ShannonLoftis
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Microsoft: I'm a PC, and Kinect open-source drivers were my idea
When word first reached Microsoft that the open-source community would hack the Kinect, the company's response was pretty heavy-handed: "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products," a rep told CNET, pledging to "work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant." But now that Kinect mods blow our minds on a near-daily basis, Redmond has changed its tone. Microsoft's Alex Kipman told NPR Science Daily listeners that as far as the company's concerned, the Kinect hasn't actually been hacked thus far, and that Microsoft actually left the camera's USB connection unprotected "by design" to let the community take advantage. Though he and fellow Microsoftie Shannon Loftis wouldn't commit to official PC software drivers for the device, he did say that the company would "partner sooner rather than later" with academic institutions to get the hardware doled out, and suggested that some universities started playing with Kinect even before its commercial launch. Read a transcript of the pertinent section of the podcast after the break, or listen for yourself at our source link starting at the 18:22 mark. [Thanks, Fred T.]
