The Kinect - (Unknowingly to Microsoft) Designed to be Hacked
Last November I became very excited when I saw what was possible with the xbox Kinect. A Kinect is an Xbox accessory that has a bunch of sensors and cameras making 3D vision possible and affordable. I made a post with some of my favorite links in this blog post . Tonight I attended a meetup with presentations of current Kinect hacks, I find it to be an intriguing space as it gives users to be able to control an environment without needing to wear or hold any piece of equipment. But let me share my favorite take away of tonight: In order to develop the Microsoft Xbox Kinect, Microsoft hired the guy, Johnny Lee , who hacked the Wii . Apparently Mr. Lee wanted Microsoft to have the platform open to outside developers but the company did not like that idea. When the product was released a private organization, Adafruit , released a $3,000 bounty to hack the Kinect. Within 24 hours it was hacked and the community started to thrive. Microsoft t...