce a human personality inside Eden, the archive of all human memories. It's under attack from a virus and it's your job to restore peace, as you work through six universes.</P><br /><P><STRONG>DECA Sports Freedom</STRONG><BR>From Hudson Entertainment<EM>, DECA Sports Freedom</EM> is a collection of 10 sports mini-games: tennis, archery, paintball, bowling, beach volleyball, dodgeball, kendo, figure skating, moguls and snowboarding.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Dance Masters</STRONG><BR><EM>Dance Masters</EM> is, as its name suggests, a dance game. It's from Konami, the creator of the <EM>Dance Dance Revolution</EM> series. The game features career and lesson modes and multiplayer support for up to four players.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Adrenalin Misfits</STRONG><BR>Konami's <EM>Adrenalin Misfits</EM> lets you race your crossboard across mountains, deserts and volcanoes whilst pulling tricks and winning new boards.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Zumba Fitness</STRONG><BR>Zumba Fitness is a workout game from Majesco that "uses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves".<EM><BR></EM></P><br /><P><STRONG>Sonic Free Riders</STRONG><BR>Sega brings Sonic to Kinect with <STRONG>Sonic Free Riders</STRONG>, which lets you create and customise a hoverboard or bike to race against your friends with. Races feature pick-ups and usable items.</P><br /><P><STRONG>The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout</STRONG><EM><BR></EM>TQH's fat-buster is a spin-off from the TV series and promises "a fun, new approach to health and fitness in video games." Health? In video games? Whatever next?</P><br /><P><STRONG>Motion Sports</STRONG><BR><EM>Motion Sports</EM> is a bunch of sports mini-games including including skiing, horseback riding, hang gliding, football and boxing.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Game Party: In Motion</STRONG><BR>16 mini-games for n00bs, from Warner Bros. Interactive. These "pick up and play" games include <EM>Hoop Shoot, Darts</EM> and <EM>Table Hockey</EM>.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Michael Jackson: The Experience</STRONG><BR>No, not <EM>that </EM>experience. <EM>Michael Jackson: The Experience</EM> puts you in MJ's shoes in a dance and singing game where you get to relive the King Of Pop's stage appearances.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Fighters Uncaged</STRONG><BR>Ubisoft's fighting game lets you "enter into the vicious world of secret, illegal, fighting tournaments." Features up to 70 moves inspired by Thai Boxing and 12 different opponents.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Get Fit With Mel B</STRONG><BR><EM>Get Fit With Mel B</EM> offers over 100 fitness routines with Scary Spice as well as a "personal nutrition programme" which includes meal plans and recipes.</P><br /><P></P>

Updated: Kinect games: here's what you can buy

At its E3 keynote in June , Microsoft talked up a range of games that will work with the Xbox Kinect motion-sensing gaming system, which g...

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Microsoft Kinect dismantled reveals two cameras, four microphones and a worthy fan

<P><a name="7904353968328731498"></A> <a href="file:///C:/Program%20Files/ABS/Auto%20Blog%20Samurai/data/Hacking%20Tricks/TechGeez/500x_kinect-teardown.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft-Kinect-Teardown/4066/1" border="0" src="/500xkinect-teardown.jpg"></A></P><br /><P>This dissection and tear down of almost all relevantly anticipated devices were normal at all, and yes the guys at iFixit was always on the crime for grabbing early units then dismantling it to pieces, parts by parts. And this time their victim is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kinect-Sensor-Adventures-Xbox-360/dp/B002BSA298?ie=UTF8&tag=techgeezelate-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Microsoft's Kinect</A><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=techgeezelate-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002BSA298" width="1"> revealing a case of paranoidal-mentality over Xbox 360's red-ring-of death problems --yes, those excessive heat were dissipated by a very important part on the systems of sensors, a fan. Check out the summary relayed by Gizmodo via iFixit. <a name="more"></A>Now here is the summary of <a href="http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft-Kinect-Teardown/4066/1">iFixit</A> crime over Microsoft Kinect:Four microphones. Four! We've taken apart binaural devices before, but this is our first quadaural sensor setup!Three autofocus cameras: Two infrared cameras optimized for depth detection. One standard visual-spectrum camera used for visual recognition.An IR transmitting diode.A fan. For a 12-watt device, Microsoft seems very paranoid about heat dissipation. This is understandable considering the Xbox 360's red-ring-of death problems. This is a good thing for consumers, but we can't help but wonder if they've gone overboard in the cooling department.64 MB of Hynix DDR2 SDRAMA motor. This motor is nothing to write home about. It's quite tiny. Diminutive, even. So tiny that you might want to make sure you keep Kinect out of your toddler's reach, because forcing it to pan could damage the gears.A three-axis accelerometer. We suspect this is used to increase the accuracy of the panning motor.A Prime Sense PS1080-A2. Kinect is based on Prime Sense's motion detection technology. This chip is the Kinect's brains-all the sensors are wired into here for processing before transmitting a refined depth map and color image to the Xbox.<BR><BR></P>

Microsoft Kinect dismantled reveals two cameras, four microphones and a worthy fan

  This dissection and tear down of almost all relevantly anticipated devices were normal at all, and yes the guys at iFixit was always on th...

