5 ms·

I think this is a great step for Microsoft. I believe they've learned a lot from the good PR that Android has received due in part to Androids large and outspok

I think this is a great step for Microsoft. I believe they've learned a lot from the good PR that Android has received due in part to Androids large and outspoken developer community. I'm sure Microsoft has also noticed a lot of the negativity surrounding Motorola and their decision to lock down boot loaders (effectively removing any developers chance to mess with the phone). That and the mess that Sony has created by suing the people who hacked the PS3. So, kudos to Microsoft.

greendestiny 16y ago
I think Microsoft has been dragged into this and they aren't embracing it nearly quick enough. Primesense has been distributing an open source sdk for a while now http://www.openni.org/ http://www.openni.org/ and Microsoft want to keep some control of the device. They still haven't allowed any indie developer access to the Kinect on the Xbox and they are in danger of completely blowing the potential of the device as the next paradigm of people interacting with computers in their living rooms.
markszcz 16y ago
Reminds me Lego's success story with it's Lego Mindstorm vs the "hacking" community(http://open-your-innovation.com/2010/04/01/open-innovation-crowdsourcing-and-the-rebirth-of-lego/ http://open-your-innovation.com/2010/04/01/open-innovation-c...) "With the introduction of LEGO Mindstorms ... advanced users began to hack the system to customize and use it ... After trying to fight these hackers, LEGO finally became aware of the potential that laid behind them. LEGO finally allowed such forced collaboration. " That quotes from the Open innovation and crowdsourcing section a little down the page. Good job Microsoft for realizing the possible same community fate awaits you. =)
wslh 16y ago
It's ironic, but Microsoft almost always supported products that reverse engineered their software. One of our products was based on internals research and we received a proposal from their QA team to test our product in Windows 7. If I remember well, the Samba team had issues in the past with this practice, and also the activesync protocol is jealously protected (and licensed to Google).
- eyeareque 16y ago
  Microsoft started to help the Samba team because of a lawsuit, not because they felt like being nice to OSS: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterprise_apps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205101451 http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterprise_apps...
- uygtfrgtyjuhk 16y ago
  The difference is that this can only increase sells of Kinect hw and MSFT sw. Samba allowed you to replace expensive Windows Servers and expensive Client access license with free Linux boxes != Balmer being a happy bunny
patrickk 16y ago
Microsoft also deserve credit for landing PrimeSense's technology in the first place (the tech that powers the Kinect.) Apple were so awkward with legal wrangling and NDAs that they missed out, even though PrimeSense approached them first. ... he’d [PrimeSense's CEO] already had several meetings at Apple. It was the first place he and his engineers thought of. “It was the most natural place for the technology,” he said. Apple has a history of interface innovation, of course, and had recently introduced the iPhone with its paradigm-shifting multitouch UI. PrimeSense’s system went one step further: It was multitouch that you didn’t even have to touch. Apple seemed like a natural fit. Yet the initial meetings hadn’t gone so well. Obsessed with secrecy, Apple had already asked Beracha to sign a stack of crippling legal agreements and NDAs. He shook his head. Why didn’t he want to do a deal with Apple? No need. The technology was hot. He could sell it to anyone. “Apple is a pain in the ass,” he said, smiling. http://www.cultofmac.com/how-apple-almost-got-microsofts-kinect-game-controller/67951 http://www.cultofmac.com/how-apple-almost-got-microsofts-kin... EDIT: link
tzs 16y ago
It's probably a factor that Kinect hardware is sold at a profit and that they have plenty of supply, so someone buying a Kinect to hack with on their PC (1) isn't making Microsoft lose money, and (2) isn't depriving a gamer of one. I don't know if Sony ever got the PS3 to the point that the consoles are profitable by themselves. Another factor is that Kinect hacking is unlikely to lead to game cheating. It's just an input device. The code that does the processing for the games is in the software on the XBox, and they have locked that down tight. With the PS3, since it is the PS3 itself that is being hacked, I would expect that there is a lot more potential for using the hacks to cheat in online games--something that does hurt Sony financially.

greendestiny 16y ago

I think Microsoft has been dragged into this and they aren't embracing it nearly quick enough. Primesense has been distributing an open source sdk for a while now http://www.openni.org/ http://www.openni.org/ and Microsoft want to keep some control of the device. They still haven't allowed any indie developer access to the Kinect on the Xbox and they are in danger of completely blowing the potential of the device as the next paradigm of people interacting with computers in their living rooms.

markszcz 16y ago

Reminds me Lego's success story with it's Lego Mindstorm vs the "hacking" community(http://open-your-innovation.com/2010/04/01/open-innovation-crowdsourcing-and-the-rebirth-of-lego/ http://open-your-innovation.com/2010/04/01/open-innovation-c...) "With the introduction of LEGO Mindstorms ... advanced users began to hack the system to customize and use it ... After trying to fight these hackers, LEGO finally became aware of the potential that laid behind them. LEGO finally allowed such forced collaboration. " That quotes from the Open innovation and crowdsourcing section a little down the page. Good job Microsoft for realizing the possible same community fate awaits you. =)

wslh 16y ago

It's ironic, but Microsoft almost always supported products that reverse engineered their software. One of our products was based on internals research and we received a proposal from their QA team to test our product in Windows 7. If I remember well, the Samba team had issues in the past with this practice, and also the activesync protocol is jealously protected (and licensed to Google).

eyeareque 16y ago
Microsoft started to help the Samba team because of a lawsuit, not because they felt like being nice to OSS: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterprise_apps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205101451 http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterprise_apps...
uygtfrgtyjuhk 16y ago
The difference is that this can only increase sells of Kinect hw and MSFT sw. Samba allowed you to replace expensive Windows Servers and expensive Client access license with free Linux boxes != Balmer being a happy bunny

patrickk 16y ago

Microsoft also deserve credit for landing PrimeSense's technology in the first place (the tech that powers the Kinect.) Apple were so awkward with legal wrangling and NDAs that they missed out, even though PrimeSense approached them first. ... he’d [PrimeSense's CEO] already had several meetings at Apple. It was the first place he and his engineers thought of. “It was the most natural place for the technology,” he said. Apple has a history of interface innovation, of course, and had recently introduced the iPhone with its paradigm-shifting multitouch UI. PrimeSense’s system went one step further: It was multitouch that you didn’t even have to touch. Apple seemed like a natural fit. Yet the initial meetings hadn’t gone so well. Obsessed with secrecy, Apple had already asked Beracha to sign a stack of crippling legal agreements and NDAs. He shook his head. Why didn’t he want to do a deal with Apple? No need. The technology was hot. He could sell it to anyone. “Apple is a pain in the ass,” he said, smiling. http://www.cultofmac.com/how-apple-almost-got-microsofts-kinect-game-controller/67951 http://www.cultofmac.com/how-apple-almost-got-microsofts-kin... EDIT: link

tzs 16y ago

It's probably a factor that Kinect hardware is sold at a profit and that they have plenty of supply, so someone buying a Kinect to hack with on their PC (1) isn't making Microsoft lose money, and (2) isn't depriving a gamer of one. I don't know if Sony ever got the PS3 to the point that the consoles are profitable by themselves. Another factor is that Kinect hacking is unlikely to lead to game cheating. It's just an input device. The code that does the processing for the games is in the software on the XBox, and they have locked that down tight. With the PS3, since it is the PS3 itself that is being hacked, I would expect that there is a lot more potential for using the hacks to cheat in online games--something that does hurt Sony financially.