Programming Blog » microsoft changes

Kinect Self-Driving Car Built By German University Researchers [Vehicle Drives Itself Using Kinect To Detect Obstacles, Latest In Long Line Of Hacks]

Facebook-Web-Design — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 16:35:04 +0000

No, we don’t mean a real full-sized one. Some people managed that with a PSP and a Honda Civic a while back if you’re really into video game paraphernalia controlling a car, but this is something else entirely. It’s a tiny RC car that can detect obstacles and navigate around them using a program based on another program written for a car that participated in the DARPA Urban Challenge.

Continue reading: Kinect Self-Driving Car Built By German University Researchers [Vehicle Drives Itself Using Kinect To Detect Obstacles, Latest In Long Line Of Hacks]

Comment | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | TFTS Home.

TFTS Holiday Gift Guide 2010 | HOT POST: Motorola Droid X Android 2.3.340 (Gingerbread?) Update Hitting Soon?

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

Not seeing this feed in an RSS reader? Is this feed being scraped?

Subscribe to the original TFTS feed.

Go to Source

Popular Science Praises Move & OnLive, Doesn’t Mention Kinect Or Wii [Popular Science Add Move & OnLive To Top 100 Innovations List, Kinect & Wii Are Nowhere To Be Seen]

Facebook-Web-Design — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:29:40 +0000

Popular Science has released their “Best of What’s New 2010″ list, and if you’re Sony, the results are great. If you’re Nintendo or Microsoft, well, not so much. OnLive was named in the list, and it receives this honor because, of course, it allows people to play high-end computer games without requiring users to shell out thousands for a high-end gaming rig. But the other gaming award is the one that might end up causing some controversy…

Continue reading: Popular Science Praises Move & OnLive, Doesn’t Mention Kinect Or Wii [Popular Science Add Move & OnLive To Top 100 Innovations List, Kinect & Wii Are Nowhere To Be Seen]

1 Comment | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | TFTS Home.

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL ADVISORIES | HOT POST: The Top Six Reasons Fallout 3 Is Better Than Fallout New Vegas

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

Not seeing this feed in an RSS reader? Is this feed being scraped?

Subscribe to the original TFTS feed.

Go to Source

Microsoft Changes Stance On Kinect Hackers During Science Friday Interview [Microsoft Tells NPR On Science Friday That Kinect Was Left Unprotected 'By Design']

Facebook-Web-Design — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 14:36:58 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I smell some flip-flopping going on here. In a Friday interview on NPR’s Science Friday program, representatives from Microsoft seemed to accept the fact that Kinect had been hacked. More specifically, the Science Friday staff tweeted after the program aired, “Alex Kipman says Kinect interface was left unprotected ‘by design.’ Shannon Loftis says she’s ‘inspired’ by community finding new uses.” Alex Kipman is the Xbox Director of Incubation, and Shannon Loftis works for Microsoft as well.

Continue reading: Microsoft Changes Stance On Kinect Hackers During Science Friday Interview [Microsoft Tells NPR On Science Friday That Kinect Was Left Unprotected 'By Design']

Comment | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | TFTS Home.

BLACK FRIDAY DEAL ADVISORIES | HOT POST: The Top Six Reasons Fallout 3 Is Better Than Fallout New Vegas

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

Not seeing this feed in an RSS reader? Is this feed being scraped?

Subscribe to the original TFTS feed.

Go to Source

Microsoft Kinect Technology Almost Belonged to Apple [Kinect Technology Developer PrimeSense Pitched Idea to Apple, But Got Turned Off & Went to Microsoft Instead]

Facebook-Web-Design — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 01:21:36 +0000

Another close call? Apple could’ve clinched the deal with yet another breakthrough interface technology. But because of Apple legalese and perhaps a nuanced corporate culture, the designers of Kinect‘s motion-sensing technology backed out. They went, instead, to Microsoft. The rest, as they say, is history.