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Review: Microsoft Kinect

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_005-200-200.jpg"> <br /><P>The Nintendo Wii made waves when it came out in 2006.</P><br /><P>It wasn't because of an exciting array of incredible launch titles - there weren't any. And it absolutely wasn't due to the Wii packing dazzling HD graphics - it doesn't.</P><br /><P>It was all down to the motion-controlled gaming interface which put players inside games for the first time.</P><br /><P>Playing a tennis game suddenly became about swinging and hitting a ball, instead of using your fingers to hit the right buttons on a control pad in the right order. Gaming was revolutionised.</P><br /><P>Four years and 75 million worldwide Wii sales later, Microsoft and Sony have now both released their high-tech answers to the Wii-mote, and they couldn't be more different.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3752-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>While Sony's PlayStation Move uses the PlayStation Eye camera to detect and measure the location of high-tech and spatially-aware handheld controllers, Kinect has no physical controllers to speak of at all.</P><br /><P>The idea is that your <EM>body</EM> is the controller. It's up to the Kinect games and apps to use the camera and microphone to work out what you're doing and what you're saying, and to interpret your commands in the appropriate fashion.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3754-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><STRONG>How it works</STRONG></P><br /><P>The Kinect sensor contains an RGB camera and a depth sensor to track your movement. It measures the positioning of 48 key joints in your anatomy and by tracking the movements of these joints, it can work out exactly what position your body is in. What's more, it sees in 3D by overlaying the input from the RGB camera with the depth sensor.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3756-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Meanwhile the built-in multiarray microphone monitors the room for your voice - yep, Kinect even allows you to control your Xbox 360 using voice commands alone.</P><br /><P>It's almost too good to be true, isn't it? These are the hopes and dreams of every 6-year old child come-true. It's the sort of technology we only dreamed about while watching '60s TV series' like <EM>The Jetsons </EM>as kids.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3757-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>But this isn't fantasy. This is real. And so what we nervously want to know is - does it really work, and is it any good?</P><br /><P>------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</P><br /><P><STRONG>Sponsored:</STRONG> <a href="http://uk.sitestat.com/future/email-marketing/s?techradar.silverlight-advertorial.sl3-10freeappsinarticle.link&ns_type=clickout&ns_url=http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/10-free-silverlight-apps-you-must-try-today-905270" rel="nofollow">10 free Silverlight apps you must try today</A><BR>Twitter and telescopes, visual search and vampires</P><br /><P>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_001-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Kinect has a colour, and it's purple.</P><br /><P>While all Xbox games thus far have come in those distinctive green DVD cases, Kinect boxes are purple. So from now on, purple means 'Requires Kinect Sensor' and green means normal 360 game.</P><br /><P>Some games which don't require Kinect, but have Kinect features for those who have it, will come with a 'Better with Kinect' sticker on the box.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect purple" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/purple-420-100.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>It's Microsoft's way of avoiding confusion in the market place. So there'll be no trying to work out if something is Kinect compatible or not. If the box is purple, it's a Kinect game.</P><br /><P><STRONG>How much?</STRONG></P><br /><P>The Kinect Sensor will set you back £125 on launch. It comes with a free copy of <EM>Kinect Adventures</EM> - a title with lots of mini sub-games like Wii Sports, designed to showcase the various capabilities of the Kinect sensor.</P><br /><P>Now, it probably won't have escaped your notice that £125 is rather a lot of money. After all, you can pick up a brand new Xbox 360 console for about £140. Meanwhile, a PlayStation Move controller costs about £40.</P><br /><P>However, despite this, we don't think Kinect is necessarily bad value for money, and this is why.</P><br /><P>Kinect can detect up to six people in a room, and supports two active players at a time. So that £125 brings with it two-player gaming from the word go. That compares favourably to the £127 you'd have to pay for the equivalent PS Move setup (with PS Eye, two Move controllers<BR>and two navigation controllers).</P><br /><P>The main downside with Kinect is that if you have no friends and just want to play on your own, you're going to have to fork out the full £125 regardless. While this is a pain, the single-piece nature of the device doesn't allow it to work any other way.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Setting up</STRONG></P><br /><P>There are two different ways to, erm, connect Kinect to your Xbox 360. If you've got one of the new, slim models, there's a proprietary connection on the back which you can plug Kinect into directly. This also supplies power to the sensor.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3761-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>However, if you're stuck with an older model, you can still plug Kinect in by using one of the two USB ports on the front and you'll need to plug it into the wall for power using this method, too.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3762-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Ideally, the Kinect sensor needs at least six feet of space between you and it, to work properly. And really, you're going to need another five feet or so either side of you in order to have room to move around freely. And we're talking bare minimum, here - you wouldn't want to have any less space than that.</P><br /><P>This is obviously a bit of a handicap as there'll be plenty of keen Xbox gamers out there who just don't have the room for it.</P><br /><P>We found that positioning the Kinect Sensor on top of the TV instead of below and in front helped a bit in this respect. That way, the camera has more to look at, and you can make the most of the room you have if you've got limited space available.