Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer announced on Monday the company’s gesture-recognition technology Kinect will come to Windows on February 1. It was the one intriguing nugget in a presentation more notable for its a capella tweet choir than its news.
Balmer didn’t elaborate on what Kinect for Windows would look like, but one can assume that it would allow users to control the operating system without touching a keyboard or mouse. Kinect has already been a game changer for gaming and television — allowing, for instance, a child to interact with Sesame Street. It’s overwhelming to imagine how it could change computing.
“Now I can bash my hands on the desk when it crashes, and it will respond,” joked one participant in Mashable‘s live blog of the event.
Joking aside, perhaps so. Balmer said that Microsoft is working with 200 companies on Kinect apps, and there’s no limit to what they might include. Will we be doing spreadsheets or photo sorting by gesture? We’re looking forward to finding out more on February 1.
Is there any way you would like to see Kinect applied to Windows? What apps would you make?
