MIT Chrome Extension Using Kinect

By DustinPosted on

The kids at MIT have come up with a gesture feature as part of a Chrome extention using the Kinect. This Kinect thing just hit the market a couple weeks ago, and we are already seeing some excellent applications for it. I can’t wait to see what else they come up with. Maybe a big part of Windows 8?

Hackers at the famous MIT Media Lab have built an open source Chrome browser extension that uses the Microsoft gesture-based controller Kinect to navigate around tabs and web pages. The group says the end result is like the movie Minority Report and that seems like a fair comparison.

Windows Phone 7 Hacked: MS’s Take

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft knew that their Windows Phone 7 would be poked and prodded until someone hacked it. Of course, they don’t want people doing it and have released their take on it.

“We anticipated that people would attempt to unlock the phones and explore the underlying operating system. We encourage people to use their Windows Phone as supplied by the manufacturer to ensure the best possible user experience. Attempting to unlock a device could void the warranty, disable phone functionality, interrupt access to Windows Phone 7 services or render the phone permanently unusable.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

By DustinPosted on

Happy Thanksgiving! This time of year is a great time to get together with family and have a great time. For those drinking this holiday, remember to give your keys to someone who isn’t!

Everyone have a great and safe Thanksgiving!

IE9 Beta 2 Leaked

By DustinPosted on

Internet Explorer 9 Beta 2 (Build 9.0.8027.6000) has been leaked on the internet. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, really. It has stability and compatibility fixes. Give it a try if you are into leaked betas. Just remember that it comes with zero support!

The build, version 9.0.8027.6000 includes bug fixes, stability improvements and the latest rendering engine seen in the recent developer Platform Preview. It appears, from the digital signature, that the build was compiled as recently as November 19. Microsoft’s previous Platform Preview 7 build was labeled 9.0.8023.6000.

The new build doesn’t appear to include any UI enhancements. Microsoft has updated its download manager so that it now displays the transfer speed without the need to hover over individual downloads. The updated beta also performs better on Microsoft’s IE test drive site.

Microsoft Sells AoE3 For a Dime, Runs Out of Keys

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft ran a promotion yesterday to where you can get Age of Empires 3 for a dime. I already own the boxed version, well worth it, but I bought another copy for a dime so my kids could have a copy. Turns out, it was WAY more popular than previously imagined. With huge sales a few years after the release, I wonder if Age of Empires 4 looks promising, now!?

For just one day only, the software giant offered the popular real-time strategy game online for only 10 cents. The game was available on Microsoft’s Games for Windows site all day on Sunday November 21. According to a Microsoft Games for Windows spokesperson, workers were surprised at the large amount of keys allocated to the sale beforehand. “When keys were propped, they gave a rather large buffer. In fact, people were joking in the hallway on Friday about the unnecessarily large number of keys that were prepared for this sale. Then we ran out.” Another member of the Windows Live team confirmed “We knew the sale would be popular and added extra keys to accommodate before the sale started, but it exceeded even our own expectations.”

Microsoft Helps Girls Become Geeks

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft is increasing their “diversity” campaign to include high school girls, with the new DigiGirlz program. While I’m never too fond on the whole “diversity” thing, getting girls into the IT and programming arena makes sense. I know a lot of women that enjoy video games, and a lot that do artsy web programming, but very little that go much further than that. Good things come from getting a different perspective on things. The one thing I don’t like about it: Barbie is helping to sell this…. To high schoolers.

Experience a new world of fun by exploring our on-line DigiGirlz courses! These classes have been developed with you in mind and will expose you to some of the content that is taught during our DigiGirlz program. Have fun and show your friends and family how creative and innovative you can be.

Kinect Still Wasn’t Hacked

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft still claims that the Kinect wasn’t hacked, and now are saying that the USB port was left open by design. While this is great news for tinkerers and hobbyists, it goes against what Microsoft has said in the past about Kinect. Who knows if they left it open by design, or if it was just a hole that was left open by accident.

Responding to the “Open Kinect” contest by Adafruit Industries, the Redmond company originally said it was working with law enforcement and safety groups to keep the device tamper-resistant. A few days later, the company said the project didn’t constitute hacking but the use was unsupported, and it encouraged people “to use Kinect for Xbox 360 with their Xbox 360 to get the best experience possible.”

Microsoft Australia Admits Vista Was A Mis-Step

By DustinPosted on

The Microsoft Chief in Australia, Tracy Fellows, has a great outlook on Microsoft products. I like how she can admit to mistakes, and freely admits that Vista was a “miss-step”. The big thing isn’t that you made a mistake, it’s how you handle and recover from that mistake. I loved Vista, it was a great product. A lot of the problem with Vista was that the third party developers weren’t ready for it. Windows 7 is greatly superior to Vista, though, showing that they did fix the few problems that did exist with Vista.

When asked if Microsoft’s Windows 7 PC operating system is a return to form after the PR disaster that was Vista, she doesn’t hesitate.

“I think there are a few things you learn when you, let’s call it ‘miss-step’. You need to take accountability. I think we stepped up and said ‘what were the mistakes with Vista’ and learned from them.

“That’s the difference and it’s now the fastest selling operating system in history.”

Canadian-born Ms Fellows has lived in Australia for 27 years. She notches four years as Microsoft Australia managing director in January.

What Do We Want From Windows 8

By DustinPosted on

Maximum PC asks some OEM manufacturers what they want or expect from Windows 8. Some of the answers are pretty obvious, and some of them are good additions that I didn’t think of. I’m not quite sure I accept the whole “cloud” integration. There are many times when my ISP has problems, internet congestion, large file transfers, or total lack of internet access completely. I don’t want my OS to be dependent on an internet connection.

We’re starting to get sick of hearing about Cloud Computing—it feels like an obvious evolution, and one that’s actually been around for quite some time—but it will be extremely relevant as Microsoft shifts to a cloud-based user-first architecture in Windows 8. But what does this mean in terms of actual features? First, companies like Dropbox, Carbonite, and other cloud-based storage and backup services should be concerned, because Windows 8 will include built-in support at the File Manager level for Windows SkyDrive, which will allow us to save and access files from anywhere and on any device.