</P><br /><P>And it's as easy as that. Once you've placed the Kinect sensor, you switch your Xbox on and you're taken through an easy peasy set-up process.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Interface</STRONG></P><br /><P>Kinect comes with its own menu system, accessible from the Xbox 360's dashboard. Inside this menu, you are able to access all of the Kinect-compatible entertainment features that are available to you.</P><br /><P>What's more, you can browse to these features without using the Xbox 360 controller.</P><br /><P>The Kinect experience begins as soon as you switch on your 360. At the sign-in screen, if you wave at your TV, Kinect will recognise your face and sign you straight into your own Xbox Live account. Once you're into the Xbox dashboard, another wave at the TV will take you to the special new Kinect dashboard menu.</P><br /><P>In this menu you can access all your Kinect-compatible content including whatever game you have in your drive, Sky Player, Last fm, Zune music service, etc.</P><br /><P>You can navigate using your Xbox controller, but what Microsoft really wants you to do is use hand gestures. And this is the point where you find out if Kinect is for you or not.</P><br /><P>You interact with the Kinect dashboard and with most Kinect games in mostly the same way. If you hold your hand out in front of you, a hand icon appears on the screen. You then move your hand so that the icon moves to the option you want to select and you hold it there for a couple of seconds.</P><br /><P>A circular progress bar around the hand icon depicts the time you need to hold your hand in place. We found it to be a slightly tedious experience.</P><br /><P>Some games, such as Dance Central, use a point-and-swipe sort of system which seemed a lot more intuitive and less of a hassle. We found the point-and-hold system just a bit awkward, it was hard to actually get the hand icon to stay on the option we wanted and once in position, holding for a second or two was just a bit of a pain.</P><br /><P>You get used to it after a while, but frankly, we can't see why anyone would want to navigate an Xbox menu by holding their arm in the air, instead of just pressing a few buttons on the controller.</P><br /><P>There's a certain novelty aspect to it, of course, and while we didn't allow ourselves to go back to using the 360 controller, we certainly wanted to at times.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Voice control</STRONG></P><br /><P>Possibly the most <EM>Star Trek</EM>-like feature of Kinect is voice control. When using media services such as Sky Player or the Zune music service, you can control your Xbox using your voice alone.</P><br /><P>You get the Xbox's attention by saying "Xbox". A list of commands then pops up from the top of the screen. If you're playing music or watching a video, these commands typically include<BR>pause/play/stop/rewind/fastforward/faster/slower. We'll discuss how well this all works on the next page.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_005-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>There's no denying that there's some fantastic tech inside Kinect. It's an impressive system, but in order to really enjoy it, you may have to readjust your expectations with regard to what it is and what it isn't capable of.</P><br /><P>If you're expecting to play a game and have your on-screen avatar do exactly as you do with your body, quickly, completely in sync and with no lag - you're going to be disappointed. You just can't do that in most games.</P><br /><P>Kinect is less about having your exact real-world movements appearing on screen in real-time and more about using your body as a controller.</P><br /><P>Take a game such as <EM>Fighters Uncaged</EM> as an example. It's a 3D Beat 'em up title where you control your fighter by performing fighting moves. But there's a significant delay between you unleashing your kicks and punches, and them being mirrored on screen.</P><br /><P><img alt="jump" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/jump-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG><EM>Jump!</EM></P><br /><P>If you let rip with a heaving uppercut, you'll have already finished swinging before your avatar will mirror your move.</P><br /><P>It's the same for all games. In the <EM>River Rush</EM> minigame in <EM>Kinect Adventures</EM>, you have to lean and jump in order to avoid obstacles. But your character doesn't jump perfectly in time with you - there's a split-second delay.</P><br /><P>Across the board, with all games and apps, this delay is dependant on how fast you move. A slow, gradual movement, for example, has almost no noticeable lag at all. The faster you move, the more pronounced the lag is.</P><br /><P>It also doesn't matter how high you jump or whether you tuck your knees in or anything like that - your on-screen avatar will just jump in the same way each time. It won't mirror your exact movements.</P><br /><P>And that's because with most games, your movements merely trigger a pre-animated action in the game - rather than the avatars exactly mimicking you.</P><br /><P>The first few times we played with Kinect, this bothered us a lot. It prevented us from having the kind of fun we envisioned having when Microsoft first announced the product. </P><br /><P>But <EM>if</EM> you can get over this issue, it's not all doom and gloom.</P><br /><P><STRONG>The better news<BR></STRONG></P><br /><P>With many games, this lag issue is actually totally irrelevant anyway.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/DSCF3765-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P><EM>Dance Central</EM>, for instance, from Harmonix - the makers of <EM>Guitar Hero</EM> and <EM>Rock Band</EM> - is all about skill, precision and timing. You must perform the right dance moves in time with the music and dancers on screen, in order to get a good score. Lag doesn't come into it because you're mirroring the dancers, rather than the dancers mirroring you.</P><br /><P>Equally, there are plenty of health and fitness-themed games such as <EM>The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout</EM>. They're all about balance and body position rather than quick moves, flying kicks and punches.</P><br /><P>Imagine a Yoga game where the on-screen tutor analyses your posture and tells you how to perform Downward-facing dog a bit better. Kinect is just as much about this kind of thing as it is about the hardcore action titles.