Continue reading: Microsoft Kinect Technology Almost Belonged to Apple [Kinect Technology Developer PrimeSense Pitched Idea to Apple, But Got Turned Off & Went to Microsoft Instead]

Comment | View latest news in Computer/Console Gaming | TFTS Home.

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

Not seeing this feed in an RSS reader? Is this feed being scraped?

Subscribe to the original TFTS feed.

Go to Source

Microsoft Changes Windows Phone 7 App Restrictions [WP7 Apps Can Now Run Under Lock Screen, Granted They Don't Drain The Battery]

Facebook-Web-Design — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 21:56:19 +0000

For regular TFTS readers, it should be old news that Microsoft has some extreme restrictions on Windows Phone 7, from the hardware to the app development. There had been some backlash that Microsoft was not allowing third-party apps to run while the phone’s lock screen was, ahem, locked. But, after much feedback, Microsoft is reversing their decision.

Continue reading: Microsoft Changes Windows Phone 7 App Restrictions [WP7 Apps Can Now Run Under Lock Screen, Granted They Don't Drain The Battery]

Comment | View latest news in Mobile/Cell Phones | TFTS Home.

Related Reading on TFTS – In Order of Freshness:

Not seeing this feed in an RSS reader? Is this feed being scraped?

Subscribe to the original TFTS feed.

Go to Source

Kinect Technology Updated to Better Recognize Players Who Are Sitting [Microsoft Changes Kinect Technology to Better Detect Those Who Aren't Standing Directly In Front of Sensor]

Facebook-Web-Design — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 06:36:48 +0000

Concerns over the limitations of Microsoft’s Kinect technology haven’t exactly been quiet over the past couple of months. Developers have expressed a good amount worry over the fact that Kinect has trouble recognizing players who are sitting and lying down. However, Microsoft, in attempt to quell the outcry, have changed the algorithm used to identify players and their locations.

(…)
Read the rest of Kinect Technology Updated to Better Recognize Players Who Are Sitting [Microsoft Changes Kinect Technology to Better Detect Those Who Aren't Standing Directly In Front of Sensor]

Go to Source

Microsoft Pulls Bing Maps Site Out of Beta

Facebook-Web-Design — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 03:44:40 +0000

Microsoft has removed the beta tag from the Bing Maps Silverlight site. This means, at least according to Microsoft, that users can expect greater reliability, supportability, and further innovation.

"First off, if you go to the Bing Maps AJAX site and have Silverlight installed chances are you will be redirected to the Bing Maps Silverlight site (note this change only affects users in the US)," explains Microsoft’s Chris Pendleton. "We’re rolling this out with a small percentage of users increasing up to 100% of all users in a few weeks. If you don"t have Silverlight installed you can hit the AJAX site and will be prompted to install Silverlight (which you can opt out of, but WHY would you??). Well, to make the AJAX site a bit smoother we’ve introduced some new transitions in the tile loading process for panning and zooming. So you can have your Silverlight and AJAX too. If you don’t want to stay on the Silverlight site, you can opt out and return to the AJAX site (aka Bing Maps Classic) via the link on the Silverlight site."

Microsoft has also launched two new Bing Maps Applicaton Gallery apps. These are "Destination Maps" and "Local Events". The former shows vector-based route geometries on new map background, and the latter lets users find things to do in their own towns.

From the sound of it, Bing Maps users should expect much more in the way of apps. "These apps are only the beginning," says Pendleton. "You see it coming? A massive wave is upon you. Get ready."

More detailed information on the two newly launched apps can be found here and here respectively. On another Bing-related note, Microsoft has started improving its autosuggest feature. Time will tell if it proves to be an improvement over Google’s much criticized Google Suggest.

Related Articles:

> Bing Launches New Maps with Apps

> Microsoft Changes Bing User Privacy Methods

> Bing Makes Out Well In Search Spend Report

Go to Source