$2,000 offered for open-source Kinect PC driver.

[Rydian]

Adafruit--led by MIT Media Lab alum Limor Fried and Make magazine Senior Editor Phillip Torrone--is offering two grand to someone who can figure out how to decouple the hot new device from Microsoft's gaming machine.

The bounty will go to the "first person or group to upload code and examples under an open-source license to (social-coding site) GitHub."

"It's amazing hardware that shouldn't just be locked up for Xbox 360," Torrone told CNET by e-mail. "Its 'radar camera' being able to get video and distance as a sensor input from commodity hardware is huge."

Adafruit is hoping someone will figure out how to use Kinect in education, robotics, or "fun outside the Xbox."

"We think First Robotics could use this," Torrone said. "We think educators could use this. Look at all the cool stuff people did with the Wii remote."

But Microsoft isn't taking kindly to the bounty offer. "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products," a company spokesperson told CNET. "With Kinect, Microsoft built in numerous hardware and software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tampering. Microsoft will continue to make advances in these types of safeguards and work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant."[/p]

Source

I really don't think Microsoft will have any legal standpoint to sue or get these guys to stop. Not even a moral one, seeing as people will need to actually buy Kinect to use it.

 

[SifJar]

What does it matter to Microsoft if it IS modified? People will need to buy the thing to use said modifications, and hence will increase sales of Kinect, thereby increasing Microsoft's revenues. They should just submit stuff for the bounty, and take the money. (Adafruit said that would be OK, and they'd still give them the money if they did). I highly doubt they would obviously.

Still, I can't see how they could possibly have any sort of legal standpoint, and if they do, there are clearly some very major flaws in the legal system (well, there are many flaws in it...but anyway).

EDIT: Done already? : http://gizmodo.com/5683744/was-microsoft-k.../full+(Gizmodo)

 

[o0ICE0o]

My theory as to why they don't want it hacked:
They are selling it below cost, and hoping to make it back with the game sales; similar to what they did with the 360 at launch.

If people start buying more of them without the games, they might loose some of their precious money.

 

[ThatDudeWithTheFood]

Microsoft acts like you can rob a bank with kinect.

 

[o0ICE0o]

Microsoft acts like you can rob a bank with kinect.

You could rob a bank with a plastic spork.

 

[trumpet-205]

I feel the offer is a bit low. Maybe 5K?

Anyway Microsoft will do everything they can to stop this reverse engineering.

 

[GundamXXX]

Microsoft acts like you can rob a bank with kinect.

New GTA, then you can

But the reason MS is pissed off is like manier people said, like Sony did to the PS3 MS is selling teh Kinect with losses and hoping on console/game sales to make profit. If the Kinect is hacked though does that mean we can play Xbox 360 Kinect games on the PC? Doubt it but it will make it easier for teh Chinese to copypasta it thus MS would need to sell less Kinects at a loss thus they make more profits on games so in the end its a win situation for MS and they know it. Theyre just saying stuff so it seems theyre pissed off -_-

 

[DeadLocked]

In my opinion, once a customer buys the product, they can do whatever they want with it including, use it otherwise as intended.
They charge the customer for THE product, not 'the product but, whatever you do don't mess with the stuff'

I like the idea of them using this for computers and first robotics, kinect games are an absolute waste.

Might even buy one if it turns out they can use it to do cool stuff with your pc

(The only legal issue I can see is they can't sell any software that uses kinect in this way because of copyright)

 

[Rydian]

I feel the offer is a bit low. Maybe 5K?I don't think most people exactly have an extra $3,000 to throw around.

QUOTE(DeadLocked @ Nov 8 2010, 05:21 AM) (The only legal issue I can see is they can't sell any software that uses kinect in this way because of copyright)

They want an open-source driver so they can both confirm it's not stolen from MS, and so they can use it without issue.