</P><br /><P>And so what it's done is make the Xbox a much more appealing console for casual gamers. This is something PlayStation Move does not offer.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Accuracy</STRONG></P><br /><P>It does take a while to get to grips with Kinect. Ignoring the lag issues with some games, the other major battle facing you is to get the hang of a new kind of hand-eye coordination.</P><br /><P>Some people find it hard enough to catch a ball or donk a pingpong ball in <EM>real life</EM> without messing up. With Kinect, you've got to do those things on behalf of your on-screen character. You've got to transplant your thinking into the body of your avatar, timing your movements on its behalf, which is more tricky that it sounds - especially when you have to factor in the lag.</P><br /><P>When it came to games such as <EM>Kinect Adventures</EM> throwing obstacles at us, we found ourselves wanting to wait until that obstacle reached the screen before performing the appropriate manoeuvre, rather than waiting until it reached our on-screen character. This meant we were often too late to perform the jump or sidestep.</P><br /><P>Again, this is something which improved over time. But still, again it represents a barrier between you and the game. We wanted to feel like we were inside the games we were playing. But in general, you don't get that feeling at all - you're still just controlling a character - who isn't you - on the screen.</P><br /><P>Once you've got the hang of it though, Kinect is perfectly accurate enough. If you mess up, you generally feel like it was your fault rather than the game not working properly.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Confusion</STRONG></P><br /><P>There were a few occasions when Kinect got rather confused. The most frequent issue we encountered was when someone stepped into view of the Kinect sensor when someone else was gaming. Occasionally Kinect would then lock on to the wrong person, which caused obvious problems. There were also a few issues with voice control.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Voice control - does it work?</STRONG></P><br /><P>Controlling something like Sky Player with voice commands is good fun and works almost perfectly.</P><br /><P>The voice command 'Xbox' lets the console know you're going to talk to it, and the on-screen options (which bare some resemblance to the original <EM>Monkey Island</EM> command menu) pop up quickly. The Xbox more often than not did exactly as we asked it to, it's really good fun. Kids will love it.</P><br /><P>However, that's not to say it's a perfect system, because it's not.</P><br /><P>As you can imagine, the likelihood of someone saying the word 'Xbox' while you're fiddling with your... Xbox, is quite high. So unsurprisingly, it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for someone in the room to say "Xbox" only to trigger the Xbox's voice command feature by mistake.</P><br /><P>This would be easily remedied if there was any kind of individual voice recognition system, where you could tell the Xbox only to respond to a specific person's voice. But unfortunately that's not possible - not yet.</P><br /><P>Our second problem with voice control is that while it technically takes almost no effort at all to say "Xbox.... pause" when the naughty bit in <EM>Wild Things</EM> comes on, it's still a lot quicker to just grab the controller and hit the pause button with your finger.</P><br /><P>For this reason, we can imagine many people simply abandoning the voice control system completely. </P><br /><P>Equally, we can also see a just as many people being so fascinated by this feature that they never want to go back to their controller.</P><br /><P><img alt="kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/TechRadar/Home%20Entertainment/Kinect%20Xbox%20360/product_001-420-90.jpg" width="420"></IMG></P><br /><P>Kinect has had a bit of a rocky ride up to now. There's been plenty of criticism - including from us at TechRadar - but you know what? We think Kinect is actually pretty good.</P><br /><P>The problem is that the people who'll be most interested in Kinect from the off are the hardcore gamers who've had their 360s for ages. They've got a mountain of games, and they're looking for something new.</P><br /><P>But Kinect is not necessarily for that type of gamer. Sure, there are plenty of Kinect games aimed at that hardcore audience, but we think Kinect is a product designed to bring the Xbox 360 to a wider audience.</P><br /><P>Kinect turns the Xbox 360 from a console predominantly aimed at young men, to a family machine with infinite possibilities.</P><br /><P>Games such as <EM>Kinectimals</EM> are a prime example. That game is not aimed at anyone other than young children, and for them it's fantastic. Equally, there's going to be a raft of new Kinect titles coming out to cater for other untapped demographics.</P><br /><P><STRONG>We liked:</STRONG></P><br /><P>Voice control works nicely, and we never had a problem with games or apps misunderstanding what we were saying.</P><br /><P>We also love the way Kinect is opening up the 360 into a much more well-rounded console. Microsoft is going to sell a lot of consoles to a wider range of people off the back of Kinect, and so if it gets more people involved, that's a good thing in our book.</P><br /><P><STRONG>We didn't like:</STRONG></P><br /><P>We don't like having to hold our arms in the air in order to select from the Kinect menus. It's annoying and we much preferred the point-and-swipe method employed by some of the games.</P><br /><P>Space is also a major negative - there'll be plenty of budding Kinect gamers out there who won't be able to join in due to not having enough space in their living rooms. We suspect this will be more of a problem for European gamers than North American ones.</P><br /><P>Lag is also an issue, and while you can get used to it, Kinect doesn't quite feel like the finished article while these delays exist. It's also a bit more expensive than we'd like, but it's hard to criticise this simply because Kinect is such a unique product.</P><br /><P><STRONG>Verdict:</STRONG></P><br /><P>We like Kinect a lot. But it's not a perfect product by any means, and many hardcore gamers out there are going to be disappointed by it.</P><br /><P>However, we think it's an impressive piece of technology, and in the months and years ahead we envisage it spawning some truly revolutionary games.</P><br /><P>For the moment though, the launch titles seem a bit weak and that £125 price tag looks just a bit too much.</P>

