Microsoft announces Xbox One
Planetside 1 switching to free-to-play
Watch the Microsoft Xbox reveal right here
Penny Arcade's Rain Slick 4 slides out June 7
Batman actor adds confusion to Arkham Origins announcement
Report: Next Xbox requires always-on Kinect
by Andrew Yoon, Feb 11, 2013 12:15pm PSTThe next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function," a new report on Kotaku reveals.
According to the site, Microsoft will include both Kinect and a hard drive in their next-gen console (both were optional accessories on Xbox 360). By making their use mandatory, developers will be able to make games with both peripherals in mind.
The camera has been greatly improved, being able to track up to six skeletons at once, versus two in the current-gen model. In addition, the new Kinect can keep track of five additional joints per person. According to Kotaku, the improved resolution of the camera will allow it to "instantly identify a person," making "automatic player identification" a part of the Xbox experience. While the convenience of not having to log-in will be nice, it could also lead to restricting content based on who Kinect identifies--something Redmond had patented many months ago. Using this tech could restrict the "number of user views, a number of user views over time, a number of simultaneous user views, views tied to user identities, views limited to user age or any variation or combination thereof."
In terms of hardware spec, Durango has been rumored to be largely identical with Orbis, the next PlayStation. Digital Foundry offers a comparison, detailing the slight differences in approach the two companies are taking with their next consoles.
Comments
The next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function."
The next Xbox, codenamed Durango, will not only include an updated version of Kinect--it will require it. "It must be plugged in and calibrated for the console to even function." : Shacknews
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 270 replies.
The fact that you're even considering these things in your thought process is a level of configuration most people will never do or even understand (consider the naive view of thinking you're ok if your client side apps are open source and trusted).
In fact, for the most part UI design in the free software world is better than what you find with proprietary software
The market and consumers have consistently voted in quite the opposite direction.
And clearly I don't personally audit all the code that I run, a genuinely impossible task. There are many, many teams developing these programs with these ideals in mind, though. I help in the projects that I can, and I personally trust many of the developers in other projects and the GNU distribution I use. There's a set of ethics at play here that is completely separate from market forces, and it's doing a great deal of good. You should really try it some time. You'll sleep better.
I'm well aware how it works. I've actually worked on multiple things that are open source and been paid to do so (by MS no less). You're simply only choosing to trust those who put all their source out there. I don't think that's a realistic expectation of every software company for a variety of reasons, and I don't think that in doing so they're inherently untrustworthy as a result. I use Google services and trust that they're not spying on me. Same as most everyone else.
Those ethics you talk about happen at a level above source code access, because no one is getting source access to Google Search, iCloud, or a variety of other services that are already pervasive at consumer and business levels. Even when you can see what data is being collected in source you then have to trust how that data is used when it goes over the wall and some company says its silo'd from some other part of the company or whatever.
You must be logged in to post.