Cool Tidbits From the Kinect Revolution

If you own a Kinect, then you know that it's far  more than just a kid's gaming gimmick.  While most games for it are child-centric, the device offers many functionalities that take it well beyond gaming hardware.  I feel cheated when I can't tell my living room TV to pause a video, or change the channel.  Once you get used to controlling an entire echo system with your voice, it feels as if you are living in the future and it's hard to go back to using your hands.  Here are some really cool Kinect stories I've seen floating around the web that show some of the future possibilities powered by Kinect:

The Holodeck is closer to being a reality than ever imagined.  Engandget has been reporting some really cool holagraphic technologies.  How about controlling your Android smartphone on a projection on the wall?  Or creating full 3D renderings with your Windows Phone?  Or even a complete virtual theme park in Korea?  All these things are real and could be closer to becoming available to the masses than you may think.

Check out programming4fun's cool video:

Or this video posted by DDRBoxman controlling an Android phone via Kinect and a projector:


How about integrating your Windows Phone with playing Kinect games on the 360:


Click the image below for the Engadget article about the Korean Kinect theme park:

What if Android had never lived?

by jose martinez

All the talk of the AT&T/T-Mobile merger and it's impending competition crushing possibilities got me thinking.  Being a comic book fan, the "What If" scenario came up.  What if AT&T bought out T-Mobile before Android launched?

T-Mobile G1 White

On October 2008 T-Mobile launched Google's new powerhouse smartphone the HTC G1, the world's first Android device, to compete with AT&T's juggernaut Apple iPhone.  It took a couple of years for Android to gain more market-share than the iPhone, but they have done it.  With a wide selection of devices across multiple carriers including the ever popular Samsung Galaxy S and the new dual-core Sensation, Google's device has turned Gmail into the leading email client and Android into a household name.  You may even be reading this on one such device now.

Now the question arises...what if T-Mobile was already absorbed by AT&T in 2008?  As the only GSM major carrier with a complete focus and commitment to Apple's product, would they have even looked and the Android OS platform?  Would Google have gone to the other small upstart company, Sprint?  If they had, would Android have had the same success?  Sprint enjoys a great deal of success with the EVO series of Android phones now, but today's powerful 3D Gingerbread powered machines are light years away from the humble beginnings of the G1, a phone that toted at the time one of it's major features as the ability to play Pac-Man on it's touch screen.

It bears the question about squelching competition.  Where would the Smartphone market be without Android?  Probably powered by iPhones and corporate Blackberries, without a hint of the revolution and innovation that Google brought to the market disguised as yummy desserts.  Which brings up further questions of how it will be shaped in the future.  One can only hope that, if the merger is approved, Sprint will be able to survive and champion the little people who thrive on technological innovation and a fun user experience.  Until we know for sure, I will always root for the underdog.