Review: Microsoft Kinect

The Nintendo Wii made waves when it came out in 2006. It wasn't because of an exciting array of incredible launch titles - there weren...

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In Depth: Does Kinect herald the demise of the keyboard?

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.gun-200-200.jpg"/><p>Do you know TED? Not the guy called Edward who lives next door, the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. </p><p>It's a series of lectures for invited politicians, academics and commercial developers to tell the world about their best ideas, then cruelly limits their talks to 18 minutes so they don't get boring. </p><p>Attendance at the events is both exclusive and expensive, costing over $5,000 a ticket. The <a href="http://www.ted.com">TED website</a> is more democratic and puts up videos of the best of these intellectual elevator pitches under the banner: 'Ideas worth spreading'. </p><p>Subjects cover everything from tackling global poverty to nanotech to Wikileaks.org. If you're at all interested in what the PC of the future might look like, the conference has also featured talks about micro-projection, virtual keyboards and changing trends in Human Computer Interaction (HCI). </p><p>It's particularly well worth digging out information about two talks that showcased at this summer's TED Global conference in Oxford. </p><p>First up, Microsoft's Peter Molyneux took to the stage to demonstrate his forthcoming Xbox 360 game: <em>Milo</em>. Milo is a small boy who is significant in two ways. Firstly, he's the latest iteration of the learning AI technology that has been central to Molyneux' work since <em>Black & White</em>. Milo can be taught to clean up his room or crush snails, depending on your proclivity. </p><p>It's a two way interaction though: he feeds back his thoughts about such actions to you with the kind of emotional depth that makes Kevin Spacey's robot Gertie from the film <em>Moon</em> seem callous and cold hearted. Milo learns from the movements and gestures picked up by <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/hands-on-microsoft-kinect-review-673321">Kinect</a>, Microsoft's 3D sensor array that's coming to the Xbox on 4 November. </p><p><img alt="Kinect" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.fileget-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p><strong>KINECT:</strong> <em>Kinect needs to have sophisticated detection technology to accurately pick up your stupid dance moves</em></p><p>Kinect was first announced under the codename Project Natal just over a year ago, in June 2009. Kinect can track body movements from roundhouse kicks down to facial expressions and turn them into a control system for the games console. </p><p>In many TED Global reports, though, Molyneux' talk was eclipsed the next day by Tan Le. Tan is the head of San Francisco's Emotiv Systems, and her showpiece was a wireless headset called EPOC. </p><p>It turns the electrical traces of thought processes into input commands for a PC. Mind control and gesture-based interfaces? The desktop PC was going to have a tough time fighting off the torrent of new touchscreen tablets. Can it possibly remain relevant? </p><p>For a couple of days, journalists were shown around labs full of 3D printers and machines with ten giant steel fingers that could put a keyboard through a lifetime of torture in just a few weeks. The tour was rounded off with a demonstration of a holographic-type transparent display, hooked up to a webcam which followed a user's hand gestures to move windows around, shamelessly aping the computers in <em>Minority Report</em>. </p><p>It was a charmingly Heath Robinson device, complete with bare wires and Meccano-type struts, which wowed the crowd with its unexpected sophistication. Unfortunately, given the amount of work that had gone into this prototype and the creator's obvious pride, it wasn't destined to become Project Natal. </p><p>Natal will be <a href="http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/microsoft-xbox-kinect-release-date-10-november-710465">launched on 10 November as Kinect</a>, and is built using licensed technology from the Israeli company, PrimeSense. </p><p><strong>Kinect for Windows</strong></p><p>Microsoft isn't talking about Kinect for Windows yet – and indeed turned down a request to be interviewed for this feature about plans for desktop interaction in general. It's safe to conjecture that it wants to promote Kinect on the console for now. </p><p>There's a good chance that something similar will be available for the PC before long, though. As well as the inevitable clones which will spring up, Microsoft doesn't have complete control of Kinect. </p><p>PrimeSense is actively seeking ways to get its technology into other devices, and company VP Adi Berenson confirmed to Engadget.com that it has at least one set-top media player in the works, which was described as an 'HTPC', or Home Theatre PC. </p><p>That suggests some sort of x86-compatibility. This HTPC is likely to be a sealed unit, but PrimeSense's NITE software, which provides the gesture reading magic, runs on Windows and Linux. Even if there's no