I love Kinect. And, I hate to admit that I love it. Despite being a Microsoft basher for so long, I have suddenly found that this device will define the way we look at the future of technology. For the first time in history, Microsoft has a technological lead over other companies. It was Apple during the PC days, and it has been Google during the Internet age. This time around, it’s different.
When the IPhone came out and then the barrage of Android devices, Microsoft was just left behind in its smartphone and tablet initiatives. It has actually been left too far behind for it to catch Apple and Google in the smartphone category. Does that mean Microsoft has no future in the post-PC era? Some would say yes. And, I beg to differ. Microsoft has a future in the post touch era. It has a future in the Motion and gesture sensing era. It might just be the multi-bagger which no one has predicted.
When Microsoft came out with the Kinect late last year, it was just a motion-sensing accessory added on top of its XBOX. So, how was it different from the many add-ons that Apple comes out along with its products? For me it was the technology and the approach that Microsoft took towards the product. The hacker community usually never looks at Microsoft products with excitement. It is always the Apple devices and the Google innovations which attract developer as well as hacker attention. This time around it was Kinect that was hacked top, down and centre. And, Oh yes!! Microsoft was appreciating it all. Microsoft knows that the hacking community is going to drive the future of Motion sensing as well as Kinect.
Microsoft saw this as an opportunity to build a community around a product which was a masterpiece and could very well drive the future of Tablet OS’es, gaming consoles, consumer devices( Televisions, Refrigerators), surgical equipment’s and a lot more. You can see a lot of hacks at http://kinecthacks.net/ . The more I see the posts on this website, the more I imagine the world moving towards motion sensing devices. The other day, I was sitting with a couple of my friends and wanted to increase the volume of the television. My friend and I thought how raising both hands parallel is an appropriate gesture for television volume increment. While doing lectures, how hand movement controlled slides seem so much more today than tomorrow.
I am very excited about the future of Kinect and to some extent the future of Microsoft. Microsoft has the chance to rewrite the future yet again and change the course of technology. I hope to see a motion sensing OS in the next 2 to 3 years. Beware Apple and watch out Google!! Microsoft might not have been successful with the touch generation. It might just skip the touch generation altogether and move on to the gesture generation.
Get in touch with me at mitra[dot]arkid[at]gmail[dot]com
Get in touch with the editor at tushar[dot]2035[at]gmail.com
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