Microsoft's innovative Kinect game controller was introduced about a year ago. The device, an add-on to the Xbox 360 game console, lets users play games with gestures and spoken commands. The Kinect sold eight million units in its first two months on the market, and no less an authority than the Guiness Book of World Records named it the world's “fastest selling consumer electronics device” (take that, iPad) and the world's “fastest selling gaming peripheral.”
Microsoft made a .NET-based software development kit for the Kinect available in June 2011, but the license agreement allows the development of only “noncommercial” apps. A fully commercial SDK has been provided to selected companies, and Microsoft has promised that it will be generally available in “early 2012.” Also slated for early 2012 release is new Kinect hardware, intended to connect with a PC instead of a game console.
Kinect has become a major part of Microsoft's self-image, and the company would like to see the device integrated into more and more PC-based applications.
To further that vision, Microsoft has announced Kinect Accelerator, an incubator program under which 10 individuals or companies will receive funding, office space, mentorship, and other support for turning their Kinect-based applications into reality. “Every company participating in the Kinect Accelerator will receive an investment of $20,000, an Xbox development kit, the Windows Kinect SDK, office space, all the resources of BizSpark, technical training and support, and mentorship from entrepreneurs, investors and Microsoft executives intensely focused on making their business a success,” Microsoft says. “At the end of the program, each company will have an opportunity to present at an Investor Demo Day to angel investors, venture capitalists, Microsoft executives, media, and industry influentials.”
The downside? Applicants must be prepared to relocate to Seattle for the duration of the program. And six percent of your project equity will belong to Kinect Accelerator, as a sort of tax.
It's easy to imagine how Kinect-style UIs could improve applications in health care, education, manufacturing, and general business. Interested? Sign up here.
Web recommendation: Stanford University is offering a free online course in cryptography to interested programmers. The course, taught by Stanford Applied Cryptography Group head Dan Boneh, starts in January. It's based on a series of videos (about two hours per week), assignments, and tests. Cryptography isn't just a fascinating discipline, it's also an increasingly important one – you can do your career a lot of good by specializing in security technologies. The course info page is here. J.D. says check it out.
J.D. Hildebrand has written hundreds of articles for dozens of publications and online communities dedicated to software development. The next book on his reading list is Dan Simmons's Drood.