official Windows product for a while, it shouldn't be long before there are unofficial drivers for USB variants that are available. </p><p>With a Kinect-type device for the PC, it's entirely feasible that you could sit in front of a screen and wave your fingers into space to make letters appear, move a window or switch to the rocket launcher. If that's possible now, in five years time it'll be everywhere, right? </p><p><strong>Multitouch</strong></p><p>After all, look at how quickly multi-touch mousepads and phone screens have become ubiquitous after the launch of the iPhone; the human race must be crying out for an alternative to the keyboard and mouse. </p><p>Not according to those in the know. "As a Human Computer Interaction (HCI) researcher I tend to have a sort of love-hate relationship with the mouse," says Professor Scott Hudson of the HCI Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. </p><p>"The fact of the matter is that the mouse is an extremely good input device for what it does. If you are editing a document, working with a spreadsheet, or clicking on links on the web, you probably want to use a mouse for that because it does a really good job. In fact, you can show scientifically that for simple pointing tasks you are probably not going to get a whole lot better than a mouse in terms of basic performance." </p><p><strong>The path of progress</strong></p><p>Academics in the field of HCI can be a surprisingly conservative bunch, but the history of the field teaches caution. Gadgets such as the iPhone or Kinect don't spring fully formed from nowhere and push back the boundaries of what's possible overnight. It took over two decades for multi-touch tablets and screens to move beyond proof of concept and specialist use into mass production and consumer electronics. </p><p>For anyone who's not an HCI Researcher, the job title may suggest a working day that involves breakfast with HAL, a pair of augmented reality glasses and a some 'blue sky thinking' about anti-gravity operator chairs. This impression is probably due to the fact that the only time HCI hits the headlines is when something out of the ordinary is shown off or talked about in an academic journal. </p><p>Most of the challenges in HCI are far more prosaic. Inspired by Kinect, the iPad, EPOC, et al, I went in search of holograms and USB spinal taps, and found instead the unsung heroes who use eye-tracking technology to illustrate bad web design and make the internet a slightly less annoying place. You're far more likely to find people working on very practical projects than chasing supercool sci-fi dreams. </p><p>At City University's Interaction Lab in London, for example, projects include studying how people operate simple 3D games and hacking Wii-motes to turn a desk into a cheap collaborative touchscreen. </p><p>One input idea which has taken a long time to gestate is voice recognition. There are some devices, notably the iPhone and certain in-car sat navs, which have a reasonably usable voice control system, but City's Interaction Lab Manager, Raj Arvan explains why it's failed to take off on the desktop: </p><p>"Voice recognition applications are becoming more accustomed to picking up natural language and the way people speak, but they are limited culturally," he says. "That needs to be accounted for. You need to have the same level of language sophistication wherever a system is going to be deployed." </p><p>There's also no reason for a new technique to supplant an old one that works well. The purpose of design is not to replace something that's already working well," says Raj Arvan, "The keyboard and mouse do a good job. </p><p>"You could use voice recognition to augment them in small ways, say commands for printing or opening an email client, but they'd be supplementary to the core functions. That's how it starts off, then if in the future the next generation becomes more comfortable using dictation then they'll use it to write whole documents." </p><p><img alt="Courier" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.courier-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p><strong>MS COURIER:</strong> <em>Microsoft canned its two screen tablet, but Toshiba's Libretto is still due this year</em></p><p>This is good news for us, because it means that the home computer as we know it isn't going anywhere for a while. Next time you're wowed by a demonstration of augmented reality overlays or thought-sensitive controllers, watch Keiichi Matsudafor's excellent short film '<a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/2939661-augmented-hyperreality-domestic-robocop-on-vimeo">Augmented (hyper) Reality: Domestic Robocop</a>' for a seminal lesson in why we should be wary of embracing new interfaces too quickly for our own good.</p><p> "I think in five years that Microsoft Windows will look, well… like Windows," says Carnegie Mellon's Hudson. "The graphical user interface that Windows embodies does a very good job at what it does and I don't see it going away any time soon or necessarily turning into anything else. But I think that's not the interesting question. The interesting question is what else will we see along side [Windows]?" </p><p><strong>Get your supplements </strong></p><p>This sentiment is echoed in the corporate strategies of Microsoft, Intel and Apple. It's best summed up by Microsoft's 'Three screens and the cloud' picture of harmony between the telephone, the PC system and the telly that CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about at the 2009 Consumer Electronic Show. </p><p>In the first half of the decade, everyone was competing to produce the single 'hub' device for the digital home. As a result there was a lot of pressure for the PC to evolve into a single 'convergence' unit with all manner of crap attached to it. Now there's an understanding that people don't want to replace the PC with one single device, but supplement it with other specialised boxes in the home.</p><p><img alt="C-Slate" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.c_slate-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p><strong>C-SLATE:</strong> <em>Work continues at Microsoft on the C-Slate, a display-based input pad</em></p><p>One of Intel's Consumer Experience Architects, Brian David Johnson, describes this using the image of watching TV while looking up information about the show on a laptop and at the same time tweeting about it through their phone. Each device has a specialism that doesn't necessarily need to be supplanted. </p><p>"People are very comfortable moving through their lives looking at different screens," he says, "It's not about the mobile phone killing the internet or the internet killing television and the PC going away … We need to understand that consumers' lives touch multiple products at any one time." </p><p>Hudson thinks this process of device proliferation, rather than convergence, has only just begun: "If I were to take a guess," he says, "I'd say that we will see an explosion of very small, inexpensive, and highly specialised devices. You can now buy for less than $1 a single chip with a computer in it that's much more powerful than the computer that was used in the lunar module and landed men on the Moon. There is a lot of potential in these devices that we haven't seen exploited yet." </p><p>The problem with trying to replace the keyboard and mouse combination is that clever new peripherals that may actually be better often have too steep a learning curve or are simply impracticable to use. </p><p>Russel Beale is a Senior Lecturer in HCI and leads the Advanced Interaction Lab at the University of Birmingham. He co-authored one of the seminal textbooks on HCI, called simply Human Computer Interaction. </p><p>"Where you're using movement and facial recognition to control what's happening in the game. It's a much more natural experience and a really involving one," he says. "But these these have to be appropriate. You wouldn't want to compose a letter in a word processor by scowling, grimacing and jumping around the room. It's horses for courses, there's a time and a place for a keyboard and mouse and typing stuff and a time and a place for waving imaginary lightsabers around a room." </p><p>At the same time, if the iPhone and iPad have any lessons for interface designers, it's that people don't mind sacrificing capabilities for ease of use. "When people's experiences are intuitive and natural," Beale continues, "Then they'll put a bit of effort in to learn how to get the most out of [the device]. Desktop computers are the other way round, you have to put a lot of effort in to discover how powerful they really are." </p><p>Perhaps the most surprising thing about the PC is how slowly multi-touch screens have taken off. There are a few laptops and displays available but other than French RTS <em>RUSE</em>, not many applications to use them with.</p><p><img alt="RUSE" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.ruse-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p><strong>R.U.S.E:</strong> <em>R.U.S.E. supports multi-touch interfaces, but also works just fine with a mouse and keyboard</em></p><p> "I don't think multi-touch has come of age yet," Beale says, "Yes, you can use two fingers to scroll or zoom and shrink things on a screen, but if you look at devices, such as Microsoft's Surface, they don't actually do that much more than other devices." </p><p><strong>Touching base</strong></p><p>There are two problems which haven't been comfortably conquered with desktop touchscreens yet. Hands obscuring the view is a common complaint with iPhone gaming which carries over, and reaching out to a screen in front of you is uncomfortable after just a few seconds. </p><p>"Sometimes there are great ideas that wait for the technology to catch up, and other times there are cool technologies that wait for the ideas."</p><p>He continues: "I think multi-touch will come much more of age in gaming spaces and so on when you decouple the device from the computer a bit further and allow people to have a much more expressive way of interacting with the systems that they want to. In gaming, it's all about getting people drawn into the game and living the experience. Anything that you put in the way which makes it hard to use is going to be a barrier to that experience." </p><p>Beale points out though that you can often use the drawbacks of a system to your advantage. "If you're designing a public information system in a busy place, you put it vertically because you don't want one person to stand in front of it for half an hour." </p><p><strong>Beyond motion sensing</strong></p><p>Predicting the future is a dangerous occupation, but it's safe to say that the PC keyboard and mouse combo is going to be with us for some time yet.</p><p> Just in case you've picked up the idea that the future isn't going to be quite as exciting as you thought, though, I asked Professor Hudson if Kinect's controllerless motion sensing could possibly be topped by anything else. </p><p>"There are many, many things beyond full-body sensing," he says. "As a researcher I tend to think of them in terms of questions that I want to answer. Just a few of the interesting ones might be: Can we interact directly with the brain? Can we make a cell phone that understands enough about its surroundings and what its owner is doing to not ring during a meeting or at the movie theatre?</p><p><img alt="OCZ nia" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.nia-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p><strong>OCZ NIA:</strong> <em>Thought control on the PC is nothing new, but how many people actually bought OCZ's NIA?</em></p><p>"Given that every second looking away from the road puts us in danger, how can we create interfaces that work well in the car? Devices are getting smaller and smaller, but our fingers are not. How can we effectively interact with really small mobile devices? Are there ways to make interfaces that can automatically sense motor control difficulties like tremor or spasticity and compensate for it? Can we make input devices that move, change form, or otherwise allow us to make use of our sense of touch during interaction? These are all things I've worked on at least a little in the last few years." </p><p>Maybe it's worth chasing that job in HCI after all. </p><p><strong>10 crazy controllers </strong></p><p>New ways to interact with your PC may be few and far between today, but that's because of the explosion of failed designs that's happened in the past. Here's 10 of our favourites that never quite captured the public imagination. </p><p><strong>1. Spacetech Orb 360 </strong></p><p>Like the Dual Strike, only less cumbersome in its foolishness, the ball on the left was supposed to be more accurate than a mouse for FPS games. Right… </p><p><strong>2. PCGamerBike </strong></p><p>This dislikes fat gamers. Pedals replace forward and back game controls, keeping you fit while you play. Unless you're playing <em>Starcraft II</em> that is. </p><p><strong>3. AlphaGrip AG-5 </strong></p><p>Nothing comes close to the AlphaGrip AG-5 in terms of buttons. It had 42 in an array of D-pad like layouts, most of which were on the base. </p><p><strong>4. Zalman FPSGun</strong></p><p><img alt="Zalman fps gun" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.gun-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p>A very accurate peripheral for FPSes that looks like a gun. Or it would be, if you could turn your brain on its side to transpose lateral hand movement to the vertical plane. </p><p><strong>5. Sidewinder Dual Strike </strong></p><p>So nearly the Wii wand of its day, but it failed design test #1: Don't make life harder for users. The ball-socketed left handle controlled the camera in shooters. </p><p><strong>6. Novint Falcon</strong></p><p><img alt="Novint falcon" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.novint-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p>I played with a Novint Falcon on a stand at CES 2006. And I quite liked it. Based on a surgical robot controller it had promise, but it just didn't catch on. </p><p><strong>7. Strategic Commander </strong></p><p>Microsoft has made some of the best controllers for PC gaming – and some of the worst. This mouse didn't move, making precision controlling nigh on impossible. </p><p><strong>8. Sandio Game O'</strong></p><p><img alt="Sandio game o'" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/Review%20images/PC%20Format/PCF%20245/PCF245.feature2.sandio-420-90.jpg" width="420"></img></p><p>Proof that too much of a good thing is too much: adding D-pads and rockers to give three dimensional cursor control just proved too confusing when in game. </p><p><strong>9. The Claw </strong></p><p>In fairness, we could have picked any of the many attempts to create a small left-handed keyboard with a pared down set of buttons from Belkin's Nostromo to Saitek's GM2. </p><p><strong>10. Logitech Cyberman </strong></p><p>You don't make the mouse better by fixing it in place - it just doesn't work. This, however, didn't stop Logitech from trying with this awful, flawed controller.</p><img border="0" height="1" src="http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/669/f/9809/s/f34cd60/mf.gif" width="1"/><div class='mf-related'><p>

In Depth: Does Kinect herald the demise of the keyboard?

Do you know TED? Not the guy called Edward who lives next door, the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference. It's a series of lect...

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